Having stones that your loved one can handle can be calming, and can give them something to do.
Bring a bag of stones of assorted shapes or colors. Encourage your loved one to sort by size, color, or make patterns and designs with the stones. Making simple pictures like a smiley face is another option. Encourage creativity.
Having a person with dementia work with buttoning and unbuttoning, zipping and unzipping, serves a number of meaningful goals. This activity aids maintaining fine motor skills, and it provides a sense of accomplishment. If a person can successfully button and unbutton, he or she can potentially put on their shirt independently.
Backpack with lots of zippers. and latches would be ideal.
A shirt for buttons.
Practice zipping and buttoning with your loved one.
A hand massage using a little lotion with a favorite or relaxing scent is a simple way to connect and reduce tension.
Hand lotion. (An example of a complete Hand and Foot Lotion kit.)
Gently rub your loved one's hands. Be sure to be very soft in your pressure. Hand lotion can help.
Poems are a great way to engage your loved one and may help them remember stories and tales from when they were younger.
A poem or a book of poems.
Examples include:
With prompting, your loved one might remember a poem from long ago, or may simply enjoy hearing you recite to them.
If you are feeling particularly creative, can also recite a poem pretending you are a diffent person or using a different accent. Some people may know some poems or rhymes off the top of their heads. Others may need some resources. Ask your local librarian for assistance if you are having trouble finding a poem to share. Some suggestions include a Dr. Seuss book that they read to a child, "The Night Before Christmas," or a traditional poem that rhymes. A good example is this poem by Eugene Field:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe —
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!
Said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea —
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish —
Never afraid are we
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam —
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home;
'Twas all so pretty a sail
it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea —
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,\nAnd you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Magazines and books are a great outside source of entertainment.
A book, magazine, or audiobook.
Either read a book or magazine aloud to your loved one, or let them flip through one on their own. If your loved one doesn't mind headphones, an audiobook, either on a smartphone or tablet, might be perfect. You can get audiobooks free from your local library or from Audible by Amazon when you purchase an Audible Membership.
Sorting is a simple activity that can be done with a variety of materials. The person you care for can do this activity independently if they are not at risk of choking, and it can be done over and over again.
Sorting objects can include:
Ask your loved one to sort buttons, coins, silverware etc. You can ask them to sort by color, size, shape.
Clay can keep people busy and give their hands something to do.
Clay or Dough
You can suggest simple objects such as a bowl or a face for your loved one to make, or encourage him or her to be creative. You can also select something in the room to copy as a model.
Small crossword puzzle books can keep everyone entertained. Large print ones might be easier.
Large Print Crossword Puzzles
A great activity to do together is to start a fish tank. It has been suggested that just watching fish in their habitat, their movements and their interactions with other fish can be a stress relieving and entertaining.
Allow the care recipient to make the decorative decisions with regards to what color rocks you will choose, what figurines you may put in the tank and what type of fish you would like to have. Selection of a fish bowl can be modified to a fish bowl to fit your budget. There are also mechanical fish for sale that are battery operated to swim about the tank (however, read reviews before you buy).
Can You Fix It? is an activity in which you ask your care recipient for some help repairing or restoring an item. The item could need to be reassembled or simply need batteries, but the focus is on asking the care recipient for help. You set a person up for success with this activity by knowing about their current abilities with regards to vision, dexterity and the ability to manipulate or manage tools.
Something that needs to be "fixed."
Ask your loved one if they can fix an item for you. Some individuals may need step by step directions or pictures to demonstrate the process. Be sure to make any necessary accommodations to the project so that they can participate on a level that matches their capacity.