Summer time…”and the livin’ is easy” so an old familiar song tells us. Summer brings memories of childhood friends and playing outside until dark. Special activities were saved for summer…swimming, camping, trips to the beach, baseball games, hot dogs, ice cream and picnics. For children, it’s usually their favorite season of the year. It was a time for good fun, good food, and good friends.
Your loved one with dementia or other cognitive decline can celebrate the summer season without having to spend time out in the hot sun with just a little planning on your part. Activities with a summer theme can bring the “outdoors” inside for a much cooler, safer experience than being out in the heat and humidity.
You will want to help them link to summertime memories from their childhood. For starters, think of activities you did as a child during the summer. Chances are your loved one engaged in similar activities too. The next step is to modify those outdoor activities to something that can be done indoors. (There are 10 suggestions listed at the end of this post in case you need a little help.)
To prompt memories, we made a Bingo game with a summer theme to be played at some of our summertime Lady-Links visits. We used clip art for the spaces. Matching pictures rather than using numbers makes it easy and fun. Plus, for each picture of a summer activity that comes up to match during the game, we very briefly share our childhood memories and often our “dear friends” (as we call the sweet ladies with dementia that we visit) will add a few comments too.
We also designed a card using the same clip art to make with our dear friends at our Lady-Links visits to give to friends in our retirement community. Once again, these pictures helped prompt memories.
We used cardstock and printed some of the message with the computer before the visit. The pictures can be added by your loved one with glue, glue dots or double sided tape (with assistance as needed). We have a sticker machine, so ours are easy to apply. Our dear friends will simply peel and stick.
We added a message about the Summer Solstice on the back of the card.
The Summer Bingo and Summer Card are great ways to help your loved one link to memories. Other activities that are fun to do indoors that have a summer theme are:
1. An indoor picnic. Use a checkered table cloth and a picnic basket for the full effect!
2. Making ice cream cones. Purchase several flavors of ice cream and the cones, and be sure to use an ice cream scoop for the desired look.
3. Eating watermelon. The seedless kind will be easier for your loved one to manage.
4. Making bottled sand sculptures. (Kits can be ordered from craft stores).
5. Flower arranging. Can be real flowers or silk ones.
6. Planting seeds in pots and setting on the windowsill. For an additional activity, decorate the clay pots.
7. Throw a beach ball. (Be sure to have a nice open indoor space for this.)
8. Have a summer hat party! Collect summer hats and try each of them on. Take pictures.
9. Make ice cream sundaes. Have hot fudge and other toppings available.
10. Make popsicles. (There are plenty of easy recipes available.) Have some already frozen and ready to eat so you don’t have to wait for yours to freeze.
Engaging your loved one with summertime activities will work best when you help them link to meaningful memories from their past. Prompting them with pictures (such as the Summer Bingo game or the Summer card) or providing them with related activities (such as the 10 listed above) will help them in making those connections. Hopefully you will get plenty of smiles and perhaps some conversation like we do at our Lady-Links visits when we bring summer inside.
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