Does anyone have ideas for games you can play with senior citizens?

Do you mean besides Bingo?

Pick a subject, like school. Have them go around a circle and say something about school when they were little or even the higher grades.

Another subject could be clothes. What was your favorite dress or shirt/suit, etc. Did someone make it for you or how much did it cost you.

Go thru some of the questions on here an use some of them.

I use to work in a nursing home and know it can be difficult. Their favorite was this great, younger than them, gal who came in every week and played piano. Honky Tonk style. They all turned out for that one.

Senior Citizen Games

Games For Senior Citizens

Great question...BINGO is their favorite. Also, talking about the past, reminiscing - word association trivia...

Example: The early bird catches the ........Let them answer. Don't make it a contest. They get testy then..lol!

There are many Activity Coordinator sites on line. Many ideas. However, in all reality, they really appreciate getting out of their rooms and visiting. Talk about the "Good Old Days"- there is an awesome magazine by this name that I've used for many, many years.

Talk about the Presidents- what their opinion of former Wars and major events were- If they were in the Service- had family members in the Service (Most do). Their input on Pearl Harbor, where they were when they found out about JFK's Assassination.

They enjoy exercise on a regular basis, with a leader. This is a group circle type set up.

Have people from the Community come to entertain, have Church Services, Sing, the Youth of the Community really make them light up.

When I was an Activities Coordinator (13 years)- I had over 150 Volunteers. Get regular volunteers to come- Some folks do NOT like to attend events- Volunteers are great for one-on-one time.

Go with the Seasons- Upcoming Holidays- Outings on a lift van. Many things.....Use your imagination- and talk with other Professionals. Networking is a good way. Community Resources are the best.

I could go on and on...but, won't. There is a lot to do for the Eldery.

GOOD LUCK! You will be successful!

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RE:

Does anyone have ideas for games you can play with senior citizens?

I work in an assisted living facility where many of the residents have lost their memory and have difficulty getting around. This isn't the case with all of them, however, so I'm looking for activities that they can all do. I usually play trivia, read the paper, things like that, but I do...

There is a dice game called "Bunko" that my grandmother and her lady friends used to play years ago. I do not know the particulars, but Mom tells me it was popular because it did not take a lot of concentration, so the ladies could carry on conversations while they played.

I would bet some of the older people in your facility would know how it is played.

Also, my sister works at an assisted living facility, as you do. She found some "sing-a-long" tapes with music from the 1930's, 40's and 50's. They are a huge favorite with her people.

There is a game much like Bingo that has pictures of animals and birds, and objects. It is usually found in stores with things from Mexico. It is easier for them to associate with pictures instead of numbers. Also the older men often like to get a game of dominos going. You could encourage that. The Senior Citizen Center I use to oversee also had a quilting project the ladies would take part in, or they cut out decorations for Christmas from felt and decorated them with glitter glue. They also had small boxes they covered with felt and decorated or used macaroni guled on them and then spray painted. They would give them to someone, maybe a grand child or friend and they enjoyed the projects. Good Luck.

This will probably sound outrageous but you can use a little bit of money and buy a nintendo wii for them. The game that is comes with - wii sports will help them practice their muscles and the game is really easy to learn. They can play this themselves and wil have a lot of great fun too in their last couple of years.

Once the people have gotten over wii sports, u can buy them other brain or excercise games like wii fit. Dont get them a complicated game like mario kart or anything like that because it may get really complicated for them.

I also work in a facility activities Department.We take a big easel white marker board and we get a group together and one of our folks will pick a letter.....say H and the group will give you as many words as they can think of that start with the letter H.We have words flying at us left and right and even the quietest senior has words to shout out.Its a blast.Keep a dictionary near in case.We have had great results with this game.Good luck

They may enjoy Bingo. Some like making baskets. Crafts that are easy to learn is good too. Also making cards for special occasions are interesting. They can make a reindeer out of a clothes pin. Just buy little red fuzzy balls and the eyes, use pipe cleaners for antlers, the fuzzy balls are for the nose unless you like the black ones better. You can tie a silver string around its neck and hang it on the Christmas tree. Poppy