Activities Coordinator in need of inspiration!

[Nicoleelou]

Hello all! Apologies if I'm not posting in the right place.
I'm entering my 3rd year as activities coordinator and I've lost it!
I've run out of new ideas, constantly just feel like I'm repeating myself, fighting the care staff who seem to just ignore the activities I do plan for my days off, struggling to get the residents involved and trying to organise activities that our young volunteers can do 3 times a week.
We do regular crafts, baking, quizzes, games, spa days, sing along, tea parties, visiting musicians and exercise classes. There are always seasonal activities planned around holidays, special days etc.
Am I missing something really obvious that we could do? Particularly for the volunteers, I bet they get so bored of bingo and dominoes!
We have around 30 residents with various needs, some with dementia etc, some with nothing. Some physically able some not at all.
Also any other people planning activities for nutrition and hydration week got any ideas for Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, help me!

 

[Sam Luvit]

A while back I was thinking of trying to set something up, as there was nothing suitable here for my mum. Unfortunately things suddenly moved on very rapidly & it fell by the wayside

I’ve listed below the various things suggested by other people on here, as well, as some I thought of. This was aimed at early stages, as alternatives to Bingo & Dominoes, both of which my mum hated


Suggestions for activities:
Arm chair dancing
Yoga
Keep fit (gentle, stretching)
Word Search (possibly laminate for re use)
Sudoku (possible laminate for re use)
Adult colouring
Hand massage
Manicure
Singing, need more info on need for licence regarding royalties
Later on maybe gardening or maybe getting garden centre people to come in & talk about window boxes & indoor plants
Indoor bowl
Velcro darts (not mum though as she might throw them at me)
Bell ringing

 

[marionq]

Soft balls £3 each in IKEA can be thrown from a seated position in a chair. Shout the persons name then throw or just wave to them and throw. You can have several going at a time and a lot of laughs.

Film star quizzes using large black & white stills of stars from the forties and
fifties. Hold up the photo see who can shout out the name and maybe follow it up with a film they were in. You can do the same with famous footballers. Who were they and what team did they play in - for a bonus what position did they play?

Another one was an enlarged crossword on a board in front of the group. Read out the clue and see who can give the right answer. My husband was very good at this up until a couple of years ago. You get some laughs too.

For nutrition and hydration. A Glasgow favourite they could make is an ice cream float. Glass of lemonade of some kind, spoonful of ice cream on top, stir, stick a straw or just a spoon in and sup or drink. Add sprinkles if you want but we don't.

 

[Beate]

Pets! Cats, dogs, rabbits, Guinea pigs, small chickens.... There are charities you can contact, or your nearest city farm.

 

[nitram]

Musical bingo.
You can buy kits, could the young volunteers make playlists (remember 'oldie' tunes) and sheets with the songs on? This could give them a sense of achievement.

 

[GabbyH]

Hello all! Apologies if I'm not posting in the right place.
I'm entering my 3rd year as activities coordinator and I've lost it!
I've run out of new ideas, constantly just feel like I'm repeating myself, fighting the care staff who seem to just ignore the activities I do plan for my days off, struggling to get the residents involved and trying to organise activities that our young volunteers can do 3 times a week.
We do regular crafts, baking, quizzes, games, spa days, sing along, tea parties, visiting musicians and exercise classes. There are always seasonal activities planned around holidays, special days etc.
Am I missing something really obvious that we could do? Particularly for the volunteers, I bet they get so bored of bingo and dominoes!
We have around 30 residents with various needs, some with dementia etc, some with nothing. Some physically able some not at all.
Also any other people planning activities for nutrition and hydration week got any ideas for Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, help me!

Hi try https://mariasplace.com/ You can sign up to their newsletter and they will send you an idea every week. They also have loads of stuff on their web site. Get the vols you are working with to come up with ideas too.