hello friends, any ideas for nursing home visitation...I go once a month but not too much experience, every month I meet everybody at the playroom or meeting room...sometimes is 15 to 20 residents there and then I go to the rooms who couldn't come...so please help me....thank you

I'm sure you've done alot of things but one elderly trainer person once told me music is a great equalizer. When you use music with elderly populations everyone can join in to some extent if it is just clapping their hands or tapping a toe. Just being there to shake a hand, give a hug or light touch is great. You can bring along some good smelling lotion (ask before passing it out) but aromatherapy can be helpful too. Think sensory and use anything to stimulate the senses.
Sara K.

Many of the folks that I have visited through the years really like attention. Just your presence and talking with them will be a very valuable time for the folks at the home. You don't always have to entertain in the entertain sense. Of course, Special K's suggestion of music is great. If you play an instrument and have a large library of songs that you can play, especially from the folks era, they will love it. Some of us play the ukulele. It is a great musical instrument to take to nursing homes. Also kazoos, could let them join in as well. Of course, the biggest issue is the level of care that the folks in the nursing home need. If they don't need much care then they can and will join the fun. If they are more limited in mobility, etc. you will have to provide more yourself.

Like yourself, I started out performing for senior citizens. And it has been greatly rewarding.

The only advice that I can add is this: Treat them as adults, not children. Talk to them as you would another adult. Some of them may not remember you from the last time, so don't make a big deal out of it; act as though this is the first time you met them.

Most of all: Have fun!!!

For shows, I have a hillbilly character puppet and two senior citizen puppets (farmer & church lady). I record their portions of the routine on a CD and leave blank spots for my responses. I also have an Axtell orangutan. It is not the big professional latex one but the older smaller version. I dress her in a baby dress, and put a bow in her hair. After the show she and I meet, greet, and give out colorful greeting cards. I use my little girl voice and am amazed at the smiles she brings. I'm not even a good ventriloquist.

Hi every one--
These are great ideas. Our clown band (www.thesunshineclownband.com)does (http://www.thesunshineclownband.com)does) a lot of performing at seniors' centres (independent and assisted living) and we also do visits at a chronic long term care hospital.

For independent clowns, what you do has a lot to do with the level of function of people, but we still find many respond to mkusic, color, visual jokes, etc. We do "house calls" in the hospital where we chat and play and sing songs. We ask for jokes and song requests from the patients there. We also just be with them for a while. We're pretty colorful but we're red nose clowns so we can be seen as real faces.

If you are working in staff intensive places, it's a good idea to connect with staff and play with them as well. In a number of places, when we show up all the staff dress like clowns too!

Here are some ideas:

- balloon animals (no, not the kind with those little skinny balloons. ANYBODY can do that!) My clown likes to ask people for an animal then blow up a balloon and draw the animal on the balloon. He says he had to go to art school to learn to draw that kitty.

- really great old songs. If you don't already have one, get a uke! Easy to play, easy to carry. You can learn to play a rep of songs they love in about a month.

- We buy tons of foam red noses and give them out. These are good for when people are taking pictures. And we also give out hugs plus I Hugged a Clown stickers.

- Small group sings are fun.

- We like to encourage people to play along---tell jokes, sing songs they know (and they often know many), etc.


Have fun and don't try to hard!

Bungle

Great ideas from everyone! How do you get invited into nursing homes exc.? can you just come to visit in costume or do you need to have a performance usually?

Texas,
Contact the Activity Director or Social Worker at the nursing home you wish to visit. Get up a list of questions you want answered and set up a meeting. Most are open to anything you want to do but make sure you are prepared and know what their rules and regs. are. You may want to have one of their staff accompany you around the first few times so you know what to expect if you haven't that much experience in care facilities. Just to make sure you are comfortable and you get to know the residents a little.
Sara K.

You have to coordinate first with the Activity Director and understand how those seniors behave so you have idea on the tricks, approach, and some stuff for the show. keep in mind that your audience is composed of seniors age 50 and above, so it'll be challenging to come up with new techniques that those seniors would appreciate. I think it's great to add songs and dance numbers

The activities Director is usually the best route. You should get a criminal background check first. It is rarely an issue in a nursing home. Stillif they ask and you do not have it you look like a putz.

Also check in with you local COAI Alley and see if they have some kind of program. Some of the Local groups have a relationship with such institutions. Some even have an organised program that you can join. I have have always thought that such visits were more fun with a group.

Our clown troupe is now working with several chronic care hospitals in Victoria, BC. We are paid a small fee to come on the unit, since we are positioning our clowning as therapeutic (all of us come from professional backgrounds in psychology, social work, drama therapy, or early childhood education.) We have also recently become a nonprofit organization. We are less interested in payment personally, but payment for the service as a way of defining ourselves as something separate from entertainment.

Basically, we are volunteers for our troupe. Hospital clowns in some places (e.g., Montreal, Vancouver) are getting paid personally. This has become a requirement for membership in the Canadian association of therapeutic clowns....you're supposed to have worked for a period of time as a PAID clown (they don't say how much).

This is a sticking point for the public hospitals where we visit, however, we may have an outside funder, an eldercare foundation, which will handle costs.

We'd like to have the capacity for 2/month visits in about 4 institutions. Some of us have real jobs, some are retired. All can be flexible about time.

I'd be interested in corresponding with others who are into professional hospital clowning and hear about your experience.

Bungle

The Sunshine Clown Band Troupe - Home (http://www.thesunshineclownband.com)

awesome ideas! Thanks!

Lots of great advice, especially the old music that they can identify with. I have personally used the song "Hello Muddah" with some of my skits and the folks in assisted living have loved it.

That's a great song. If you're going to go with Allen Sherman, you might also try the song "I Hate The Beatles" and his version of "Down Town" for that age group. Around Christmas, you might try his version of the "12 Days of Christmas".

Other songs that I've heard in that setting are "Yellow Rose of Texas", "Goodnight Irene", "The Whistler and His Dog", and "Tennessee Waltz", to name a few. Mitch Miller and his band have done a number of fun old songs that you might try. There are some fun old songs from the 1940's and older, "The Thing", "Busy Doing Nothing", "Lydia the Tatooed Lady", "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better"....

Ya gotta love a girl who knows songs like "The Whistler and His Dog" and likes to sing along with Mitch!

Thank you for all the ideas, I have just started clowning on a regular basis with a church group going to a nursing home.
I am the only clown, I love the old song ideas...

Sometimes I make balloon animals. Even if you can make a simple dog or flower it can be good. One reason is because it will give them something to talk about the rest of the day, as nurses and visitors come in and out they can comment on the balloon.

I also try not to forget the staff if I have time. The better mood the staff is in, the better they are with the residents.