5 activity ideas for care homes

Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC suggest 5 activity ideas for care homes for activity staff to add to their activity schedule, to encourage mobility, reminisce, social connection, opportunities for lots of fun and laughter for everyone. 

Afternoon at the races  

You will need: Inflatable dice , a big space 

This would be a great group activity and hopefully offer enjoyment and engagement for all . Ask a couple of residents if they would be happy to take part in a race, set up a little race course in a big safe space and invite other residents to an afternoon at the races. The roll of the dice will dictate how many steps the resident needs to take and different residents can be responsible for rolling the dice. 

If residents needs persuasion to take part, of course the staff can get involved and lead the way. 

Giant Jenga 

You will need: Giant Jenga , a big space 

This would be a great group activity and the Giant Jenga would be a great focal point in the middle of a living room. If someone is les physically able to move the block that person could still be involved by directing staff what block they want to be moved and still enjoy the excitement of whether there block will keep the tower strong or make it collapse. 

Why not write questions on the blocks to spark conversation amongst the group using residents interests as foundations for the questions. Here are some examples.

Do you like watching TV? 

Have you ever danced all night long? 

Do you like to sing? 

Have you ever sang on Karaoke? 

If you make note of your resident answers, you may be inspired to be able to plan new future activities.

Target practice 

You will need: vest with velco and cotton balls 

This will get you all laughing and moving. Anyone willing to have hall cotton balls thrown at them will be up in the centre, consider residents mobility do you they have agility and balance to move safely but this would be a great physical activity that would would improve hand eye coordination and get those stomach muscles working. 

Higher or lower

You will need grocery products.

Find every day objects and ask your residents to guess whether the product costs more or less than another product. Your residents could list the products from low cost to high cost or even compare the cost of a product now to a relatable era. This could be a great way to reconnect your residents with current affairs and create opportunities for your residents to reminisce.

Balloon Tennis

You will need balloons and cut up pool noodles.

Keep the balloon on the table with pool noodles. Fun activity to get the seniors moving.

If you have found this blog 5 Activity ideas for care homes useful you may want to join our Facebook Group Activity Ideas for Activity Coordinators for more ideas and support from activity coordinators from around the world.  Ideas are posted every day.

Thank you for taking the time to read 5 activity ideas for care homes. Find out more about Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC dance workshops for care homes here follow Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC on Facebook here .