Best Activities for a Visit to an Assisted Living Facility

February 7, 2020 0 Comment Category: Assisted Living

The move to an assisted living community can be tough for seniors. Often, the impact of leaving their home and moving to a new environment can affect their overall mental and physical well-being. That is why it is important to make the transition period as smooth as possible. One of the crucial things to do in order to make the move easier is to visit the assisted living facility regularly.

You will need to create a new routine around your work hours and other commitments to spend some time with your elderly loved one in the senior living community. Apart from that, you should also try to make each visit special for your senior family member as they adjust to the new environment. Below are some simple activities that can help to make your time with your senior loved one at the assisted living facility more special. 

Do Crafts Together

Doing crafts is a simple but fun and engaging activity that can help you spend some quality time together with your elderly loved one. You can find many ideas for senior-friendly crafts online, which allow you to create something beautiful together. This can especially be a great activity during the holidays or celebrating a particular day, like an anniversary or birthday.

Play a Board Game

Board games can keep seniors mentally active while keeping it fun. You can even ask the neighbors or new friends of your elderly family member in the assisted living facility to join in and have a good time together. Some assisted living communities provide various types of board games for their residents, so you may not even have to bring one!

Form a Mini Book Club

If your senior loved one is an avid reader, then forming a book club for them at the senior living care facility will lift their spirits to new heights. This also helps your senior loved one find like-minded residents in the assisted living community to build strong relationships with. You can make the book club more entertaining by varying the type of book chosen.

Go for a Picnic

If the health of your senior family member allows it, take them out to a nearby park and have a picnic together. You can even pack a picnic basket and have a small get-together at the assisted living community grounds if they allow it. No matter where you plan it, carry some blankets and a lawn chair to make sure that your elderly loved one is comfortable.

Plan a Movie Night

If your family member loved watching movies, then plan a movie night with them at the assisted living community. You can pick one of your senior family member’s favorite movies and have some laughs and tears watching it together. This can be a great way to make your elderly loved one feel at home.

Help Them Communicate with Loved Ones Who Live Far Away

If your elderly loved one has friends, siblings, or close relatives living in a distant place, then you can help them communicate with them over video chat. There are a lot of apps for video chat these days, so that makes it very easy to help your loved one connect with their near and dear ones. Teach your senior family member how to use the gadget and app as well, so that they can feel independent.

Listen to Songs

Create a playlist with all the favorite tracks of your senior family member and listen to the songs together when you visit them. You can also make the playlist together with your senior family member, and load the songs in a music player or smartphone for them to enjoy later.

Create a Scrapbook

Creating scrapbooks may be a thing of the past, but it can help revive the old memories of seniors and let them enjoy reminiscing. Having a physical book to flip through will take them through those good times again. This can have a great effect on their mental health.