{"id":2074,"date":"2015-12-19T10:30:40","date_gmt":"2015-12-19T15:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/?p=2074"},"modified":"2024-06-04T15:07:02","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T19:07:02","slug":"12-activities-add-senior-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/12-activities-add-senior-program\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Activities to Add to Your Senior Program"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2386\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Seniors-41.jpg\" alt=\"seniors \" width=\"540\" height=\"540\" \/>When providing activities for your nursing facility\u2019s residents, it is a good idea to include a variety of activity types that will appeal to different interests. Our friends at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.notjustbingo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">notjustbingo<\/a> have shared several activities to consider for your senior program:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Social<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Play fun conversational games and ice breakers like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/item\/table-topics-17856S\/\">Table Topics <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/item\/word-teasers-old-wives-tales-18436\/\">Word Teasers<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Organize <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/item\/story-starters-jar-18155\/\">Story Telling Activities <\/a>in which each participant uses their imagination to create fun and interesting stories<\/li>\n<li>Add daily, afternoon socials for residents to socialize with one another<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Spiritual<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Contact local religious leaders to perform religious services at your facility for your residents<\/li>\n<li>Provide spiritual singing activities, like hymn sing-alongs<\/li>\n<li>Organize a Meditation Club, in which you practice meditation with residents, or a Bible Study Club, in which residents regularly read passages of the Bible together<!--more--><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Physical<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-2382 size-full alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Elderly-octaband-e14501916741761.jpg\" alt=\"senior program ideas\" width=\"540\" height=\"317\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Get your residents moving with fun exercises that uses props like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/item\/parachute-W2367\/\">Parachutes<\/a> or even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/item\/24-leg-stretch-band-19769\/\">Resistance Bands<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Add dance breaks to encourage residents to move, or supplement your regular Exercise Class with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/search\/index.php?q=chair+fitness\">Chair Fitness<\/a> session<\/li>\n<li>Schedule weekly walks through your facility. Include outdoor nature walks or even an indoor walking tour to show-off the parts of your facility that your residents do not normally see (e.g., kitchen tour)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Reminiscing<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Reminisce with residents using photos of well-known people, like downloaded photos of Old Hollywood actresses<\/li>\n<li>Use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/\">Reminiscing Books<\/a> that contain common sayings or even nursery rhymes that can spark your residents\u2019 recollection<\/li>\n<li>Invite residents to bring their family photos and mementos for a fun reminiscing activity for them to share information about their lives with others<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Tactile<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright wp-image-2381\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Elderly-crafting1.jpg\" alt=\"senior program activities\" width=\"410\" height=\"410\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Plan fun arts and crafts projects that are seasonal like this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/item\/snowman-box-craft-GP3141\/\">Snowman Box Craft\u00a0<\/a>or that can be made and given as gifts like this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/item\/wooden-photo-frame-craft-kit-CE4189\/\">Wooden Photo Frame Craft-Kit<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Recruit residents to assist with administrative projects, like stuffing envelopes<\/li>\n<li>Create a Dining Room Club to have residents assist with folding napkins. Consider giving a napkin-folding class to teach residents how to make different napkin animals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Educational<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Invite speakers to lecture to residents about interesting topics by hosting a monthly Speaker Series<\/li>\n<li>Host a special how-to class in which you teach residents something new<\/li>\n<li>Schedule interesting documentaries that appeal to your residents\u2019 interests like an art history video or an animal documentary<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Cognitive<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Host activities with fun competitions using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/item\/timeless-trivia-dvd-episode-2-the-fabulous-fifties-19048\/\">Trivia<\/a> or even <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-2385 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Senior-21.jpg\" alt=\"senior programs\" width=\"434\" height=\"434\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Plan daily current events activities using your local newspaper<\/li>\n<li>During this presidential debate season, schedule political discussions about hot-button social issues<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Community<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Look within your community to help your residents fill a need, like collecting donated school supplies for a local elementary school class<\/li>\n<li>Set up several drives (like a food drive or a clothing drive) during the holidays<\/li>\n<li>Recruit residents to become involved in your facility\u2019s Resident Council meetings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Sensory<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Appeal to your residents\u2019 senses with visual games like<\/li>\n<li>Incorporate games that involve different textures, like making bean bags for a bean bag toss<\/li>\n<li>Make homemade musical instruments, using plastic bottles and dried beans or rice, for residents to use during musical performances<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Outing<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Take residents on fun scenic drives<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-2387 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Senior-3-e14501920147631.jpg\" alt=\"activties for seniors\" width=\"497\" height=\"328\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Plan trips to local museums<\/li>\n<li>Coordinate visits to other nearby nursing facilities (possibly a sister facility) where your residents visit to play bingo with their residents<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Musical<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Teach residents how to play musical instruments (like piano lessons on your facility\u2019s piano)<\/li>\n<li>Schedule musical activities and games like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/item\/music-bingo-set-17066\/\">Music Bingo<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Use online videos to share music with your residents during one-on-one visits<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Family<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Host special events and invite family members<\/li>\n<li>Recruit family members to volunteer with some of your activities<\/li>\n<li>Use your arts and crafts activities for residents to make gifts (like Hanukkah or Christmas gifts) for their family members<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Do you recommend another type of activity that you use for your senior program?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Find more ideas from Notjustbingo\u00a0<a title=\"on the S&amp;amp;S blog here\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/category\/senior-activities\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">on the S&amp;S blog here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>About Not Just Bingo:<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><img class=\"wp-image-9893\" src=\"https:\/\/ssww-blog.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/notjutbingo-logo-300x221.jpg\" alt=\"senior activity ideas\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><a title=\"Not Just Bingo\" href=\"http:\/\/www.notjustbingo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Not Just Bingo<\/a>\u00a0is 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 \u201cbeyond bingo.\u201d Not Just Bingo feels\u00a0privileged to help activity directors better the living experiences of their residents while demonstrating that a senior\u2019s quality of life can actually\u00a0<em>improve<\/em>\u00a0when they move to a nursing facility!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Want even more ideas each month? Visit\u00a0<a title=\"www.notjustbingo.com\" href=\"https:\/\/www.notjustbingo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">www.notjustbingo.com<\/a>\u00a0for how-to activity ideas, monthly newsletters, and daily holiday ideas. You can also sign up for the\u00a0<a title=\"Notjustbingo Membership\" href=\"https:\/\/www.notjustbingo.com\/activity-calendars\/subscriptions.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Notjustbingo Membership<\/a>\u00a0to receive specialized activity ideas to keep your residents and staff engaged, active, and having fun!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When providing activities for your nursing facility\u2019s residents, it is a good idea to include a variety of activity types that will appeal to different interests. Our friends at notjustbingo have shared several activities to consider for your senior program: &hellip; <a class=\"read-more-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/12-activities-add-senior-program\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":2386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[224],"tags":[398,241,326,397],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v16.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>12 Activities to Add to Your Senior Program - S&amp;S Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/12-activities-add-senior-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"12 Activities to Add to Your Senior Program - S&amp;S Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When providing activities for your nursing facility\u2019s residents, it is a good idea to include a variety of activity types that will appeal to different interests. 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