If you are in charge of finding some creative things for seniors who might live in an assisted living home, you probably want to make sure that the things you plan for them to do are going to be fun and not something that is going to bore them to tears. After all, just because they are older doesn't mean they no longer can have fun.
First thing you should do is get a group of seniors together that are really going to want to get together and do some arts and crafts. Don't force this onto anyone. Make sure you ask each person if they would like to sit down and do some creative and fun things to pass the time. Once you have done that make sure that you get enough supplies for the amount of people who have agreed to participate. Then you need to make sure you have enough tables and then set up each table with the supplies and the different directions for the type of craft they'll be working on.
The best way to choose the right activity is to make sure you ask them questions that will help you decide on the activity that might be the most fun and interesting for them to get involved with. Never force an activity on someone if it's not what they are interested in doing. It should be up to them if they want to learn something new or if they want to apply skills they already have like crocheting, sewing or even scrapbooking.
Some things that you might consider offering as ideas for your group of seniors might be the following.
Gardening for one is one that might be enjoyable. You could give each person some soil, seeds and a pot and have them plant their favorite vegetable or flower in the pot and keep these pots in a specific area until it is time for them to be planted outside in the spring or summer. Part of this activity could include decorating their individual pots with painted flowers or other things to embellish their individual pots.
Since seniors tend to have acquired a lot of photos over the years, scrapbooking might be another fun craft to get them involved with. You can supply them will a lot of different colorful papers, special scrapbook stickers other items used for scrapbooking. Make sure each person has enough paper and their own scrapbook to complete.
Have a session where they all get together and make their own greeting cards. Supplies you could use for this would be cardstock paper, different kinds of pens and markers, photos, rubber stamps, a variety of stickers and other kinds of self adhesive embellishments that they could use to make their own individual and unique greeting cards.
If your seniors love to paint then think of buying some already made ceramic pots, figurines or other objects and give them paint and paint brushes to paint the ceramic objects they are most interested in painting. Clay is another craft material that is fun and relatively inexpensive to purchase. Let them have fun with the clay by allowing them to use their creative side to make a variety of different items.
Most seniors at one time or another probably learned how to knit or crochet so this is always a great craft for seniors. Even if they have never done it before, it's never too late for them to learn this fun and useful craft.
Helping seniors who live in assisted living facilities with things that will keep them getting bored and will help them to socialize and to have fun is helping to also provide them with a better quality of life.
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