iSavta | 28.09.2020

Caregivers and seniors are all looking for the best activities to work on together at home during this pandemic. Being literally confined or “trapped” inside the home since this pandemic happened, you as a caregiver are constantly looking for ways of entertaining your patients while staying at home. 

These are the top 3 activities that you can do with your seniors at home:

1. Paint and create. A series of arts and crafts activities will interest your patient. You can paint something with watercolor or cut up pictures from old magazines and do a collage. Depending on your available materials at home, you can also explore other ingredients in the kitchen so that you can make like seed mosaic or use spices as paints. 
2. Whip up something delicious. Preparing a meal can be a lot of fun for you and your patient. It is in the preparation that you can be creative with the different dishes. Allot time to decorate a dessert and plate your main course. Enjoy it with a happy drink, you both deserve it. 
3. Listen to their kind of music. Engaging your seniors for a healthy discussion of their favorite music triggers their minds to think of happy memories and unforgettable moments in their life. How about introducing to them Spotify? They might not have the energy to bring out their old records but they can search and play their favorite classical music or hear Frank Sinatra’s old standards again. 

These activities are really easy to do at home. You don’t have to buy materials or ingredients. Just design the specific activity with what you already have available in the house.  

More simple activities to do with them
Read below as we identify other things that you can involve your senior around the house. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or complicated. It can anything that is already in front of you.

By involving them, you make them feel acknowledged, included, and important to the house. It gives them the confidence that they are still valued for their suggestions and advice in even the slightest decisions around the house. 

 

Play house again. 
As children, we used to play this game but as we grow old you can also introduce this again to your seniors. As in-home caregivers, you usually help around the house of your patient. Turn this activity of rearranging your living area to something that you can work on together. Ask them how they would like the sitting area to look like. Encourage them to walk around with you as you look at the best positions for the furniture and the fixture. 

 

Rearrange photos. 
The seniors that we care for might still have their old photo albums. Once in a while, it is also good for them to open these photos that they have kept. You can both go through them and rearrange photos or simply clean them and check on them if they are still in good condition. They will really appreciate it for you to listen to them while they go through these great snapshots of their lives. 

 

Why do we even have to bother?
And why do we have to do all of these? All of these activities have one thing in common and it is ART. And as doctors, experts, and therapists around the world have already done, they have used art as therapy for children, teens, couples, and the elderly. Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses different art media as a means of expression and communication.

 

According to PsychologyToday.com (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/art-therapy), “The artwork can be used as a springboard for reawakening memories and telling stories that may reveal messages and beliefs from the unconscious mind.”

These activities are rewarding for your senior as you explore other interests that they might have. Along the way, they can share with you other things about themselves and in those shared experiences you will know what other things you can do together.