This is a simple game which works best with small groups. It’s best to have one or two people on each team and a further person to act as adjudicator!
Credit:
Dr Richard Talbot and Dr Clare Dormann / University of Salford. Developed in partnership with Aspire Adult Social Care and Humphrey Booth Resource Centre/Poppy Day Care Centre, Swinton.
These simple dance activities work well together but are equally effective if they are tried on their own. They are a great way to get a group stretching and moving and a lovely way to support a group to have some fun together. They work well seated, but some groups may like to try some of them standing up.
Credit:
Akademi.
This gentle dance offers simple movements set to lyrics to wake up the body, mobilise the joints and stimulate the senses.
Credit:
Yorkshire Dance / Rachel Clarke & Izzy Brittain. Developed in partnership with OPAL, Welcome In Community Centre, Leeds.
Acrostics are a simple form of poem where the first letter of each word spells out a word or phrase related to the poem. Here the word is COMMUNITY, but once you are familiar with the technique it is a great foundation for writing poems on any theme.
Credit:
Small Things Creative Projects. Developed in partnership with The Jinnah Centre as part of Bury Culture Champions.
A sensory activity exploring colour and emotion. It is dementia friendly and can help support speech and communication. It can create a space to discuss feelings and emotions, and to stimulate mindfulness.
Credit:
Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums. Developed in partnership with Age UK North Tyneside – Time Travellers Dementia Group.
This activity uses familiar rhymes and rhyming patterns such as well-loved nursery rhymes and limericks as a starting point to create your own. It is good fun and works well in community spaces like libraries, care home lounges and day centres.
Credit:
Writing East Midlands / Michelle ‘Mother’ Hubbard. Developed in partnership Gregory House at Grantham – Orders of St John Care Trust.
This simple activity is a great way to connect people and bring back memories. It works well taking place around a big table in a communal space, but equally people could make elements in their own space to be added to the finished artwork. For example, in a bedroom in a care home.
Credit:
The Berkshire Nursing and Care Home, Four Seasons Health Care Group.
Familiar, well-known tunes can be used to facilitate singing together, even when you don’t know all the words. By changing or completely removing the ‘original’ words to the song, you can make it fit any circumstance!
Credit:
Manchester Camerata / Music in Mind.
A simple activity that works really well in pairs. Depending on the level of need and/or confidence, the activity could be undertaken by the participant and a family member or friend with minimal support.
Credit:
Hoot Creative Arts / Andrea Freeman. Developed in partnership with Age UK Calderdale & Kirklees companionship groups.
A fun and lively dance activity encouraging movement, dancing and physical exercise. There is no wrong or right way to participate – just move to the music, feel energised and remember the sights and sounds of the seaside.
Credit:
Yorkshire Dance / Ellen Turner, Rachel Clarke & Musician, Will Fletcher. Developed in partnership with The Grove and Red Court Care Home.
An absorbing and gentle visual arts session using collage techniques to capture people’s experiences and thoughts of holidays. It provides an opportunity for people to be creative, explore their imaginations, and create a postcard to share.
Credit:
Equal Arts / Rosi Thornton. Developed in partnership with Ambleside Residential Home.
This versatile communal activity combines visual art with movement, through live or recorded music. You can adapt this activity in different ways depending on your context and resources.
Credit:
Entelechy Arts / Florence Peake, Shane Waltener, Sarah Jarman, Malcolm Buchannan-Dick, Rainer Knupp, Cai Tomos. Developed in partnership with Tower Bridge Care Home, and as part of Lewisham Creative Ageing Festival.
