Sheena

Things we do are......sing-a-long DVD's,
Picking something to talk about as you throw a large balloon around your group. Winding wool into balls. Rummage boxes. Reminiscing pictures and asking what do you think is happening in the picture. (They can all see different things in the same picture). Folding children's clothes.
We have books purchased from the UK which can be used with a smalL group or individually which are great for opening up all sorts of interaction. We made ice cream spiders while we talked about summer days yesterday.
Good luck with your programme. It is a very difficult group to keep engaged.

At our facility they just love doing this. We purchased a sizzix machine and some dies and so they can cut out little things themselves to stick on. So many ideas if you have one of these little machines.

I was able to get one from a team who bowled at a senior citizen centre. They were going to buy a new one as this one was worn. It is still in great condition and suits our needs. We paid a small amount to them for it.

I have recently started armchair travel with our residents. We have made passports out of small photo albums purchased from officeworks. We have our itinery inside the front cover with a picture and 'armchair traveller' on the next page. The passport is stamped each time and then a photo placed on the facing page. We have pictures and flags as a display or a map where we take photos of each person prior to 'departure'. Food from that country is served after the trip and we have a quiz or trivia during our afternoon tea. We try to welcome our travellers with hello and welcome in the language of the country we are visiting. We have also tried to match our itinery to special events of the country. So far, lots of positive feedback. The places visited are also the places where our residents originate from.