Spring Activity Guide. Meaningful activity, mindfully designed

Transcription

1 Spring Activity Guide Meaningful activity, mindfully designed

2 Spring is a time to celebrate new beginnings. Winter is finally over, flower buds begin to sprout, colour appears in our gardens, and most excitingly, the sun starts to make more of an appearance, prompting time spent outdoors, enjoying fresh air, vibrant nature and fledgling blooms. 02

3 Themed Activities The spring season brings with it a number of significant family-centric holidays, such as Easter and Mother s Day. Take advantage of the celebrations to create activities that focus around these themes, utilising everything that Spring has to offer, e.g. flowers and sunshine. Family Time Holiday celebrations are a wonderful way to spend precious time with carers, friends and family, enjoying activities together. Try to include a few simple, familiar routines within the day to help people feel relaxed as these events can break routine which can cause some people to feel stressed and agitated. Similarly, keeping activities in the morning, when people are well rested, will ensure greater success and enjoyment. Environment People with dementia can often spend long hours inside, especially during the colder months, so embrace the new season and encourage activities that can be enjoyed outside. Not only can the outdoors be a tranquil and peaceful environment, but sunlight is a fantastic source of vitamin D which can help lift the mood and relieve stress. 03

4 Spring Activity Ideas Easter Bonnet Purchase a number of straw bonnets, these can be found rather cheaply online, or you may stumble across some in a local charity shop. Spend time in the garden, touching, smelling and picking a selection of flowers. However, if a garden is not available, then a trip to a local florist is just as good. Once all the flowers have been chosen, encourage people to thread their blooms along the brim of their hat however they wish. For extra decoration, ribbon or tissue paper can also be glued to the hat. Don t rush the flower picking part of the activity, if possible. Touching the soil, smelling the flowers and cutting the stems are a fantastic sensory experience, and may help elicit memories which in turn will encourage conversation. Painted Easter Eggs Fill a saucepan with water and place on the hob. Once the water has been brought to the boil, place as many eggs as you require into the pan. Cook the eggs for about 10 minutes, then place in a bowl of cold water. For the egg paint, fill a cup halfway with hot water, adding 1 teaspoon of vinegar and a teaspoon of your chosen food colouring. Do this with as many colours as you want to use. Remove the boiled eggs from the bowl of cold water and allow to dry. When ready, encourage people to start dipping their eggs in the different colours, watching the patterns develop. When the eggs have been decorated, place them back in their egg carton to dry. They can then be arranged into a bowl to make a table decoration. Depending on people s ability and dexterity, egg painting can be even more elaborate. Use bright acrylic paints, paint brushes, glitter, glue and even scraps of fabric to create even more colourful eggs. 04

5 Spring Activity Ideas Bird Watching Take advantage of the change of weather and organise a bird watching session. Start by helping people make their own bird feeder. This can simply be done by placing a plate with bird food on a table in the garden, or perhaps by creating a cheerio bird feeder. To do this, you need to thread Cheerios through a pipe cleaner. The pipe cleaner is then twisted to form a circle, and using string, hung onto a nearby tree. Keeping warm, sit in the garden and watch as the local birds enjoy the food. Discuss the birds colours and sounds. You may even want to bring a bird book, which can be referred to so more information about the different species can be discovered. Depending on the weather, encourage people to spend as much time outside as possible. Research has shown that spending as little as 15 minutes outside can help reduce stress and increase a person with dementia s self-esteem. Pressed Flowers Collage This activity is a great way to incorporate flowers that may have been given as gifts and are starting to wilt, or people can pick fresh flowers from the garden. Place the chosen flowers into the pages of a heavy book, ensuring that they are sandwiched between a few sheets of paper. Flowers should not overlap. Once the flowers are in place, close the book and stack a few more books on top. To properly press a flower takes time, about a week, but keep them in the book for as long as you want. Once the flowers have been pressed for as long as you desire, carefully open the books and take the flowers out. On pieces of card, assist in gluing their flowers into collages. These sheets can either be placed in photo frames or turned into Birthday or Easter cards, which can be given to loved ones as gifts. Encouraging activities that can be given as presents is a great way to inspire a sense of pride and self-esteem in people as their gift is received. 05

6 Activity Ideas Easter / Spring Biscuits Preheat the oven to 180 C. Sieve 225g of plain flower into a bowl, adding 175g of butter, and rubbing together until the mixture becomes fine and bread-crumby. Beat 1 medium egg yolk and add to the mixture, along with 115g of castor sugar. Knead until it becomes a smooth dough. Roll out the dough on a floured, flat surface, and using a variety of Spring themed biscuit cutters, (for example, flowers, rabbit or an egg) cut into shapes. Decorate the shapes however you wish, perhaps using currants or baking silver balls. Place the biscuits onto a greased baking sheet, and place in the oven for about 25 minutes. Sprinkle with caster sugar and cool on a rack. Once cool, more decorating can take place using baking decorations, such as piping coloured icing on or hundreds and thousands. Easter Egg Hunt Using either chocolate eggs, or decorative eggs, hide them around either the home or garden. Make sure that the area you use is not too large, as people may be unable to move very far, or become exhausted quickly. Similarly, eggs should not be too hard to find or reach, as mobility and tiredness may be an issue. Encourage everyone to get involved in the hunt, including carers, family and loved ones, making it a fun, social event for all. If mobility is an issue, encourage people to sit and watch as the hunt progresses, making sure they are included in all the action and conversation. Ensuring that they feel involved is important, so you may also want to make them the designated egg collector by giving them a basket to hold. As each egg is found, they are placed in the basket. Involvement in any cooking activity will differ depending on each individual and their abilities. They may want to help with the baking and decorating, or be happy to simply watch and listen as the cooking takes place. Regardless of their involvement, ensure that you include them in every aspect of the process, discussing what you are doing, and talking about the ingredients and smells, as this will help spark memories. 06

7 At Home Bundle Active Minds activity packs are popular purchases for care homes looking to provide the best activities for residents living with dementia and other cognitive or visual impairments. The products are designed in partnership with individuals with dementia, professional care settings and Universities and have received exceptional reviews from thousands of care homes in the UK. The Active Minds At Home Bundle contains 4 different activities with varying difficulty levels, and is a great set of resources to spark conversation and bring about some fun. Key Features 1 Home Album 1 At Home Aquapaint 1 At Home Scentscape 1 The Baking Cupboard Benefits: Encourages conversation Improve Wellbeing Suitable for all abilities At Home Bundle Content 07

8 Website: active-minds.org Telephone: +44 (0) Active Minds, 117 Charterhouse Street, London, EC1M 6AA