Activities

There should be a range of activities available which can help give a shape to the day and week. Different activities suit different people and some people just like a quiet place to be rather than being expected to get involved in anything. The care home I know has quite a range of occupation available depending on the individuals. Generally, most like the lady musician who comes along to play her piano. Some people enjoy singing along,others just listen. It's their choice.
There are interest groups of all sorts. The garden there is really beautiful and some like to potter about and others just to sit and enjoy it.
Recently I went to a prosecco and cheese group for ladies. The men had beer and bacon rolls.
A lot depends on there being an imaginative and active activities co ordinator who really gets to know the residents.

I should say that none of these cost extra.

I was an activity coordinator in my last proper job.

We read the newspaper every day, and chatted about the articles and headlines. (I bought in the free metro paper, which one of the station staff put away for me, so most people who were interested had a copy)

We then had a go at the crossword.

I did footspas, for interested people, and we did cooking twice a week.

We did crafts a couple of times a week; once a week was with children from a local nursery, who came to visit.

We played games with balls, did quizzes, had a reading corner, and a tv nook for those who wanted to watch specific things.

The local church came in an held a service weekly, and we went for walks, sat outside, and had a gardening club.

Belly dancing once a week, and chairobics each morning.

We set aside lunch tables for people who had family come and eat with them, and I had a mobile "shop" (an old medicine cabinet in wheels, which we decorated)

Bingo - because everyone loved that, alongside all sorts of other free things I could think of.

Ooh, knitting. (Not that I can knit!)

Of the paid activities, we had lunches out, theatre trips, and cinema ones.
Some people went to their own choice of clubs, and the mobile library came round fortnightly.

We had (at least) monthly entertainment, such as a 60s night, afternoon tea dances, and so on.

Residents meetings once a month, where family came, and any reasonable suggestions were implemented.

They must miss you, MissA.

At my Mum’s care home they had quite a lot of activities which people could choose to participate in or not. There were also outings organised to flower festivals, nature parks etc.

Sometimes they had a film afternoon, they had a knitting group, quizzes, special big jigsaws with beautiful designs, adult colouring books, planting bulbs, making cup cakes.

They had visits from miniature donkeys and ponies and they had duck eggs which they enjoyed watching hatch. When the ducklings hatched they let them run about and the residents loved it. They also had guinea pigs brought in which were very popular.

The care home Managers were very keen on getting people out in the fresh air when the weather was good and they had a lovely sheltered courtyard packed with flowers and shrubs. Very comfy chairs with pads, tables with parasols and the staff brought out sunhats, suncream and icelollies and cold drinks.

Some of the homes I visited had lovely gardens but they were never used by the residents.

MissAdventure

After many years working in Adult Education I spent several years working as Activities CoOrdinator at a Day Care Centre and I was involved with a project for older, isolated people encouraging them to enjoy new pastimes.

I taught watercolour painting, macrame, decoupage, knitting and crochet, cardmaking, making rag rugs, salt dough and anything else people liked to try. Profits from making things like cards went back into buying more materials. It was lovely to see many of them so enjoying their new hobbies that their relatives bought them paints, brushes etc for birthdays.

It's such a fulfilling role, isn't it?
I taught lots of things I had no idea how to do, myself, but we had such a good time.

There were 75 residents, though, and just me, and I was starting to feel unwell.

I really wish i could have stayed there.

Thanks for all the contributions. It does seem as if there's a very wide range of activities on offer. The one observation I'd make is that there is little mention of stuff that might traditionally be more male orientated - watching sports for example. Maybe that's explained by a lower proportion of males in care but they just be my guess based on the belief that females still tend to live longer than males.
I'm encouraged by the suggestion that a lot of the activities are provided in-house but what sort of amounts are we talking about for the 'paid' ones? Did that create any tension between those that could afford them and those that couldn't? My assumption is that social services won't pay for any of these extra activities.

No extras at the care home I visit

As a slight diversion from the OP, my sister and I visit my aunt fairly regularly and hatched a plan on one visit to play her a few tunes on our piano accordions. Having asked the care home if that was OK, and if they had a bigger space we could use as aunty's room was a bit small to do this in, we turned up at the care home, to find we were to 'perform' in the main dining room, we'd been given 'star billing' and it looked like the entire residency had turned up to listen! However, everyone seemed to enjoy it, there was lots of interest in the instruments and how we came to play them, and we were asked if we would do similar events in the future!

Outside the home activities can vary, SCLA.
From the cost of just a tea or coffee out, to lunch, or a cinema trip.

Usually the out of house activities were fairly low key, and would cost perhaps £6 to £8 for a silver screen showing at the cinema, as an example.

Lunch out could cost around £12 in pub, if we went with the special offers and deals.

I didn't deal with the finances, really, but always put up posters a couple of weeks in advance, so that family could (hopefully) ensure that the person had enough to be able to go.

For men in the home, I persuaded the handyman to ask for "help" around the home and gardens, and I started a men's nook, where they could watch football, or westerns.

I didn't ever notice a problem between those who could afford extras, and those who couldn't.

There were actually few people who wanted or were able to do big trips out.

Garden centres were our favourite, overall.

Primrose53 - miniature donkeys and ponies!! Where do I sign up?!

Miss A, I wish you had been working at my mother's care home! When we were shown round her home making up our minds as to which one to choose apparently offered numerous activities. It transpired, once we'd moved her in, that they frequently were cancelled or were laughable if they did go ahead... Gardening club was the residents standing or sitting round a young girl whilst she stuck in a pansy. Cooking was them wheeled in to sit and watch another member of staff mix up some biscuit mixture etc etc. There was a fantastic guitar playing singer who had real energy and got them singing along, dancing if able, but he was really the only one who gave a meaningful experience to the residents. Beware the hype, ask to pop in and see the proffered activities in action, preferably without warning!

What a shame for the people who live there, Aneeba

It is a surprisingly hard job to get everyone onside, and doing meaningful things, but yes, family should check that activities are actually taking place.

That's why a paid activity person is a good idea, rather than expecting overworked staff to take on extra work.

I used to "get it in the neck" from staff, who liked routine, management, who like to tick boxes but didn't always deliver, and the residents as well.

I was going to say that people need to be aware that an activity centre built into the home may not necessarily provide the kind of activity that their person would best benefit from.

They may get more from having a good old chat, or a damn good laugh with someone, rather than state of the art equipment.

Wow, some wonderful ideas here. When I can volunteer in a care home I will use some of these.👍

Family of residents could also volunteer, too.
A quiz night, perhaps.

Just download the questions from the internet, maybe even set up a "mastermind" type challenge.

I live in a nursing home

What activities are provided Annie?

Start visiting homes. I was shocked when looking for my mil. One home had a very small dining room and said that some residents ate their meals in their room. Another had no carpet, just lino because it was easier to mop and it still smelt strongly of urine. One elderly lady was told brusquely that she had missed her chance of an afternoon cup of tea as she came down too late. One looked like an ex brothel. At the end of a long and distressing day we found a lovely home and I pleaded for her to have the last remaining place.

GSM many activities and we choose, we are 3 sections , nursing, physical disabilities, Alzheimer’s, beautiful large grounds so those from Alzheimer’s have their own area, I have French windows in my room so I choose what shrubs, plants etc and have a sitting area of my own or if I wish try planting in
the entrance gardens. Quiz night, coffee shop, small pub, cinema, a Welsh choir visits regularly and very much loved by many, karaoke! , this is Wales. A kitchen for residents to try baking, hand crafts, monthly afternoon tea for residents and their families, manicures, facials,reflexology .we also fund raise for things in our area, a hospice, homeless. The young physically disabled have a great time on the mountain roads and walkways, in their wheelchairs picking up rubbish, they get visits from sports men and women too. A local history group gives talks, a local school for children with learning difficulties
visit, painting and drawing is shared.

No charges unless leaving the grounds, naturally we pay for coffees, lunches etc, train tickets.

That's so nice to hear, Annie, and proof that not everywhere is awful, as some people think.

MissAdventure Arthritis from ankles to shoulders , I chose to move to a. Nursing home and chose which one, not in the area I was living. My sisters say I. live in a holiday hotel! definitely not awful, I certainly made the right decision and choice.