Many of our nursing home residents grew up listening to the radio (not the television) and to their parents when they sang and whistled as they worked. The songs from that era are very much ingrained in the minds of our elderly.
The following pages provide the first verse of a few of those old familiar songs. Many of them are such a part of our society that our younger generation knows them as well.
When facilitating this activity, begin by singing just the first few words. It is very likely that at least one participant will immediately join in and then two and three until the entire group is singing. Keep the tempo slow enough that your participants have time to process the next line before you sing it to them. The idea is to have the participants do the singing but they will feel more comfortable doing so if they hear your voice as well.
If you know more verses than given, continue singing for it is quite likely that the residents know more verses as well. If you do not know additional verses, ask if anyone else knows more of the song. Participants often do.
