Activity Ideas to Beat Back the Winter Blues
Feb 27 2010 in Denise's Blog, Your Caregiving Journey by Denise
On Thursday, Becky Lowry and Nancy Hanley, My Health Care Manager, joined us on Your Caregiving Journey to share activity ideas to beat back the cabin fever. You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of this post.
Some suggestions we discussed during the show include:
1. Move–exercise can help you both feel better. Consider the Sit and Be Fit exercise videos; visit here for more information. And, Wii Fit brings the bowling alley to your living room.
2. Consider a trip to a local museum. Call ahead to ask staff for suggestions and ideas to make the visit a pleasant one for you and your caree. Learn more from the MoMA Alzheimer’s Project; New York City’s Museum of Modern Art created a program for persons with Alzheimer’s disease.
3. Organize a closet, drawers or photos. When you organize photos, be sure to tell their story–who, when, why.
4. Get handy–knit, bake cookies (send me a few so I can sample), string beads. Puzzles and crosswords can be a great joint activity. See Memory Jogging Puzzles, made specifically for those with dementia.
5. Consider buying a baby doll, which can be soothing and engaging, for persons in mid to late stages of Alzheimer’s. The Alzheimer’s Store has a selection of dolls and other activity ideas.
What activity ideas do you enjoy with your caree? Please share in our comments section.
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Donna W said on February 27, 2010
Hospice gave mom a teddy for Christmas. I call it her bear buddy. I have him in a red basket. I give mom her bear buddy and basket after she eats supper, along with several bead necklaces, gold, green and blue. She decorates the bear and sometimes herself with the beads. I also give her a container of greeting cards, mostly musical and some current family photos that we have recieved. She spends quite a bit of time with all these items before bed. Concerning the musical cards, I emailed and facebooked friends and family about sending her a musical card, which would be more interesting and stimulating for her. She has received a number of them.
.-= Donna W´s last blog ..Invisible People =-.
Kevin said on February 27, 2010
Great article… the cold and snow keep many seniors inside during winter. Some of my clients are dedicated walkers and there are several places in town that open their doors in the winter: the shopping mall and the multi-plex (ice rink, concerts, etc). They are relatively warm, accessible, on the bus route, have seating to take rest breaks and are well lit.
.-= Kevin´s last blog ..Equipment for Seniors =-.
donna said on February 27, 2010
living in new york with a 91 year old it is hard to get over the heaps of snow to go outdoors at all…in the good weather we sit out and mom chats with the neighbors or we take the wheelchair and walk the mall…these days are a little harder…thank goodness she can still crochet…we play cards….she watched my husband and I play WII bowling last night…she is not really able to do that type of activity anymore although I do know senior centers that have it. She helps me peel potatoes and things like that….as far as stringing beads and puzzles she cant see well … those things can no longer be done as well as reading..she used to love to read but cant even see the large letter books anymore….I talk to her a LOT…sometimes wish her grandchildren would give her a jingle on the phone to pass the time but everyone has their own life and are too busy I suppose…we also watch game shows constantly and the cooking channel….february is just about done….it will hopefully soon get easier!!!!!!!!!!!