10 Activities for Nursing Home Residents

Nursing Home Residents

When it comes to activities for seniors in nursing home residents, several factors need to be considered. For one, there is a need to consider not only the physical limitations of seniors but their cognitive abilities.

Luckily, we’ve come up with several fun as well as engaging activities that seniors living in assisted living residencies can engage in.

1. Skill learning 

Learning never stops and lifelong learning for seniors is a great way to keep them feeling engaged and in tune with life. You can organize workshops as well as classes within the nursing home.

Book clubs, painting classes, computer classes, foreign language classes, woodworking classes, writing workshops, and educational lectures are all activities that involve learning a skill or two. 

2. Dance sessions

Dance is popular in many assisted living facilities, as it’s a great way to keep the seniors physically fit. It also helps keep them socially and mentally engaged. 

Seniors can enjoy anything from line dancing, square dancing to occasional ballroom dancing. 

3. Entertainment shows

Since many seniors can’t leave the nursing home to travel or engage in other activities, then you need to bring the show to them.

Entertainers can come to perform for the residents and you can even invite some of their friends and families over. 

Some of the entertainment you might want to consider include stand-up comedies, dog shows, choir visits, and drama groups. 

4. Exercises

Regular exercise is good for seniors. It not only helps them stay fit by promoting mobility but also boosts their mood, reduces stress, and helps them stay socially engaged. 

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As such, rather than the normal morning stretch that seniors are used to in most nursing homes, you can incorporate other exercise routines. 

Yoga, meditation, Tai chi, swimming, gardening, spin classes, and Zumba are all great ways of helping seniors stay physically active.

When it comes to exercise, you need to consider the mobility as well as the fitness level of each senior resident to avoid pushing them to more than what they can handle.  

5. Music

For seniors living in nursing homes, music can be quite soothing. To incorporate music into their routine, you can organize singing competitions similar to American Idol.

While at it, karaoke is also great and it will keep them engaged and socially active. 

6. Games

Think outside the typical bingo night! There are so many games that you can organize to keep the seniors feeling happy and engaged. Nintendo Wii games like bowling, golf, tennis, and baseball are fun and something your senior residents will enjoy.

Such games involve moving the body rather than using a joystick as is the case with most video games, so seniors get a bit of exercise while playing. 

Besides video games, you might also want to incorporate brain-boosting games like sudoku, checkers, chess, trivia, and crossword puzzles. 

7. Plan field trips

Senior residents in assisted living facilities might enjoy trying something new or visiting different places from time to time. 

So, rather than remaining in the nursing home every day, you can plan a field trip to the local museum, concerts, musicals, plays, sporting events, and movies.

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While at it, consider outdoor activities like picnics, park visits, nature walks, a farmers market trip, or engagement in community projects around. 

8. Storytelling

With storytelling, the norm is to have young people read to senior residents living in nursing homes. 

You can, however, spice things up by having the senior residents tell their stories to the young who come visiting. It’s a great way to boost their memory as they recall the good old days. 

9. Organizing birthday parties

When it comes to birthday parties there is so much that senior residents can do. Some might enjoy decorating the room for the party while others would want to be involved in the baking and decorating of the cake. 

Whatever the case, ensuring that the senior residents are involved from the beginning to the end is one of the best ways they can spend their time. 

10. Organizing special events

There are so many special events that you can organize in the nursing home. From carnivals complete with dunk tanks and cotton candy to senior proms and screening of events like sports championships and political debates. 

Other special events to consider include art shows, classic car shows, pool parties, fashion shows, and happy hours. 

Conclusion

Nursing homestay doesn’t have to be mediocre. There are so many things as seen that senior residents can engage in. These activities are geared towards making their living as fun as possible while keeping them mentally, physically, and socially engaged.