This is a wonderful in-room activity as the one-on-one interaction allows for in-depth discussions of childhood memories, school activities, and the memorization of poems. Memorization was once a common element of grade school requirements and many nursing home residents still remember the poems they learned when they were young school children. When reading poems from their childhood era, many residents will begin to recite the poem, still locked firmly in their memory.
The best books for prose and poetry in a long term care facility will be the old books, books printed when, or before, your participants were school age. Given that parameter, the books listed here may be hard to find online but might be easily found at a used book store, always your best source.
Also keep in mind that individuals like to listen to poems or prose that concern activities, items, or historical events that are familiar to them. Movies, television programs, politics, and feminism are not as interesting as gardening, milking, sunsets on the prairie, and community dances. Pay mind to the attention your listener is giving you. If he or she is no longer attending to you, stop reading, make a new selection, or engage the individual in conversation to determine a better choice of topics.
Additional Book Suggestions: (email us with your favorites, we’d love to add them to the list)
- 101 Best Loved Poems ~ Edited by Phillip Smith
- Plain Jane’s Misadventures ~ Very Short Stories of Rural Life
- Home; Chronicals of North Country Life ~ Beth Pawning
- Russell Country; Western Cowboy Poetry ~ Bette Wolf Duncan
- Beyond the Heart and Mind; Inspirational Poems ~ Terry Entzminger
- The Clearing ~ Robert Frost (Poetry)
- Coyote Cowboy Poetry ~ Baster Black
- Lines and Lyrics from North Dakota ~ Corvin Waldron
- Hat Tips ~ Dean Meyer