Tag Archive | Tips

‘Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together’.

For anyone, taking part in group activities brings a sense of belonging and community, it exposes us to new and different ideas, to the experiences of other people and enables us to do things we couldn’t do alone. In other words it enables us to grow, something that the author of the quote above-James Cash Penney-states, we cannot do alone.

At Bright Shadow we believe that being able to grow-or to thrive-is something that we should expect to have opportunity to do at every stage of life. It is certainly not something we believe that Dementia should get in the way of.

The value that one-to-one or small group interactions and activities can bring to a person with dementia is unquestionable, but we at Bright Shadow believe that there is also immense value in bringing groups of people together to collectively take part in a participatory and meaningful activity session.

Here are our 5 top tips for running group activities:

1. Don’t have a group that is too small

The great thing about group activities is the sense of occasion, significance and event that they bring. Therefore, the group size needs to be big enough to create this atmosphere. It also needs to be big enough for you to run your activities-for example three people taking part in a hula dance might feel a bit exposing or pointless.However, a larger group of people doing a hula dance feels like something special is being created, like it has purpose. Just four people doing a story-making exercise can put pressure on everyone to perform, but a larger group means that each individual is required to contribute less-or nothing-without it impacting the group as a whole.

2. Don’t have a group that is too big

On the flip-side a group cannot be so big that it becomes a crowd. The group needs to be small enough to ensure that each individual is given equal opportunity to participate, contribute and play a significant role in the group.The people present need to feel that their presence matters, that if they weren’t there the group would feel it.

There is also the question of space and having enough resources to go round… you would need a pretty big parachute to have 50 people all holding onto it at the same time!

You also need to be able to ensure that you can realistically facilitate each individual to take part, which leads us onto tip 3…

3. Have a good ratio of leaders & facilitators to participants

It is so incredibly important to plan and consider how many members of staff you have in active attendance at these group activities and what their role is. There is no point gathering a group of people together if there aren’t enough people to ensure that everyone is enabled to take part.

You need at least one person to be the leader-the person that introduces, explains and guides the activities and who has overall responsibility for the group activities.

You also need additional people to support them and act as facilitators-people who can enable participants to join in through encouragement, example and where necessary, physical assistance.

This ratio will be dependent on the individual needs represented in the group and the experience and confidence of the person leading the group.

4. Have a good mix of people in your group

It might be tempting to create a group out of people who are similar in their personalities, abilities or stage of dementia. However, the ideal group has a balanced mix of these things. You need people who can kick-start an activity where ideas and suggestions are needed-in order to inspire and encourage others. You need people who are more physically able to bear the weight of dance materials to enable others to still enjoy the sensory aspect of the exercise. You need people to listen. You need people to make others laugh. You need people who can enable someone else. You need people who need a bit of help.

5. Sit in a circle.

This one is very simple and it’s not rocket science, but sitting in a circle means that everyone can see and hear each other, it gives everyone equal status, including the leaders & facilitators and it creates a sense of group and community.

We know that the rooms you are working in may not lend themselves to perfect circles, but other shapes will do: circular oblongs, ovals, egg-shapes, squares with round edges, blobs…It’s not about the shape, but rather about creating a physical atmosphere that will help your group activities to go well.

To wrap up

We encourage you to take a trial and error approach to creating and running group activities. There won’t be one hard and fast rule that suits each setting, leader or group of participants, which is why we have refrained from telling you what our magic numbers are. So, try it out for yourself and let us know how it goes! To help, here are those tips again:

Don’t have a group that is too small
Don’t have a group that is too big
Have a good ratio of leaders & facilitators to participants
Have a good mix of people in your group
Sit in a circle

Good luck!

Facilitating group activities is something that we cover on our Creative Journey programmes. If you would like to explore this further and get some hands-on experience with the professionals, please go to our packages page to find out more, or email katy@brightshadow.org.uk

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* Next blog post: Top 5 ideas for Summer time activities

If you would like to see some Performance and Dementia activities in action in your setting or would like some training in doing this yourself, please visit our Bright Shadow page or Contact us.

Find us: @brightshadow_uk

Email us: info[at]brightshadow.org.uk

Ring us: 07823 697697