Living in an assisted care facility can get boring if you have nothing to do with all your spare time.
Elderly people in such facilities need to stay stimulated, happy, and relevant in their lives.
If you work in such a center, you can introduce some recreational activities to help them have fun while they spend time.
When choosing recreational activities for elderly people, you need to consider their likes and dislikes, social groups, and expertise.
For instance, some are fitness enthusiasts, while others would rather spend their time playing chess or other indoor games.
Here are some recreational activities you can introduce at an assisted living facility to help elderly people enjoy their stay.
Group Exercises
You can create group exercises for elderly people to help them keep fit and improve their social skills. Identify the fitness enthusiasts in the group and encourage them to take part in their most preferred exercise. Provide the equipment they need and allocate space to engage in their activities.
Some of the activities you can include are:
- Water aerobics
- Chair yoga
- Walking
- Pilates
The exercises help them to stay fit and spend time with their peers.
Book Clubs and Indoor Games Clubs
Some elderly people in your assisted living facility might prefer less rigorous ways of spending their time.
They could love reading books and sharing their experiences with their peers. For such people, you can create book clubs with frequent meetings to encourage their reading culture.
You can also create a library where they can borrow and exchange books at their convenience. Appoint a leader for each book club and encourage them to push each other to read the books.
Other members of the facility might prefer indoor games such as chess and drafts.
Buy them chess and draft boards and encourage the competitive spirit in them. They’ll spend their time in the facilities doing things they love.
Art Groups
Elderly people attach sentimental people to handmade crafts and like to make things for their friends and family.
Identify people with artistic hands and allow them to express themselves in their art. Some of the practices you can encourage include:
- Knitting
- Drawing and painting
- Music
- Pottery
- Beadwork
You can encourage the people in your assisted living facility to make art pieces for their friends. If they’re good at what they do, you can encourage them to make items for sale.
This way, they’ll be rewarded for their handiwork. Connect them with stores and sites that will market and sell their products.
Gardening and Pet Care
Some people in your facility might prefer spending their time in the garden and savoring the beauty that nature has. For such people, a simple flower garden or vegetable garden helps to keep them busy and happy.
You can ask the management to allow the people to engage in safe gardening activities. For instance, if a person likes to plant and tend to flowers, they can be allowed to plant some in the garden.
Alternatively, you can encourage them to plant potted plants or tend to existing plants.
You can also encourage pet care among people living in your assisted living facility. Pets can be therapeutic and improve the overall quality of life for most elderly people.
If pets are allowed in your institution, encourage the pet lovers to take care of them.
Make Life Fun for Elderly People
When elderly people move to an assisted living facility, they may have difficulty adjusting to the changes.
However, you can make their stay more pleasant by introducing recreational activities. Identify each person’s preferences and place them in the right recreational group.
