Not a traditional activity for retirement communities, fishing is an activity many residents already love, and that many other residents would love to learn! Organizing a fishing trip to a local urban fishing area is an ingenious way to get residents out in the great outdoors, learning a new skill. If you have avid fishermen and women in your community, they can quickly host a fishing 101 session before leaving to teach their neighbours the sport.
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Residents might want to learn how to use social media, but don't know where to start. Use this opportunity to host a social media starter class! Residents who are interested in learning how to use social media to connect with family will be thrilled to learn this new skill! The tutorial can span the numerous most popular platforms, or concentrate on a single platform like Facebook. This activity can be hosted in person or online, allowing easy social-distancing!
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Quilting is an activity that actually relieves stress and increases cognitive & creative thinking! Quilting is defined as the art of joining thee or more layers of fabric together by sewing them, either by hand or using a sewing machine. To turn quilting into an activity, first seek out if any of your current residents know how to quilt. If they do, consider having them teach other residents at a regular interval. Your community can provide the equipment, and each session residents can continue their project! If everyone is new to quilting, google simple beginner quilting projects you think will be a success with your residents! Final projects can be gifted or even sold!
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If you residents want to start a low-intensity gardening project, one that can be kept inside, introduce them to starting a herb garden! Help find a location that gets about 4 hours of sunlight a day in your resident's room. Next, get some small plants with loosely set planting soil. Looser soil promotes drainage and the health of the plants. Buy some herb seeds at a local gardening supply store, plant them, and water when the soil seems dry...that's it! Examples of herbs that do great in indoor gardens are Basil, Mint, Chives and Parsley.
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The classic father-son activity can be introduced as an activity in your community! Having residents spend time throwing a baseball between themselves has enumerable benefits, and it's lots of fun! Residents are outside, enjoying the fresh air first of all. Secondly, throwing a baseball is great physical activity that works the muscles in the hands, shoulders and arms. It also trains residents' balance and hand-eye coordination. Finally, it provides an opportunity for socialization all the while being Covid-friendly by allowing easy social distancing! Procuring a few baseballs and baseball gloves is affordable as well, especially if used!
Introduce tennis to your residents! This sport can be played between two or 4 residents, all the while residents are socially distancing. Tennis is also fun while being an affordable sport to set up at your community. To play, residents can either commute to a local community center and use their tennis court, or simply toss a tennis ball back and forth in a large open area with hard ground near your community.
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Sometimes, self-care can be all a resident needs as an activity to relieve stress and feel better. Scheduling a massage for your residents can be a rewarding experience for them, and will improve their wellbeing. Massages can be scheduled at a masseuse's place of business or for the masseuse to come see the resident at your community. Whichever avenue you and your resident chooses, make sure to take all the precautions necessary to insure everyone's health will be preserved with regards to Covid-19.
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If residents are enthusiastic about being healthy, helping them track their nutrition could be an excellent activity idea. Nutrition is a crucial part of being healthy overall. It's arguably more important than the amount of exercise one gets, but at least just as important! Residents can track what they eat on paper or through an app. Getting started and maintaining the habit is the rewarding part. Consider picking a health app with your resident and getting them used to using the app if they are comfortable with technology. A benefit of tracking one's nutrition is gaining a general awareness of what's a healthy choice when choosing to eat! This has immense power to improving your health. Things to track are calories and the three main nutrients in food: proteins, carbohydrates and fats (lipids).
Here is an article detailing the benefits of 5 nutrition tracking apps.
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Many farmer's markets open their booths in the spring and fall months. Create a fun outing activity for your residents by going to a farmer's market! This activity can be conducted as a 1-on-1 activity or as a group activity. If as a group, organize transportation, set a an arrival and departure, and sign up residents in advanced that want to go. It's as simple as that! Plus, it will get residents into their community and socializing!
A note on bus transportation: To make the bus social-distance friendly, one seat should be left empty behind and in front of every resident. In addition, residents should be seated in a staggered fashion on each side of the bus. Here is a downloadable resource discussing best-practices for making your bus ride social-distance friendly.
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Treating residents to some pampering time can be one of the most touching activities you can give to a resident! Today, many simple natural ingredients have been found to be extremely beneficial for skin when incorporated into skin care routines. Examples of ingredients that do wonders for skin when used in recipes are coconut oil, specific clays, and apple cider vinegar!
Liv Forez's Love Grows Wild details specific skin care recipes you can prepare for use with residents that incorporate simple ingredients like these. The blog also explains best practices for preparing and using cleansers, masks and toners.
