People enjoy talking about the past and it can offer great benefits to do so: it allows people of similar ages and backgrounds to swap experiences and help understand more about each other. Many older people find comfort in remembering about happier times and can feel a sense of accomplishment in teaching younger people about how they managed in difficult times. Capture treasured memories from an older loved one in a My Life Story Book, where memories, photos and other keepsakes can be recorded for families and for care staff to understand more about someone in their care.
We have a wide range of items from many different eras to assist with evoking memories with images and suggested question designed to encourage people to talk and share what the picture means to them. Our Fragrant Memories Kit uses scented jars to evoke past memories and included linked discussion topics to aid conversation.
Scentscapes are designed to appeal to all the senses, smell can conjure up a wealth of memories and are ideal for care homes to use with anyone living with a dementia. Reminiscence Therapy is a recognised way to help those with mid-late term dementia to unlock dormant memories and help those caring for them to understand them in a more personalised way.
These Colour Placement Tiles will brighten up everyone's day. Can be used for colour matching, contrast, similar tone e.g pastel or vibrant, games such as using a colour and asking what items are that colour and then extending it to talk about one of the items in more detail, personal memories, likes/dislikes. Makes a versatile activity for care home residents for individual or groups.
This is a fantastic set for encouraging communication and fun in care homes. People suffering with memory loss may well still remember childhood fairy tales, and even if they can't this came can be played in a completely open and creative fashion.
Wooden doll set - family of adult male, adult female, girl and boy with pet dog. All wood construction with flexible poseable arms and legs. Fully dressed and great for role play - especially good for anyone with a dementia or learning disablity.
Role play is regularly used with anyone living with a dementia and our small wooden doll sets are ideal for patients to handle and move around a raised garden or planter. The dolls have flexible arms and legs and are all-wooden construction. Set includes one each male and female grandparents, one each male and female parents and one each girl and boy.
Role play is regularly used with anyone living with a dementia and our small wooden doll sets are ideal for patients to handle and move around a raised garden or planter. The dolls have flexible arms and legs and are all-wooden construction. Set includes one male and one female farmer with accessories.
Act out your own stories with our Hand Puppet set. Wooden and fabric puppets with assorted themes such as witch, clown, queen, wizard etc plus one each of crocodile and wolf to delight your audience. Puppets can also be used for encouraging conversation in older people with a dementia i.e. they may respond better to a puppet asking them questions than a person. Why not invent your own play and then act it out with the puppets?
In this beautifully detailed, laser-cut book produced by the National Trust, readers can travel back in time and explore homes from seven different eras: Late Middle Ages, Tudor, Georgian, Victorian, 1920s, 1960s and present day. Peek through the windows, discover the rooms inside and spot the family members. Then, learn a bit more about the family, spot the pieces of furniture that appear in more than one house, and find out what people wore in each era – from kirtles and crinolines to flat caps and flapper dresses.
Find a 'treasure' hidden in each house by using locally sources items such as leaves, fruit, shells, fabric - anything you like. Items can be themed to a season or event such as Christmas. Makes a great tactile activity for older people in care homes - dementia patients can use them as an aid to discussion and reminiscence. Made from birch wood, the fronts are magnetic for easy access and the rod can be pulled out and items threaded onto the centre for a hidden surprise!
Can you identify the sounds? This Sounds Indoors CD & Card Set is a great listening activity for older people in care homes. Sounds include: baby crying, tap running, typewriter etc. Many are general household sounds that care home residents will enjoy remembering and can lead to some good reminiscence conversation too. Set comes with 40 linked photo cards and full instructions. Players who are sight impaired can also join in this activity.
Tell your own unique story with these Story Cubes. Just roll the three dice and see which images are uppermost then use these to begin your tall tale! Great for telling stories 'in the round' where each person in a group takes up the unfinished tale and continues. Good tactile fun and Ideal for encouraging conversation for older residents in care homes. Cubes fit neatly in the hand and the game is so versatile - you never know which combination you will get next!
Simple but effective way to get a story going with our Story Starter Cubes. Just throw them and see which words face uppermost to invent your own tale. 6 coloured dice each with 6 assorted story lines - 36 in total. Dice can also be used as conversation aids for care home group sessions, suggestions can help trigger past memories to discuss. Why not add to the activity by having an assortment of hats or accessories to bring the story alive?
Photographic A5 cards to inspire inventive story games. Makes a great group activity for older people in care homes, just pass assorted cards around and each person can use to either begin or continue a story. Story games can be useful to encourage conversation among older residents and evoke past memories for anyone living with a dementia too. Wipe clean cards for good hygiene practice.
Story Telling Bags make great activities for care homes and can help older residents stimulate creativity and past memories as well as making great conversation aids. Just select two or three wooden pieces from the bag and use them to make up your own stories. Can be done as a group with each person selecting one piece and telling a story 'in the round' or for a one-to-one therapy aid. Beautifully made wooden pieces in a soft velvety storage bag. Comes with a piece of story text to help get started.
Our Story Telling Bags make great activities for care homes and can help older residents stimulate creativity and past memories as well as making great conversation aids. Just select two or three wooden pieces from the bag and use them to make up your own stories. Can be done as a group with each person selecting one piece and telling a story 'in the round' or for a one-to-one therapy aid. Beautifully made wooden pieces in a soft velvety storage bag. 12 pieces. Comes with a piece of story text to help get started.
This easy to use Talking Tube can be used to communicate across a small 3 metre distance between rooms or between indoor/outdoor environments. The retro telephone earpieces appeal to older people and can be used as a conversation aid for people with a dementia. Ideal solution for care home residents or older people living along whilst shielding during coronovirus as enables safe chatting from a distance whilst seeing each other through the window.Fully washable.
How many countries have you visited? Have fun 'travelling around the world' with our Travel Scratch Map and identify those you have been to, then scratch off the coating to reveal a contrasting colour underneath. Makes a great activity for older people in care homes as they can firstly identify the country, scratch it off and talk about their experiences i.e was it a holiday visit? what did they do there? did they visit any famous landmarks? Can be laid on a table or hung on a wall. *MULTIBUY OFFER
Find inspiration to start that story or poem with these Writing and Poem Prompt Cubes. Large easy clean foam cubes that fit neatly in the hand, with each having 6 assorted prompt sentences - that's 36 different starters to inspire anyone. Why not also use as a group activity to use for fun reminiscence sessions or to aid conversation in older residents? Ideal for care homes and for socially-distanced games during the COVID pandemic. Quiet when rolled.
This Life Story Guide Book includes an easy to follow 10 point plan, top tips and best practice guidelines to enable you to design and print your own Life Story book. Designed for both families and care workers, this 48-page guide takes the guesswork out of an invaluable experience for those working or living with older people who have a dementia. You can choose between a weekend project or a longer more in-depth experience. A questionnaire is included that can be edited online in order to help produce bespoke and sensitively focussed interviews. If you need extra help there is also ongoing email support offered. See more details below:
My Life Story Book is perfect for older people with dementia. Easy to compile, with space for photographs and personal memories - tips for use included. These books are a great way to get residents engaged with reminiscence and shared experiences. Easy to complete and can be done over a period of time. *MULTIBUY OFFER* See video below:
A new interactive publication designed specifically to assist people living with dementia and to help the elderly recall happy memories. 40 pages of facts, quizzes and colouring sheets.
Lovely album of high quality images with helpful questions on the reverse to help trigger conversation.15 images in a sturdy album designed for use with anyone living with a dementia. Great for care and nursing homes or hospitals.
15 evocative high quality images with questions on the reverse to help prompt discussion. A great addition to any care or nursing home.
Ideal for people living with a dementia, this lovely illustrated set of cards help prompt memories and aid conversation.15 evocative high quality images with questions on the reverse.
Nine different replica WW2 memorabilia items that are the perfect way to evoke past memories of life during the war. So many items to hold and discuss - especially for anyone living with a dementia. Cards, ration books, posters, newspapers etc that also make a great wartime display.
This replica wartime Ration Book brings back so many memories of coupons, queuing etc. Just pass it around and see how many people can recall their own experiences. Great for memory lane displays and also for schools as a wartime history resource. *MULTIBUY OFFER
Our very own Fragrant Memories Kit has all you need to evoke past memories and encourage discussion. Just put a few drops of the fragrance on the pad and place in the smelling pot. Three specially selected fragrances and five smelling pots (two for your own items e.g. lemon peel, rose petal, coffee...).
Create a full sensory and tactile experience with our fun set of Scented Bubbles. Blow the bubble liquid through the wand, watch them float dreamily around then when they pop, the delightful aroma of strawberry, blackcurrent, apple or melon delights anyone nearby! Why not play as a game with older care home residents to see who can identify the correct scent? Then maybe add to the game by playing our Sense of Smell - Fruits and Their Aromas game - code: GSOSF. Ideal for anyone living with a dementia and great as a discussion starter. Can be played while socially distancing too.
36 chunky wooden tiles printed with 18 different images to match in assorted ways. No stressful rules to follow. Can match by type (i.e outdoor or kitchenware). Aids conversation.
36 A5 laminated cards featuring specific moments, individuals and events during these two pivotal decades. Ideal for triggering conversation.
Set of 50 famous portraits of well-known personalities. An ideal activity which helps to create conversation and stimulate discussion among elderly people.
Designed to stimulate memories of happy times in the garden. Includes sounds of the garden and scents including: rain, honeysuckle, rose and geranium.
Designed to stimulate everyday memories of looking after house and home. Includes sounds of the home and scents including powder, clean linen and freshly baked fruit cake.
Designed to stimulate memories of happy times in the shed or garage. Includes sounds of the garden and scents including: engine oil, sawdust, polish and tool shed.
'A Funny Old World' aims to bring a smile to the face of the reader. High quality photographs old and new will lift the mood and help trigger conversation.
A World of Work celebrates the lives of working people and offers a great reminder of those past years spent earning a living. Ideal for people with dementia.
Beside The Seaside celebrates our British coastline and is designed specifically for people with dementia to help trigger memories with a holiday theme.
Family Life takes a look at the traditional family. This beautifully illustrated book can’t help but put a smile on your face. A great conversation starter.
A lovely picture book designed to remind readers of their childhood garden. Brimming with exciting things to explore, animals to spot and seasons to enjoy.
This beautifully presented book provides a wonderful escape as it taps into the emotions with its carefully selected poetic verses and vivid imagery.
Designed for people with dementia, this book portrays the special relationships between people and their pets. High quality images in both black and white and colour.
This beautifully illustrated book of traditional British proverbs and sayings will be a reminder for older people and a learning aid for those who are younger.
Shopping in pictures is like a walk down the high street or a visit to a market. Featuring emotive images of shopping for all occasions, ages and genders.
Packed with powerful and amusing images and words, this book inspires reminiscence and conversation. Ideal for use with anyone who has a dementia.
Ideal for use with anyone who has a dementia, this book is brimming with inspiring images that will captivate and evoke past happy memories of outdoor pastimes.
Beautiful images and inspiring words, this book provides spiritual comfort and an opportunity to reminisce for older people with a faith.
This book will take the reader on a fascinating journey to relive past adventures whether travelling by foot, boat, plane, train, car or even camel.
Hand drawn, clear, bold illustrations from 40 years of life in Britain, plus one large A3 picture to colour. Great for people with a dementia.
A4 book featuring beautiful illustrations from 1940s, 50s and 60s to reminisce and encourage conversation. 21 pages in softback format.
21 pages of inspirational images from 1940s to 1970s to enjoy ranging from games, dancing, TV and sports stars.
Covering 1930 - 1969 a popular quiz book drawing on memories of daily life; major events and celebrities. A great group activity for care homes.More than 600 questions and answers are offered on four topics: news, people, entertainment and daily life.
