Fun Fall Activities for Your Nursing Facility

 

The fall season is a beautiful time of year, and it’s also a great time to visit your local nursing facility. The crisp air, vibrant colors, and cooler temperatures are sure to make you feel rested and refreshed. However, it can also be an extremely challenging time for those who live at the nursing facility as well. With lower outside temperatures and less daylight hours, many residents will soon start feeling depressed and anxious. To help combat this challenge during the fall season, here, Mark Berger Chicago, the Chief Executive Officer at Villa Healthcare, shares some fall activities in your nursing home that you can enjoy with your residents:

 

Trip to Farmer’s Market

One of the best fall activities in your nursing home is to take your residents on a trip to a nearby farmers market. Combine this trip with some autumnal produce and some baked goods, and your residents will feel so much happier and healthier. Baked goods such as pumpkin pie, apple turnovers, and cinnamon rolls are especially easy to make, inexpensive to purchase, and delicious. Fresh produce such as apples, oranges, kale, and carrots are also easy to store and are high in vitamins and minerals. This trip to the market will not only be beneficial to your residents’ health but will also help you save money.

 

Crunchy Leaf Walk

Another great fall activity in your nursing home is to take your residents on a leaf walk. Walking around the grounds and observing the falling leaves will allow your residents to feel a sense of freedom and produce a feeling of tranquility. You can also offer your residents some fall activities in your nursing home by creating leaf craft activities such as leaf art crafts. Another great autumn activity that healthcare executive Mark Berger Chicago recommends for your nursing home is to host a fall festival. This can be a fun and exciting way to get your residents excited about fall and remind them that there is still a lot of fun to be had in a nursing facility.

 

Autumn Activities in the Garden

Growing your own vegetables, harvesting them, and preserving them can be a great activity for your residents in a nursing home during the fall season. Many nursing facilities have a garden where you can plant herbs, flowers, and vegetables that you can harvest and preserve. Hosting a fall harvest festival in your garden can be a fantastic autumn activity in your nursing home. This festival can include games, music, arts and crafts, and recipes that can help your residents express their feelings and encourage communication between each other.

Hanging Lanterns

Hanging lanterns in your nursing home during the fall season provides a beautiful and relaxing space for your residents. This also makes a fantastic autumn activity in your nursing home! You can hang lanterns throughout your nursing home or in a garden area.

 

Fall Centerpieces

Making and putting up fun decorations is a nice way to mark the change of seasons and get in the mood for fall holidays. Recruit residents to help you decorate the dining room tables with fall centerpieces and hanging decorations. Simply make or buy pumpkins and arrange them on the tables for fall decorating purposes.

Another great autumn activity for your nursing home is to hold a fall craft event. You can choose to host a seasonal craft event such as cookie decorating, fall crafts, or pumpkin carving. Mark Berger Chicago also suggests taking your residents on a day trip to a nearby city. Many cities such as Boston, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. have many fall activities, and visiting these cities can provide a great experience for your residents.