Activities for nursing home residents

A nursing home activity calendar has to work for everyone at once: residents who love a lively trivia round, residents who prefer to watch, and residents who spend most of the day in their rooms. ElderWit gives your team 2,000+ calm games that fit all three, on the TV in the activity room or on a tablet at the bedside.

Every game uses large text and big buttons, and every game has an Easy level, so nobody has to sit out because the questions are too hard.

Group activities in the activity room

Put a trivia game on the big screen and read each question to the room. Decade games like The 1950s and The 1960s get people talking about cars, dances and first jobs, and the stories that come out are often the best part of the hour. Bingo games are easy for everyone to follow, and Two Teams turns any afternoon into a friendly contest.

Keep group sessions to about thirty or forty minutes. Start with something everyone can answer, move to a game with a little more challenge, and end on a favorite so people leave smiling.

One on one visits in the room

For residents who stay in their rooms, a tablet visit works well. Choose a calm game the resident enjoys, such as a jigsaw, a word search or coloring, and play it together for ten or fifteen minutes. Talk games like Picture Talk and My Favorite Things give you something to chat about when conversation is slow.

Tap the resident's name in the activity log after the visit, and the visit is on record with the date and the minutes.

Games that work well in nursing homes

Tap a name to see the game and play it. Every game has three levels: Easy, Medium and Harder.

The 1950s Rock and roll, cars with fins and life in the 1950s.
The 1960s Space, music, TV and fashion of the 1960s.
Number Bingo A number is called. Find it on your card. Fill a line to win.
Have You Ever Bingo Mark the things you have done. Make a line, then tell one story.
Two Teams Split the room into the Gulls and the Puffins. Take turns with lighthouse questions. A miss lets the other team steal.
Show of Hands Ask the room a question. Count the hands. See what the group likes.
Would You Rather Pick one of two nice things. There are no wrong answers.
Picture Talk Find things in a picture. Then talk about the place.
Jigsaw Put a picture back together, one piece at a time.
Word Search Find the hidden words in the letters.
Coloring Tap a color, then tap part of the picture to fill it.
Famous Sayings Finish or explain well known sayings.

Tips from the activity room

Seat people close to the screen and make the text size bigger before the session starts.
Read every question out loud yourself and give the room time to call out an answer before you tap.
Mix kinds of games in one session: one trivia, one talk game, one bingo.
Rotate the same favorites each week. Familiar games make people feel at home.
Ask residents what they want to play next week and write it on the calendar.

The Facilities plan

$179 a month per facility

or $1,790 a year. Starts with a 14 day trial.

One flat price per facility. No per resident fees.
Up to 10 staff sign ins
2,000+ calm games with large text and big buttons
Activity log and monthly program summary. Helps document every activity.
Cancel any time

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Questions people ask

What are good group activities for nursing home residents?

Trivia about the decades residents grew up in, bingo, Would You Rather, Show of Hands and Two Teams all work well on one big screen. Pair one lively game with one calm game in each session.

Can residents who stay in their rooms take part?

Yes. Staff can bring a tablet to the room and play a calm game together, such as a jigsaw, word search or coloring, and log the visit afterward.

How long should a group activity session be?

About thirty to forty minutes works for most groups. Short sessions with a clear start and a happy ending tend to keep people coming back.

How does the activity log help a nursing home team?

Staff tap who joined each activity, and ElderWit keeps the date, the games and the minutes. One tap makes a monthly program summary. It helps document every activity.

Other settings

One flat price per facility. No per resident fees. Start with a 14 day trial.

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