Provides a chance for students to practice “social attention” and get to know each other better.
Welcome to today’s class! Our topic is “Social Play.”
Our TBH Blueprint focus is the “Socialize” action point.
Memory loss can sometimes make it harder to maintain the communication skills important to staying social. Today we’ll learn ways to keep working out those skills so we can all stay more connected.
We will be working on the following thinking skills today:
Refer to the Welcome to the TBH Course for a more complete introduction.
We are going to start with a great warm-up for our bodies and brains called TBH Let’s Get It Started.
It is a wonderful way to get us ready to focus and learn together. We’ll do this right at our seats at the beginning of every class. Just watch what I do and follow along!
(At end of warmup) Great job, everyone! We are started up and ready to go!
FEET GET STARTED!
LEGS GET STARTED!
ARMS GET STARTED!
VOICES GET STARTED!
BREATH GETS STARTED!
Click to open the TBH Let’s Get It Started! playlist.
Click for the TBH Let’s Get It Started! complete guide.
Let’s move to today’s topic, “Social Play.” Spending time with others, whether in person or at a physical distance, is important to our overall well-being. Research shows that we are more likely to do things that keep our brains healthy – like exercising, attending concerts, taking classes or traveling – when we have company. This is especially important when we are living with dementia. The company of others makes it more likely we will continue to do things that give us the cognitive stimulation we need to keep our thinking challenged.
In addition, being together gives us a great chance to work out important everyday thinking skills like attention, nimbleness and memory. You can’t have a conversation without using those skills! Finally, staying social is a great mood booster. We are more likely to feel lonely or blue if we are isolated.
All around, making sure we stay social is a very important step everyone can take to stay healthy and well. One way we can make sure we stay social is to practice our communication skills. Those communication skills can be affected by memory loss, so it is even more important that we learn ways to target and work out those skills when living with dementia.
We’re going to give our communication skills a workout with this next exercise. It’s called “Social Play.” I have a special deck of cards (or slides if using) here. Each card (slide) has a question that will help us get to know each other. I’ll read the question out loud. Then I’ll show you a picture that’s on the card (slide). I’ll also write the question here (point to white board or flip chart) so everyone can see it. Then we’ll take turns saying what the question makes us think about. Does everyone understand? Great! Here’s the first question.
(At end of workout) Fantastic job, everyone! It was fun to learn more about each other, wasn’t it? And communicating with each other in conversation is a great way to keep our brains healthy.
That was wonderful, we learned some really interesting things about each other. And we learned why it’s important to spend time with other people every day. Talking, visiting or learning together are all great ways to keep our brains healthy, whether we are physically together, on the phone or meeting over video. Try and find time to get together with others throughout the week. Adding even just a bit more social time to your routine can be a wonderful way to boost your brain health and overall well-being.
Here is a TBH Take This Home card for this class. It will remind you what we learned together today and help you keep up this brain workout on your own, with each other or with a family member or friend. It’s easy to do over video as well.
Can you share one thing you learned about someone else in today’s workout?
Let’s wrap up with “TBH Take a Breath.” Being mindful and sharing some positive thoughts gives us a chance to think about what we have learned together and how we can use it in our daily lives. Research shows that mindfulness practices like this supports brain health when living with dementia. And it is a wonderful way to end our time in class together.
My body is relaxed.
I am grateful for my family.
I am grateful for my friends.
I am grateful for myself.
Click for the TBH Take a Breath music playlist.
Click to open the TBH Take A Breath complete guide.
TBH TAKEAWAY HANDOUTS
Download and provide your students with the following handouts.
Class 2 TBH Take This Home Cards. Use the Class 2 TBH Take This Home cards for the TBH Takeaway closing activity. Print out enough copies of the cards so that each class member has one to take home. Print the cards two-sided and in color. Cut them apart. If possible, laminate the cards for easier handling and durability. If you’d like, punch a hole in the card and provide a small mountable hook so students can keep the cards in a visible spot at home. If needed, email the cards to distance learners.
OTHER RESOURCES
AARP Foundation Connect 2 Affect Website. This website has a number of resources you can use to combat isolation in your community.
The Brain and Social Connectedness: GCBH Recommendations on Social Engagement and Brain Health. Global Council on Brain Health (2017).