Say goodbye to the long, cold nights of winter because spring is finally here! That means sunshine and an ideal temperature perfect for outdoor bonding with your loved ones.
This is also the perfect time for the residents of senior living facilities to get up, throw their blankets away, and enjoy the outdoor air.
After being cooped up inside for months, you have probably missed doing some outdoor activities or hobbies that you skipped because of the cold season. Well, now, you can get back to it and enjoy other activities under the warm weather.
But always remember to keep safe by practicing social distancing, bringing a bottle of hand sanitizer, and wearing your mask at all times.
Here are seven fun spring activities your senior living community can organize so you and your fellow residents can have some fun outside!
1. Start an Outdoor Exercise Routine
The winter season might not be an ideal set-up for outdoor exercises. But now that the cold air is gone, it’s time to spend some time outside and get the body moving.
Elderlies can do this by spending their mornings getting their blood pumping doing their favorite aerobic workouts. This includes walking, jogging, and cycling around your community’s premises.
Moreover, engaging in outdoor physical activities gives them a chance to bask in the sunshine while improving their physical well-being. Some of the benefits of working out include:
- Strengthening the bones and muscles.
- Protecting heart health.
- Lowering blood pressure.
- Improving strength, flexibility, balance, and endurance.
- Enhancing blood circulation and lung capacity.
Older adults can still reap these benefits by exercising indoors. However, working out in the open allows seniors to breathe the fresh air and get that vital exposure to the sunlight for a good dose of Vitamin D.
So, start organizing a daily or weekly fun exercise event for your senior living residents.
2. Enjoy Nature Through Gardening
For seniors who have a green thumb, you can get them to do their favorite hobbies outside now that it’s the spring season.
Older adults who love to garden had been waiting for spring to come so they could start tending to their raised flower beds and potted herbs. Gardening has been a favorite outdoor activity for seniors due to various reasons, such as:
- It is perfect for seniors with mobility problems.
- It serves as a form of physical activity with all the pulling of weeds and planting seeds.
- The whole activity has a therapeutic effect on the brain, thus reducing stress.
- It gives a rewarding feeling and a sense of accomplishment after seeing your plants thrive.
Furthermore, it offers seniors a chance to mingle with fellow residents while doing something they love. Being outside and surrounded by the greens of nature also significantly impacts their physical and mental well-being.
3. Organize Family Picnics
What’s more fun than eating your favorite snacks and bonding with your favorite people under the warm weather? Another exciting outdoor activity for your senior residents is family picnics in your community’s outdoor space.
Let seniors and caregivers invite a few close relatives for a weekly family picnic afternoon. Lay some blankets in the grass and place wooden chairs and tables around your facility’s lawn. The outdoors provide people with a safe place for small gatherings due to the open air. So there’s no need to worry as long as each family is socially distant from other groups.
For senior living facilities without spacious outdoor spaces, you can rent a park or other outdoor location to set up your community’s family picnics.
4. Play Outdoor Sports
Besides exercising, playing your favorite sport is another great physical activity to do this spring. You can set up mini courts for tennis, ping pong, and badminton. If your community has a much larger space, you can organize a mini-golf area or bike riding path.
At the same time, seniors who like to play mind sports can also have fun outside by setting up a table for chess and board games.
Make it more exciting by letting staff and caregivers join in this fun sporting event. Seniors can play with the employees and develop a much closer bond.
5. Spend Time with Family
Now that the cold is gone, families can visit their loved ones and have that much-needed bonding time. However, it’s still important to practice the safety guidelines imposed by the government, like wearing face masks and limiting close contact.
Some of the activities seniors can enjoy with their loved ones include:
- Flying a kite with the grandkids.
- Enjoying your famous family recipe outside.
- Playing catch with your grandkids.
- Catch up with the lives of loved ones.
- Take some pictures with the beautiful spring nature as your background.
Staff can also help the residents prepare their family’s favorite food to surprise them when they visit the community.
6. Volunteer
Nothing feels more satisfying and spiritually fulfilling than doing charity work for the greater good. Now that the weather’s nice, seniors can safely go outside (still with their face masks on) and volunteer their skills to the local government or a charity they support.
Senior living facilities can organize outdoor volunteering works for their residents like:
- Beach or park clean-up drive.
- Helping out with pet adoption events or a religious sector’s bake sale.
- Lending out your resident’s skills, such as free legal advice or marketing services.
- Do some spring cleaning in your own community.
Volunteering outside allows seniors to get a breath of fresh air while getting to know some great people. Also, it would be great for them to spend time in a new environment other than the confines of your facility.
7. Attend Local Festivals
Spring is an ideal season to visit the local farmer’s market, a plant nursery, or take a drive around town with your windows down.
While out, you can attend local festivals and get some fresh produce and beautiful spring flowers. In addition, you can also spend time in the park and feed some birds and just enjoy the beauty of nature.