I've been asked to do a weekly brain jogging course for the elderly at my mother's assisted living home.

I have no experience with this. Would anyone have any interesting links to suggest or know of any good games I could play with the seniors? Some of these residents are pretty feeble, so the brain jogging has to be easy enough to be fun, but not frustrating.

I would truly appreciate any good tips on this subject.

Hannelore
I did motor skills with disabled/fragile primary pupils for five years.A similar programme can be used for elderly.Our book is out of print. But my sollegue and a PE advisor wrote ours and it was superb.
Dont worry about repeating the same exercise..its the repetition that is helpful.
Here are the details of a suitable book.
Mountain ash

Published 1998
VanderWyk & Burnham
Retirement
270 pages
ISBN 1889242020

My understanding about memory books ...Sounds terrific..but for some remembering is so painful..Much knoweledge about your clients is necesary.
One great thing is a bag passed round and small objects within..Could be a packet of peppermints.Small household items tactile things ribbons .Thimble..Go round your home and look with another pair of eyes..Think yesteryear.The poem..."I have a thing a very pretty thing..tell me what it is" It can be a short feature done each week as a finale..
Keep a log book and build week on week.Sad things may come to the fore and dealt with..but keep on track and I send you love.
May I join you...if I grow wings?

PS Libraries can provide things from an era.

I replied to you, Hannelore, and it somehow got lost!! Here are some brain jogs for elders....I had sent you a website addy, too but it disappeared so I'll go find it again...here's my list:
Holiday Trivia:

What song is associated with New Years? Auld Lang Syne
What day is Martin Luther King Day on? January 15
What colors are associated with Valentines Day? Red,White,Pink.
Can You name the symbol associated with St.Patricks Day?
Shamrock(three leaf clover)
What is another name for an Irish Walking Stick? Shillelagh
Name the sunday before Easter? Palm Sunday
What is the Easter Flower? The Lily
Mothers Day is on the third Sunday of May,True or False?
False,its on the second Sunday in May
What is another name for Memorial Day? Decoration Day
June 14th is Flag Day,How many stars are on the flag? 50
Fathers Day is on June 28th? True/False? False,it's on the third sunday of the
month of June.
Where was the Declaration of Independence signed? At Philadelphia, PA
What is another name for Halloween night? All Hallows Eve
What are the traditional foods of Thanksgiving?
Turkey,Cranberries,Corn,Pumpkin Pie.
What did my true love give to me on the first Day of Christmas?
a Partridge in a pear tree.
Name three gifts that the wise men brought? Gold,Frankenscence,Myrrh.
What do you do when under the mistletoe? Get a kiss.
What is the traditional flower of Christmas? The Poinsettia

Favorite Tunes:

Finish the song titles....

When Irish eyes are---- smiling
Sweet----Adeline
Oh you beautiful----Doll
Singing in the ----Rain
Home on the ----Range
Put on your ----Old Grey Bonnet
Beer barrel----Polka
You are my ----Sunshine
Dont sit under the ----Apple Tree
Let me call ----You Sweetheart
Tip toe thru the----Tulips
Tea for ----Two
My Blue----Heaven
Has Anybody seen my ----Gal
Moon----River

Common Bonds:

What do the items have in common?

Maxwell House,Uban,MJB,Hills brothers-Coffees
United,America,Virgin,Western-Airlines
Jack Daniels,Coors,Vodka,Brandy-Liquor
Tide,Cheer,Wisk,Era- Laundry Soap
Coke,Pepsi,Rc,7up,A&W- Sodas
Pencils,Books,an Apple,Chalk,Desk-Things found in a Classroom.
Hilton,Holiday Inn,Best Western,Sheraton-Hotels/Motels
Avon,Mary Kay, Maybelline,Loreal-Makeup
Crest,Aim,Colgate,Aqua Fresh-Toothpaste
Rice Krispies,Corn Flakes,Cherrios,Special K-Cereals
Chevy,Dodge,Cadilac,Ford-Types of Cars
Wendys,White Castle,Sonic,Jack in the box- Fast Food Places
Ace,Queen,Spade,Hearts- Cards

Complete the sayings.....

Its raining cats and----dogs.
Don't count your chickens before they ----hatch.
An apple a day keeps the doctor----away.
If you can't beat 'em----join 'em.
Sticks and stones may break my bones,but ----words will never hurt me.
Hold your----horses
While the cats away,the mice will---play.
Birds of a feather----flock together.
A penny saved, a penny ----earned.
April showers bring ----may flowers.
Every cloud has a ----silver lining.
Don't put all your eggs in ---one basket.
Patience is a ----virtue.
A rolling stone gathers----no moss.

Found my previous post...posted to another thread by accident (that's a first for me!) Here is what I intended to say...
https://www.activityconnection.com/default.asp

This is one site that may have a few things for you to use. It's a pay site but has a good "free preview" section with several things in it. Like you mentioned, finding something for all to do may be difficult because of their varying capacities.

I just love this place. No matter what the problem, there are always ladies here who have helped me out every time.

LadyJane, your link is exactly the kind of material I’ve been looking for. Thanks so much. What a generous amount of information you have sent! So many great ideas that I would never have thought of by myself. The idea with the songs is great, because I think older people always remember tunes from their childhood. I’ll need to make a list of old German folk songs, since they are all German, but that won’t be a problem. Maybe I can drum up an accordion player from somewhere…So much to do, but I think it will be fun.

Mountain Ash, I sure wish you could just fly over. I can imagine it would be a lot more fun to pull this program through together. I like the idea with the bag, and will definitely use it. And that was a good suggestion about repeating things. Frankly, this brain jogging thing won’t do me any harm either.

Mountain, will you be near London at all this January? Do you think you will be able to Boom with us Boomers there? Ha!…Boom with boomers?…Just created a new verb.

Hannelore the residents of the Nursing Home I visit and help out around love the word association games listed above, and I started a program last year that is still going strong...paint by numbers, needing to distinguish colors. They love creating and arguing whose is the best. We have contests and the winner gets a special treat...

They also love singing old songs, or we use an old song and make up our own silly lyrics...

You might also get as many old magazines as you can beg, borrow or steal (maybe not steal) LOL... Cut out pictures and have then guess who the person or what the item is, and tell something they know about him/her or it, then ask anyone else for info as well...

Just some of the things I do here for these lovely seniors...

Libraries and thrift shops are great places to get old magazines very cheap. Our library sells them for a dime.

Hannelore
when two work together well the synergy is in place.I "team taught" with one particular collegue and we got high on how well it went. We did a fashion show and a hill walk (the plan was to know what to wear and when) and had it been filmed it would be a hoot.
Best of luck and tell us how it goes.
Mountain ash

The programm is support to start in January or Febuary. I can only pull this through if I don't have my grandchild to take care of. I'm hoping my DIL will decide to chose motherhood and her marriage over her sport's career. Then I will finally have more time to do other things. In any case, I can prepare and gather information for the future.
Thanks Meredith and chatty for your tips as well.
Mountain ash, never heard that expression synergy before. Yes, I think we would have that.