This summer, embark on an exciting cross-country adventure with your residents using RESTORE-Skills’ Summer Road Trip content. These interactive games and activities are designed to be fun, engaging, and easy to incorporate into your daily therapy and recreation sessions.
1. Classic Cars Trivia: Cognitive Stimulation with a Twist
For OT/PTs:
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Use Classic Cars Trivia as a seated cognitive challenge during physical exercises. For example, residents can answer trivia questions while performing upper body movements or leg lifts, combining cognitive and physical stimulation.
For SLPs:
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Integrate Classic Cars Trivia into speech therapy by using the trivia questions to spark discussions and word recall, helping residents improve their communication skills.
For Activities Professionals:
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Host a "Classic Cars Day" where residents share memories about their favorite cars. Display car images, let residents vote on their favorites, and use the trivia game to spark conversations.
2. Road Trip Puzzle Adventure: Virtual and Hands-On Fun
For OTs:
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The Road Trip Puzzles are perfect for fine motor skills practice. Residents can drag and drop puzzle pieces on the screen, helping to improve dexterity and hand-eye coordination in a fun and interactive way.
For PTs:
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Incorporate Road Trip Puzzles into sessions where residents stand or sit in different positions. Challenge them to maintain balance or posture while completing the puzzles, adding a physical component to the cognitive task.
For SLPs:
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Use the puzzles as a conversation starter, encouraging residents to describe the images they are creating and discuss the landmarks. This helps with language skills and cognitive recall.
For Activities Professionals:
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Set up a "Puzzle Corner" where residents can work on Road Trip Puzzles together. Whether online or offline, encourage collaboration or friendly competition with puzzles themed around different destinations.
3. Explore Grand Canyon: A Virtual Adventure
For OTs:
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Guide residents through stretches and reaching exercises as they virtually explore the Grand Canyon. Encourage them to “reach for the canyon rim” or “climb up the canyon,” incorporating imaginative movement into their therapy.
For PTs:
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Use the virtual tour to inspire balance and coordination exercises. Have residents simulate “stepping over rocks” or “leaning to see over the edge,” integrating movement with the visual experience.
For SLPs:
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Turn the Grand Canyon tour into a descriptive exercise. Ask residents to describe what they see, using detailed language to enhance their speech and cognitive skills.
For Activities Professionals:
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Use simple props to create a “canyon” in the room. Residents can “hike” along a path, stopping at stations to discuss facts or complete small tasks, like picking up “rocks.” Watch the Grand Canyon video and wrap up with a group discussion.
4. Visit Familiar Places: Personalized Journeys and Connections
For OTs:
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Turn the virtual tour into a cognitive-motor exercise. As residents explore a familiar place, prompt them to perform simple hand movements or tasks that relate to the location (e.g., “Show me how you would open a door at this house”).
For SLPs:
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Explore locations meaningful to residents. Encourage them to talk about their memories, helping to stimulate language use and recall. This activity can be customized to each resident’s life, making it a powerful tool for personalized therapy.
For Activities Professionals:
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Explore meaningful locations using Visit Familiar Places. After the tour, encourage a brief sharing circle where residents highlight one favorite memory from the place they visited, creating connection and a sense of nostalgia.
5. Travel to Yellowstone National Park: Movement Meets Exploration
For OT/PTs:
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Use the Travel to Yellowstone activity to inspire a series of physical exercises. Residents can mimic “hiking” by lifting their legs or “reaching for the sky” like the park’s towering trees, blending movement with the scenic beauty of Yellowstone.
For SLPs:
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Incorporate the activity into a storytelling session. After the virtual tour, ask residents to create their own story about a day in Yellowstone, encouraging the use of descriptive language and imagination.
For Activities Professionals:
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Host a “Yellowstone Scavenger Hunt” by hiding items like leaves, pictures of animals, or stones in the room. Give residents clues to find them, then discuss their significance related to Yellowstone.
6. Explore Las Vegas, Manhattan, and New Orleans: City-Themed Excitement
Las Vegas (OT/PT):
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Engage residents with a “dice roll” exercise. Have them mimic rolling dice while working on fine motor skills or balance. The excitement of Las Vegas adds a fun element to the activity.
Manhattan (OT/PT):
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Use a “skyscraper stretch” where residents reach up as if touching the Empire State Building. This encourages full-body stretching and movement while visualizing the iconic city.
New Orleans (SLP):
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Introduce a “Jazz Storytelling” exercise. Residents can create short stories inspired by the sounds and sights of New Orleans, practicing their narrative and descriptive language skills.
For Activities Professionals:
Las Vegas:
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Create a mini-casino with simple card games or a virtual “spin the wheel” using the platform, offering small prizes for added fun.
Manhattan:
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Host a “Big Apple Day” with virtual walks through Central Park and discussions about famous landmarks, paired with New York-themed snacks like pretzels or hot dogs.
New Orleans:
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Throw a “Mardi Gras” event with virtual tours, jazz music, and festive treats. Residents can wear beads, enjoy some non-alcoholic cocktails, and even participate in a parade around the room, bringing the vibrant culture of New Orleans to life.