It's all about musical entertainment for senior citizens wherever they are. Senior citizen entertainment is a specialty. Here are tips, information, and useful links.

Games for senior citizens

In senior facilities the activities listed below offer great interaction and stimulus for the brain and can be good for the physical exercise that they need.

The latest craze has been the Nintendo Wii.
Seniors are having a ball with it and it's great for both the brain and the physical exercise. Click Here for tons of downloads available for some diversity and to get your residents interested based on their preferences.

Bingo! was or maybe still is the number one game. This is a mentally challenging game.
In nursing homes and assisted living centers as well as adult day centers this game is king. Try to interrupt a game and see what happens. .
Usually facilities will schedule Bingo for a specific day every week and the date and time are set in stone.

As far as entertainment games are concerned after Bingo, everything else comes next.

Beachball toss is good. This keeps people sharp as far as reacting to catch the ball or deflect it. It would be difficult to get hurt form a misdirected beach ball.

Card games are another favorite for smaller groups.
Sometimes they can have several going at once.

Pam B at the Highlander in Fall River plays a form of card Keno with the residents.
She uses 5 large sized cards and they have to match the cards called. First one to match 5 wins.

Computers. More seniors are online for e-mail etc...

Trivia. There are lots of trivia books out there and in different categories.
Trivia is great as a fill in activity when you are trying to fill a few minutes or even more.

Simon Says. This is another game that helps keep the brain working well.

Exercise games like YMCA (the song) or variations on Tai Chi are great for seniors as they can be done even in a wheelchair. In Shanghai, elderly Chinese people often gather in local parks in the early morning and someone leads a Tai Chi class in the park. It's it great for all ages.

Wheel chair bowling is fun.

There are light weight plastic bowling pins and bowling balls available that are just right for this activity.

Puzzles. A table with a picture jigsaw puzzle that is left for several residents to work on at their leisure is a great idea. I saw one that took a month to finish but several people had a hand in doing it.

String beads residents can create necklaces or bracelets. A woman that I met in an Alzheimer's unit had been a jewelry designer all her life and she was barely functional but could still make strings of beads with consistent patterns.

Velcro Balls / dartboard

This is a great game for brain and dexterity. The balls are covered in velcro. They are soft and the target is a velcro bulls eye.

Chair exercise

There are lots of arm leg and upper torso exercises to do while sitting in a chair or wheelchair.

This really helps with circulation and for coordination as well as mental acuity.