Once a famous playwriter said, “ We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing”. — George Bernard Shaw.
Probably you’ve heard his name somewhere, (remember Audrey Hepburn in the movie My Fair Lady, well that’s based on Shaw’s Pygmalion).
Well, anyway let’s move onto our list of engaging activities that your loved one might love at home.
Art classes for elders
We all love some art, especially if it’s self created or gifted by a loved one. Seniors often enjoy fun art classes, from trying something new or learning a new skill like smudging or foliage painting.
They can simply create great memorabilia by picking some leaves, smudging them with paint, and pressing on an art paper to create a wonderful foliage art for themselves or to gift others.
(Tip- They can make greeting cards out of it too for Christmas or Thanksgiving!)
So it doesn’t need much skill to be a wonderful artist after all!
And if they love to paint or went to art school, for instance, bring out their lost skills by gifting them a canvas and oil colors to help them engage back into that ‘lost artist’ in themselves.
Reading habits for elders
You can always engage your loved ones with a variety of books on subjects of their choice.
Be it spiritual, fiction, or self help journals. You can even enrich their cognitive abilities by introducing them to newer subjects, books with memory puzzles or fun questionnaires can engage your seniors while help them improve mental functioning.
BrioCare powered with Alexa for seniors can read out audiobooks, podcasts, and much more, so your elders can just sit and relax while enjoying their daily reading sessions.
Board games for seniors
Heard it right! Engage your loved ones with indoor game time with family, as it not only builds your bonding time while creating wonderful memories and nostalgia, it also enhances shared closeness.
(Bonus tip -It makes them feel inclusive and well loved too.)
Games like monopoly, bingo, scrabble, card decks, and pinball can be good choices.
BrioCare- the proactive senior care app that can play fun memory games or guess who game?
This can help improve cognitive health, even of older adults suffering from chronic dementia.
Online lectures and courses for senior learners
If your elder is an avid learner and was a firm educationist, they might want to still keep on learning new stuff or things in their erstwhile work field.
You can introduce them to the world of free online education classes that not only span from molecular physics for science loving seniors but also many self help classes on mindfulness meditation practices to classes on cooking, baking, art, history, the list is endless.
Plus they might get a chance to interact with many fellow students of similar age groups and develop new internet friendships they can chat with.
BrioCare can help you navigate tutorials, so your elders can learn easily from home.
Jewelry making for creative elders
Did you know it’s important to improve motor skills as you age?
A simple DIY fun jewelry making kit can help creative elders not only make fun bead bracelets or necklaces, it can also enhance their fine motor neurons while enjoying the craft.
(They can wear it too or gift them to their loved ones on thanksgiving etc)
Home gardening for seniors
Now, who doesn’t love to garden! Weeding and planting new trees with the feeling of fulfillment can help elders relax. Touching the moist soil with bare hands or walking the grassy lawn can be therapeutic in itself.
BrioCare can help you with some ingenious gardening tips with Alexa.
Just ask — “Alexa! How to care for succulents?” It’s that simple.
Pets for elders
Yes from snuggles to rubbing bellies every pet lover knows how it feels. Pets can give seniors constant companionship and someone to make them laugh, snuggle and cuddle around with engaging energy.
Journaling for elders
It’s sometimes good to introduce an idea of penning a life story or maintaining a daily journal. Seniors can often look back in fondness to some distant memory that they might be wanting to pen down.
Encouragement and support for daily journaling can help your seniors a long way especially building their cognitive abilities and also helping them cope with psychological and memory disabilities. Every senior psychologist strongly advocates maintaining a senior journal. So that’s something to try if you haven’t yet.
Music for elders
Everyone has a favorite oldie track!
Listening to music from their era of bands, singles, and iconic songs can take them back in time. Musical time travel is not only engaging but a reward in itself. Avid music listeners you may find cherish their first copy EPs till date. So some favorite music along with some alternative therapeutic audio meditations can make your elders recharged for the day.
BrioCare can play your favorite track. This Alexa for seniors based caregiving & aging in place app just needs you to talk and say your favorite song, that’s it and you can enjoy countless songs from the 60s, 70s, and 80s...
