Did you know that March is national craft month? In honor of this coming month, we’ve put together a few easy craft ideas that you can do with an elderly loved one. Crafts are a great way to keep the mind and the body active, and even if your mom or dad is not a huge fan of crafts, we hope that they can find something that they will enjoy in the following list. Also know that these ideas can easily be adapted to fit the needs of most people in various type of senior care.
Birdhouses: Now that it’s almost time for the spring birds to start flying back north, a lot of people are starting to think about putting their bird feeders and birdhouses back up. Making and decorating birdhouses is a great way to get prepared for this. You can make this as complex or as simple as you want, depending on your mom or dad’s needs. For simplicity, you can find pre-made birdhouses in most craft stores, and then have your loved one add their own personal touch to them, either by painting, or whatever else they desire. On the more complex side of things, a hot glue gun or even a hammer and nails can be used to put pieces together to form a birdhouse. Afterward, these can be decorated. If you’re looking for a group activity with seniors, you can create a sort of assembly line, having individuals work on the parts that interest them, or each person can make their own house. There are a lot of different ways that this can be done, and the end result is beautiful and useful.
Collages: A collage can serve many different purposes. You can be as creative as you want with these, including magazine pictures, photographs, construction paper, and just about anything else that can safely be glued to a posterboard. Many older people like to use these to showcase family photos. Others like to put together pictures of places they’d like to visit, topics they’re interested in, or other items that are relevant to their lives. Again, this can be as complex or as simple as it needs to be. It promotes creativity, cognitive skills, and motor skills. For those dealing with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, this can be a valuable activity.
Paper Flowers: The real flowers are still a few weeks away, but we can get ourselves and our loved one ready by making some of our own. These are a really easy to make and they are something you can do with your mom or dad alone if they’re receiving in-home care, or in a larger group, like you might find at an adult day care. This can be a good way to prep for the real thing for those that enjoy working in the garden.
For other ideas, we suggest checking out Pinterest. There are a lot of great senior-friendly activities there, and you can even find step by step guides to walk you through more complex projects.
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