Life skill stations are interactive areas designed to engage residents in familiar, purposeful activities that can evoke memories and provide a sense of accomplishment. Below is a list of the most common of these stations with some ideas on how they can be set up. Alternately, we have a wonderful selection of products to make it easy for you to include Life Skill Stations in Memory Care. All our stations are made to your order and ready in 5-6 weeks. These stations can be strategically placed throughout the community:
Laundry Life Station: Set up a mock laundry area with folding tables, laundry baskets, and towels. Residents can participate in folding clothes, an activity that many find soothing and reminiscent of home.
Kitchenette Life Station: Create a small kitchen area with safe, non-functional appliances and cooking utensils. Residents can pretend to prepare meals, promoting a sense of routine and normalcy.
Clerical Life Station: Equip a desk with office supplies such as paper, pens, and a vintage typewriter or computer. Residents can engage in sorting papers or typing, which can be particularly comforting for those who held office jobs.
Gardening Life Station: Provide a space with potted plants, gardening tools, and soil. Residents can tend to the plants, water them, and enjoy the therapeutic benefits of gardening.
Handyman Life Station: Set up a workbench with simple tools and materials for minor repairs or crafts. Residents who enjoyed hands-on work can find satisfaction in these activities.
Nurturing Life Station: For some residents, caring for dolls or stuffed animals can be a comforting and nurturing activity. Provide a variety of dolls, toys, and accessories for engagement.
Artist Life Station: Art therapy is one of the most effective non-drug therapies for dementia. Watercolors, colored pencils and crayons, and plenty of art paper sets the scene. Then you can add modeling clay and any number of art materials and media. Be sure they can be cleaned up easily. Oil paints are not advised.
Fishing Life Station: Angling is a hobby that was even more popular several decades ago than it is today.
Vanity Life Station: Safe, but familiar dress up accessories make this Life Skills Station perfect for the lady who knows how to care for herself.