Looking for meaningful ways to bring kindness into your senior activity program? Kindness-themed crafts and activities are a wonderful way for residents to connect with others, share encouragement, and brighten someone’s day. Whether creating thoughtful handmade items, writing uplifting messages, or working together on a group project, these simple activities give residents a chance to spread positivity within your community and beyond.
Posters
Display kind messages in your facility by having residents decorate Think Positive velvet art posters by coloring the pre-marked designs with markers, crayons, or colored pencils. Encourage residents to hang the finished posters in their rooms.
Rocks
Use a kindness rocks kit and invite residents to paint kind words and phrases on rocks. Then place the rocks throughout your facility, like in plant beds, in display bowls, or even as paper weights for your administrators.
Prints
Show residents how to create inspirational prints to hang in your Activity Room by brushing the prints with watercolor paints. As residents paint on the color, a kind message in gold will reveal itself. Once the prints have dried, create an inspirational wall in your Activity Room to display all the prints.
Pins and Stickers
Help residents carry the “kindness” message with them throughout the day by assembling kindness pins. To make the pins, simply use markers to create a design on heart-shaped paper before placing the paper into the heart-shaped pin for wearing. Another option is to simply pass out positive stickers for residents to wear. For instance, set up a “smiley face” counter outside of your facility’s Dining Room for a volunteer to pass out stickers to residents as they enter the Dining Room for breakfast or lunch. Encourage residents to wear their stickers for the day.
Magnets
Don’t forget about your resident’s rooms! Show residents how to decorate Be Kind magnets, using paint or markers, that they can place on their refrigerator doors to remind them, and those who visit, about being kind.
Jewelry
Use inspirational beads and jewelry cording to encourage residents to make inspirational bracelets. Invite residents to pick inspiring words for the bracelets, like Believe, Love, and Laugh, to create unique bracelets that can be sold at an upcoming Crafts Fair.
Find more ideas from Notjustbingo on the S&S blog here.
About Not Just Bingo:
Not Just Bingo is an online resource of fun, senior activity ideas for activity professionals of assisted living facilities. They have been providing fun activity ideas online since 2009, and continue to assist activity professionals across the country by creating meaningful and engaging activity ideas for their residents that go “beyond bingo.” Not Just Bingo feels privileged to help activity directors better the living experiences of their residents while demonstrating that a senior’s quality of life can actually improve when they move to a senior facility!
Want even more ideas each month? Visit www.notjustbingo.com for how-to activity ideas, monthly newsletters, and daily holiday ideas. You can also sign up for the Notjustbingo Membership to receive specialized activity ideas to keep your residents and staff engaged, active, and having fun!
