NURSING HOMES RESIDENTS CAN LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY FROM THE NURSING HOMES ACTIVITY MAIL BOARD.

Nursing home residents can exercise their mental abilities by accepting and accomplishing these momentary challenges.

A key ingredient to the vitality of the human spirit is to experience moments of growth and accomplishment. Since people tend to be defined by the groups they are in, a capable resident may find it difficult to step out of what has possibly become a negative, self-fulfilling prophecy. As with anything, if you don’t exercise the abilities you have, you soon lose them.

These are not school lessons, intricate subjects or homework to be memorized. They are a variety of interactive, simple subjects including but not limited to the following:

TELL-A-STORY – Clip art is arranged and presented as a possible subject for a story or a way that residents can tell others what they know about this. If you don’t know a story of your own, you are encouraged to have fun making up a tall tale.
LET'S PLAY - Simple puzzles, optical illusions, riddles and games to play. A lot of humor and a few jokes from children are included with this one.
TONGUE TWISTERS - Speech therapists use these for enunciation practice with instruction that they be spoken very slowly. Some residents may want to use them for this purpose. But the fun of tongue twisters has always been trying to say them quickly. Some residents may want to give this a whirl just for fun, but they especially think it’s funny when a visitor tries it and messes up. That makes the exercise very entertaining.
HUMOR, TRIVIA & PICTURES – These take us on fun excursions down memory lane.

HOW TO USE IT:

The most successful and fun way to use the learning page is for all participants to pool their resources, emphasize humor and make sure every person feels great about any and every attempt to participate.

The following is a sample learning letter.

My name is Judy. I like worms and lizards. I am going to study them and be an expert about them, when I grow up. I have my own pet worm, Willie. I love him. If he could write a letter, I think this is what he'd say.

I AM WILLIE THE EARTHWORM

My ancestors came to America around 1700 AD, in potted plants, from Europe. They didn’t live here before then, so they were immigrants. They have worked hard, for centuries to make your soils and gardens rich and fertile.

In research books, I am called an animal because I have tiny hairs on my body. I have muscles that go around my body so I can stretch out and travel forward. I also have long muscles so my back end can follow my front end. I don’t have eyes or feelers but I do have a light sensor in my head that helps me keep out of the sun.

I don’t have a nose so I have to breathe through my skin. I can’t breathe in water. That’s why you’ll see me lying on top of the ground when it rains. But if I stay in dark, damp places my skin will stay gooey, slimy and healthy. That’s one reason I like dirt. The other reason is that it is just packed with all kinds of little tidbits for me to eat.

My mouth is small and there is a flap over it, so I don’t have to eat anything I don’t want. But I do eat a little dirt. It helps me digest food in my gizzard.

I my lay eggs in cocoons and then I leave them. When my babies are born they can take care of themselves. Even if there is a terrible drought, my babies can stay in their cocoon for years and years, until the rains come.

Then they hatch and that’s how your garden grows.

Love,

Willie

Click on the links below for full descriptions of Activity Categories:

Record Your Memories Say hi or send a card For your Delight Jobs for Residents

Let's Get Strong Share A Song Letters And Stuff Learning Page Armchair Vacation Bridge For Pals

Getting To Know You includes Loven Bloom Greeting Cards - Favorite States Posters - About Me Posters - Birthday Posters Birthday Badges - Name Badges - Star Goal Awards

We also have packages available for:

Assisted Living Centers, Adult Day Care, Hospitals,

Hospices, Retirement Centers, Special Service Group homes