Activity for elderly to engage the mind

Thanks for the ideas , I will have to try some of the games, he doesn’t really get out much or do much reading

@debbraw, I'd like to invite you to join this discussion. You posted some great ideas in another discussion about activities to help loved ones stay active and involved. Would you mind reposting it here?

@colleenyoung I have the post from @debbraw which I was going to make less specific to Florida and then post it to this site. I thought I could start a new discussion with it. OK?

You bet.

@colleenyoung - I'm happy to share the list I posted here. As Becky points out, it's focused on our little town in FL and I can't wait to see how she refines it to make it less geographically specific. Meantime, here is a first cut - a compilation of ideas from my Caregiver's Support Group. Hope it can help others...

@debbraw Even though the list is locality-specific, it is a great jump-off point for anyone! It really helps us to think outside of what we might consider. We may even add to it, here. Thanks for sharing!
Ginger

@gingerw - I hope others do add to it here. I'm going to keep an eye because some days I need all the help I can get! I added a few more things on another thread, but I'll include them here too: If my husband has meaningful chores, it's a huge boost. For him, raking leaves, blowing leaves off the driveway, watering plants, and weeding the garden are great activities – and they really help out. He also takes out the trash – including regular trash on Tuesday, yard waste on Wednesday and recycling on Friday. All the cans are labeled with the contents and the day of the week so its not confusing. He also carries in the groceries when I shop and helps me put them away (it refreshes his memory about where things go and helps me see where they are actually being stored!) A few other fun things we do: taking a walk together, working on a simple jigsaw puzzle, and going through old photographs to "organize" and reminisce.

@bilton For games I do search a words in book form also there is a numbers also Most stores have these types of little paperback books to work with and they are easy on the hands to hold Exercise of some kind using bands or weights but light ones.

In rehab after his stroke, they gave my father-in-law an adult coloring book and some colored pencils. It is good for both cognitive and motor skills, so that might be an option if he would be interested. It is tough with some people to figure out what would interest them if they didn't really have interests of this kind before.

I came across a web site http://www.portraitpuzzles.com that I used to provide activities for my husband who has bvFDT. I took pictures of things that are important in his life and downloaded them to this web site and they make really great puzzles out of them and they arrived in just a few days and are not costly at all. There a multiple choices. I chose the 30 piece puzzle; the pieces are large; about 4" inches over all. Once he gets done playing with them I intend to glue them to a sturdy background board that I purchased at Wal-Mart and hang them on the wall in his room at the care facility he lives in. They will be his Christmas gifts.