She goes to a care center three days a week where they do activities but on the other days, all she wants and will do is color. Granted it is more than she used to do when my cousin was her caretaker, (then she just stared at the TV all day) but I am beginning to wonder if that is what's causing her to complain of eye pain. Staring at a coloring book all day strains her eyes and then she gets extra cranky because she can't color anymore. Any ideas on new activities?
Mother loved sorting just about anything. I'd empty my coin purse and she'd stack the coins. She sorted big plastic beads by color. She loved matching socks. I'd bring a big bag into the nursing home and anyone who happened to be sitting with her loved to match them up, too.
My mother loved coloring, too. We tried crayons and felt-tip markers and colored pencils. She liked the markers the best.
She and the ladies who often sat at her table all loved looking at cookbooks, of all things! None of them had cooked for years but it got them started talking about their favorite things to cook, or what they did for holidays, etc.
Mother looked through magazines. Did did crosswords. Many ladies in the nh did word-find puzzles.
Yeah, it's a bit messy. Spread an old sheet. It's just flour and water so it washes up easy.
Depending on how large the paper got wrapped...it could take a week to dry. Then..water color to paint the face..hair..etc. great home project...newspaper, flour, water, and old fashions water colors.
You'll probably get a lot of ideas about activities around here, but I would be thrilled if she loved to color everyday.
She might need glasses. While it can be a chore for people with dementia to keep up with glasses, it might be more feasible for your grandma if she lives at home. Did she have reading glasses before?