[Kyprogrammers] nursing home programs

Thu Mar 13 12:21:23 EDT 2008

Dear Lona,

I know the frustrations you feel about working with Seniors.  Working with
children you see the dexterity skills increase, cognitive understanding
rise, etc.  With 'Big Kids' you are lucky if many remember who you are each
time you return to do a program.  You know they have so many physical
challenges, etc.  It can be SO frustrating!!!

I give you many kudos and 'atta boys' for doing programs
for Seniors.  Unless you do these kind of programs, no one understands the
challenges... (the vagueness from favorite patrons, the apathy of
overworked/underpaid staff, the 'brisk' scent at times, and sadly the loss
of elegant wit and wisdom in your patrons passing......)

Thinking 'outside the box' on programs for this particular crowd is most
important!  I've discovered the apathy and vagueness is many time drug/nap
time/too early/too late related. So perhaps choosing a better time for your
programs may help.  I find the hour before lunch in the morning, or snack
time in the afternoon will allow more patrons to participate more fully.
Knowing when 'everyone' gets meds. can save you time and frustration.
Timing is essential...

 Working with the Staff is extremely important, they know your patrons
better than you.  Ask them when might be a 'better' time to have a program.
Ask the staff what some of the 'likes and dislikes' are of their
people. Take 'them' special stuff (eg. coloring pages for their kids,
bookmarks, a few leftover romances from your book sale, etc..a bag of
Hershey kisses - everyone needs chocolate) Let the Staff know you care about
them as well......

Some questions you might want to ask the Staff and/or your Seniors.. to give
you ideas..
1.  Does anyone 'Quilt' ?
2.  Does anyone 'Fish'?
3.  Does anyone 'Farm'?
4.  Does anyone sew/knit/crochet/embroider?
5.  Remember the Derby? (Derby hats, wheel chair/walker races, 'Silks')
6.  Favorite actors/actresses/singers from long ago??
7.  Favorite Dances/dancers (Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly,
etc...)
8.  Anyone ever in the Military?
9.  Favorite Holiday?
10.Favorite movie(s), Books, Comedians

Don't be afraid to ask your Seniors to help you.....The most interest i've
ever had from my Senior programs (and i average 2-4 a week, in addition to
other adult programs, and children's programs as well) is when i ask for
Their 'Help'.  Seniors many times are apathetic due to not having 'anything
to do'... (they're as bad as teenagers! :-)  Everyone needs to feel
needed... so if i have a children's program coming up, i ask my guys if they
would listen to me practice reading a children's book (they didn't have the
bright colors, big books, or toys like we do now... they're fascinated... )
Select good books with basic themes... ''Giraffes Can't Dance', The
Hippo-NOT-amus, etc., If you Give A Mouse a Cookie,etc... One of my first
'fun' programs is when i grabbed the wrong bag and found out when i got to
my nursing home that i had projects, books and crafts for 7-10 yr olds... My
seniors loved the 'thumbkin' bookmarks, coloring pages, and bead
bracelets... :-)

I try to stay away from, ''Remember WWII ??'' type of programs..... The
challenge is to keep programs 'light and fun'... depression among the
elderly is an ongoing problem. While I certainly do Patriotic programs
and recognize the  sacrifices of our soldiers and their family's (remember
'Meatless, Wheatless, Sugarless days....Gas rationing, etc...) I
will not dwell on the sadness.

'Coffee table books' are wonderful to take and leave for a couple of weeks,
or take, talk and show pictures/photos inside...  Let them talk, share,
reminisce.  The FoxFire books are good to help generate discussion.

I've been a musician forever so many of my programs are music based, but you
don't have to be a musician yourself, ask for help/volunteers from your
in-house library patrons, ask in the library column you may put in the local
paper, local churches... etc..for 'guest presenters' for your Seniors.
(makes everyone feel special)  I am partnering with a local rest home and we
are creating a 'Drumming' program for their facility.

We collect new or gently used stuffed animals, from our in-house patrons, to
be given as gifts every Christmas (and since i have a lot of 'bunnys' this
year, they will be given for Easter as well..)  We also have 'beach
party's', 'farm day', famous person programs, 'Our Gang' movie day, etc...

I involve, to the best of my ability, our Summer Reading program with my Big
Kids.  This year is about 'bugs'....things to try.. love bug pins, decorated
flyswatters, deely bobbers, lady bug paperweights, butterflies to create and
attach to their walkers...(my guys just decorate the heck out of their
walkers.. :-)

I apologise for the length of this reply, but i think it is really
important, with the ageing baby boomers, that we as Outreach Librarians come
up with better programs and adjust our thinking in how best the library can
serve our aging patrons.

Think outside the box, don't be afraid to try 'simple' silly things..., keep
a sense of humor, and help them find theirs when they've 'misplaced' it and
are having a bad day.

I hope these few ideas will help to trigger even more for you.....

Let me know how things go....

Anne

On 3/13/08, hawesville3 at bellsouth.net <hawesville3 at bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
>       I would like to know what kinds of things you all do when you visit
> the nursing homes.  Do you use the material in the bi-folkal kits that are
> available?  Do you have different groups come in and talk/present something
> to them? Our budget does not allow for that to much at all.
>
> I have only been doing this a couple of months and I am having a hard time
> coming up with things to do.  I go out to a nursing home twice a month, all
> of the residents that come are in wheel chairs and a couple have limited
> hand dexterity.  What I have been doing is using some of the events within
> the month to create activities.  I have only looked at a couple of bi-folkal
> kits and I think they were the mini-kits, and I found that some of the
> worksheets in them would be a little hard for the ones that attend with me
> to do.  I have scheduled some full ones for the months to come.
>
> One of the things that I came up with was a music bingo, I down-loaded
> some older/classic songs to a CD. (You are my Sunshine, On Top of Old Smoky
> etc.)
> then I went to www.dltk-kids.com bingo card maker , then what I did was
> play a little bit of the song and if they had it they got to mark it.  They
> seemed to like it a lot, but I don't want to do that every time I go.  We
> have done a couple of crafts but it is difficult to come up with very, very
> simple ones that don't look to childish.
>
> I am only out there for an hour.  I try to find some story to read to
> them, I have used the Chicken Soup for Soul books.
>
> So if anyone else could let me know how there program runs or have any
> suggestions on short story reading material or any good web-sites for
> activities to do with the elderly I would very much appericiate it.  I am
> getting very discouraged.
>
> Thanks for any help you give.
>
> Lona Kratzer
> HCPL Branch Manager
> hcplbranch at hcplky.org
> hcplky.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Kyprogrammers mailing list
> Kyprogrammers at kentonlibrary.org
> http://www.kentonlibrary.org/mailman/listinfo/kyprogrammers
>
>

-- 
Anne Foster
Outreach & Bookmobile Services
Marion Co. Public Library
201 E. Main St.
Lebanon, Ky. 40033
270-692-4698
"We go way beyond books!"
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