by Belinda Beasley

Created on: October 20, 2009

Nursing home residents often spend much of their day trying to find some meaningful activity that will help them pass the time. Sitting and reading or watching the clock can become boring and depressing, which is why many nursing homes have activity directors. One very easy craft that most nursing home residents can participate in is a sponge-painting craft.

Craft sponges come in a variety of shapes and sizes. You can often find sponges in the shape of letters. Nursing home residents might enjoy creating a name plate for their door. A 3 x 5 or 4 x 6 note card would work well. The resident could use alphabet shaped sponges to stamp their names on the unlined side of the note card. Glitter could be sprinkled on the wet paint to add some sparkle and shine. If desired, feathers, yarn, ribbon trim, or sequins could be glued to the outer edges of the card in order to create a frame for the handcrafted name plate. It would be very easy for the resident to further personalize the name plate with stickers that express his or her interests or personality.

Nursing home residents might also enjoy crafting a collage on poster board by using craft sponges to stamp their names or shapes on the board. Each area could once again be personalized by using stickers. These type of collages could be used for the different seasons, or for each holiday. At Halloween, the residents might enjoy using craft sponges to create pumpkins on the poster board by dipping them into orange paint. A piece of felt could be glued at the top of the orange painted pumpkin to complete the painted pumpkin. The alphabet shaped sponges could then be used to spell out a holiday greeting.

Besides creating name plates, pictures, or collages, nursing home residents might also enjoy engaging in sponge-painting in order to create their own holiday greeting cards. Card stock would work well, and the resident could choose to use sponges in different sizes or shapes to create a holiday scene on the front of their card. The activity director might use a computer to have some holiday greetings that the residents could glue inside their hand crafted holiday cards. This sponge-painting craft could be a one time craft session, or it could be a craft that would take several sessions to complete.

Nursing homes are always searching for craft ideas for their residents. These crafts should be easy because of the physical limitations of those who reside in nursing homes. Sponge-painting crafts can provide a few minutes of enjoyment in an otherwise boring day, and the completed craft gives the resident a feeling of accomplishment and pride.

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