Scrapbooking has developed from sliding photos into a plastic sleeve to albums that are decorated and captioned. This can be a great senior activity to do when providing at home senior care. You can choose an event or a theme, or perhaps they would like an album that highlights each of the children of their family. This may be fun for them to have to show visitors or even caregivers.
Working on this project can have lots of side benefits for both of you besides the completed album. Going through the photos can stimulate memories for your senior. You may be making an album about a recent outing or it may be an album of family members, including grandchildren or even great-grandchildren.
A fun project is to make an album of your senior’s siblings. A page can be devoted to each one and include pictures of them when they were children and now as seniors themselves. Whatever theme is chosen, it will evoke memories for your senior about events that you may have been unaware of.
If your senior is receiving at home senior care because they have Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia, this can be such a fun senior activity for both of you, by just spending time together with no stress involved. For your senior, completing a project successfully is also valuable. It helps to increase their feeling of self-worth and alleviates depression.
If you want to have your senior participate in all stages of this project, you will need to evaluate their mental and physical capabilities. For instance, if your senior has severe arthritis in their hands, they may not be able to cut out shapes with a pair of scissors. If they are easily stressed or overwhelmed, they may need you to do all the preparations for this project, and your senior will only take part in the final assembly.
If you aren’t sure how much your senior can do, there are experts available to evaluate your senior and determine what the senior’s level of function is. This is a huge help when planning any senior activity.
To start off this project, you need some physical photographs. Today, with everyone using their cell phone to take pictures, you may need to have the photos printed. Decide what pictures you want to use and have them developed into photos for your senior’s album.
While those are being printed, it is time to visit a craft store. If you have never tried scrapbooking before, it is a good idea to go on the computer and look at Pinterest and YouTube, as well as blogs, etc., to see what can be done. Check out the types of styles the album can have.
If your senior is capable, you can do this together and it will give you an idea of how they want the album to look and what their style is. Scrapbooking can range from just adding a few stickers around the photo to multilayered works of art. Once you have some ideas, it’s time to go shopping!
There are huge sections in craft stores dedicated to scrapbooking and the supplies needed for your special memory albums. It might be overwhelming for your senior, or they may feel like a kid in a candy shop. If the latter, the only problem you may have is with your budget! If the former, maybe your senior can come to choose the paper for the pages or stickers for the birthday party page.
If going to the craft store is going to be too much overstimulation for them, go ahead and purchase everything you’ll need for the project yourself. Remember, this is supposed to be a fun project for both of you. You don’t want your senior stressed out before you start.
Buy lots of alternative decorations for your scrapbook. There are pre-made frames for your pictures, stickers of all types, colorful papers, and paper with graphic design or animal print designs. There are pens and markers, as well as pre-printed phrases and words. Get some glitter, confetti or feathers to add some glam to the photo. The possibilities are endless!
You can always return what you don’t use, and your senior may enjoy this activity so much that you will be making more memory albums in the future. Tip: They make terrific gifts for family members that will be cherished forever.
When you are ready to construct the album with your senior, set up on a surface that is roomy enough to spread out all your stuff. Have chairs at working height with good lighting, and you are ready to start scrapbooking. Lay out your page completely before you permanently attach any of the pieces. When you are happy with the layout, take a picture with your cell phone that you can refer to while permanently adhering to the page.
This is a fun project that can be modified to meet the needs of every person receiving at home senior care.