If you have residents who are limited to their rooms, then be sure to provide them with some Easy Packs that are conveniently put together with items they can use for several different activities, and a drawstring bag or storage bin for easy transport. They can also be kept stored in your resident’s room for each visit.

Easy Packs

Puzzles and Puzzle Books 

• Contest – see who can finish their word puzzle the fastest
• Working Together – work together to complete a brainteaser puzzle
• Independent activities – residents can work on these activities in their rooms as solo activities if needed

Coloring Books 

• Coloring Techniques – teach your resident a few coloring techniques like shading and hatching
• Art Work – color the pictures to frame and hang in your resident’s room)
• Wrapping Paper – color the coloring pages and tape them together to use as wrapping paper to wrap a gift

Water Paintings 

• Easy Artwork – dip paintbrushes in water to reveal the designs on the pages)

Assorted Games

• Puzzle – work together to solve puzzles
• Lacing Games – improve their finger mobility by lacing cards

Tactile Activities 

• Textile Swatches – identify the different textiles by touch
• Sandcastles – use kinetic sand to make different objects
• Bean Bag Toss – use bean bags for a tossing game

Crayola Dough 

• Name the Color – relate the colors to things that remind them of their past
• Dough Pictionary – use fingers to mold different objects in the playdough

Toss and Talk 

• Basket Toss – toss the ball to land in a basket
• Discussion Ball – toss the ball back and forth and answer a question each time the ball is caught
• Overhead Toss – help improve your resident’s range of motion by making overhead tosses

Sensory Balls 

• Tossing – throw the balls to hit a target
• Squeeze and Release – squeeze each ball for comparison
• Sorting – sort the balls by color or texture

Find more ideas from Notjustbingo on the S&S blog here.

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About Not Just Bingo:

Not Just Bingo is an online resource of fun, senior activity ideas for activity professionals of nursing homes and 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 nursing 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!