Everybody loves going on vacation. For many people, the planning in anticipation of the trip is a tremendous amount of the fun. If you are planning a family vacation, a vacation countdown chain is an elderly care project that will keep your aging loved one busy, but will also allow the entire family to enjoy being excited about the upcoming trip.
Whether you provide home care for your aging loved one, or he has an elder care services companion in the home during the day, a vacation countdown chain is a simple yet enjoyable elderly care project that can be completed quite quickly, but can also be extended to fill several afternoons. The only supplies you need our construction paper, a pen or marker, art supplies, a pair of scissors and a stapler. This project can be modified greatly to meet your loved one’s capability needs. This is also wonderful project for her to complete with your children.
Essentially, a vacation countdown chain is a simple chain created out of paper circles that are linked together. This is accomplished by cutting equal length and width strips of the construction paper, which you can do in advance to make the project simpler and faster for your loved one, curving one into a circle and stapling it closed. The next strip is then looped through that circle, and likewise stapled into a circle. One strip is used to represent each day of the time leading up to the vacation. One link is removed every day so that the family can watch the chain short as the vacation draws closer. It is important that each of the strips of paper are the same size so that the chain has a uniform appearance.
To make this elderly care project last longer, encourage your aging loved one to write a fact about the vacation destination, and exciting surprise about the vacation or a travel tip on each strip. Every day when the loop is removed, the message can be read. Make sure that the words are not damaged by the staples and that there is room reserved for cutting the link off of the chain each day. For a simpler task, provide crayons, markers, glitter glue or any other craft supplies, and allow your loved one to simply decorate each loop as she pleases. Once the chain is complete, it can be hung in a highly visible location is an exciting reminder of the trip.
If you have a loved one who could benefit from the help of elderly care services in Walnut Creek, CA contact the caregivers at Hillendale Home Care. We help seniors and their families with many levels of home care service. Call 925-933-8181 for more information on our Walnut Creek senior home care options.
