Activities for Nursing Home Visits

30 minute visit to the local Nursing Home and being an integral part of their lives and the big picture can provide immense joy for the residents.

Every aspect of the visit to your Local Nursing Home program has a deeper meaning.

That deeper meaning is about exercising the body, and mind, expressing interests, developing companionship, enhancing self-image, and feeling an accomplishment, usefulness and self confidence. Allowing residents to feel that they are participating in life and improving the friendship aspects of their home.

Many view those in a nursing home as a group of people whose minds or bodies don't serve them well any longer, and tend to stay away, due to fear, frustration, confusion, guilt, or simply not knowing how to communicate. Yet, when we gently open our minds, expand our hearts and view with our own souls, we invariably see other souls. The truest communication is one soul communicating with another.

The following activities are suggested for undertaking during visits on a monthly basis at your local Nursing Homes.

Activity no. 1. Name Badges

Making name badges for each resident. A group or one to one activity. Benefits: Residents to remember their names, help them remember others' names and staff. Feeling of involvement in the designing the badges. Each badge should be different and unique, a reminder of a something about their own lives and/or happy times.

Activity No.2. Room Badges

Room badges for each resident. Start off as a group and provide individual attention depending on capability of each resident. Residents can play an active part in this by making a stamp of their handprint, a photo of the resident and/or the picture of their Divine or Guru on the room badge. Benefits: Identify their own rooms, Sense of belonging and a reminder of their connection to their Divine or the Guru.

Activity No. 3. One to one activity with family involvement.

ABOUT ME poster. Sai devotees can create a big poster with photos of the residents, writing some special events and funny incidents from their past. Poster can show a picture of the village they were born, school, pictures of the parents and children and their workplace etc.

Benefits: Especially effective on dementia sufferers. Residents can tread back on memory lane. Develop communication with the family.

Activity No. 4. A group activity.

Sit in a circle and play gentle games, such as (A) Kicking a big soft ball, (B) Rolling a small ball through another object such as a stool etc. (C) Playing with a few blown balloons. Can be as creative as devotees wish to be. Benefits: gentle physical exercise, enjoying being with others, mental exercise, laughter.

Activity No. 5. Short and clear visualisation.

Here is an example.

You're walking down this country road. It's your own special road. It's safe. It's paved with small loose pebbles. You can hear the pebbles crunching under your feet. You look to your left and see an open field. The farmer has just mowed the field and it smells fresh and sweet. You pause and breathe deeply, enjoying the smell. The sun is warm and you turn your face up to it. A cool breeze blows through your hair as you listen to it rustle through the leaves of the trees. Would you like for someone to join you and talk as you walk along? Could there be horses or cows or sheep in the field? You may return to walk along this road anytime, for as long as you wish. Continue your walk in your own imagination.