Rosina

we have purchased for the ladies a clay scented heart and drawer liners from our book man at $7 but he is giving us a discount- but still looking for ideas for the gentlemen at our care home I to would like to hear some ideas.

we made poppies out of paper and attached some garden wire and planted over a hundred poppies in our grounds it looked beautiful while we had our service all our families and residents loved the look, we also used them for remembrance day just the other day, how wonderful they looked and a big thankyou to all the men & women who have served our country and who are serving our country now you all a doing a great but very hard job but we all look up to you.

sounds like you have it all covered, it is hard to engage a lot of residents especially males of different ages, smaller group activities not to competitive and some softer music in the background the environment maybe to hyper and this seems to set the mood- I love all the thought you have put into your ideas, can you set up small activity stations throughout your unit and set up some residents in each and you move around, maybe by the time you return you can guide them onto something else and they can move to the next activity

we asked for donations of items of nice china for high tea it was amazing what people donated to us, we now have a beautiful selection to hold our high teas, it is best to ask for specific items and a little explanation of what you are going to do with them- lots of families cleaning out the homes of people coming into care prefer it go to good use than throwing out , knitting needles and wool for the knitters group anything made can then be raffled off, magazines for collages, you can get a lot of travel pamphlets and hold travel sessions see how you go with some of these ideas

thankyou I will get onto our maintenance person or the local men's shed and give them the link

we make up fruit bowls or biscuit platters, residents love them

what are the best things to put on a fiddle mat or blanket I have seen many but not actually sat and watched the residents for any length of time to see what is the best design for them

Has anyone tried Giant Garden Jenga and outdoor Chess with their residents (dementia- low and high) how did it go, would you change the game slightly to accommodate and where did you purchase- trying to keep cost low for these items, any feedback would be appreciated

thankyou

I always find sea shells, pine cones & leaves are great as well these are renewable items and can change with the seasons, lavender and different types of flowers and herbs, also xmas decorations bells tinsel coming up to December you could have seasonal boxes and write up what can go in them to help staff hope this has been helpful

Does anyone have a massage chair at their facility- similar to the ones you see in the shopping centres, I would like some feedback on how it is working with your residents the pros and cons, how you incorporate it into therapy sessions etc any feedback appreciated.