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For Seniors and Those Who Love and Care for Them: Activities

The COVID-19 Pandemic has left our senior population most vulnerable and isolated. This resource has been developed with their needs in mind.

Staying Active - Physically and Mentally

Even if you are remain at home during this time of physically distancing, it is important to keep physically and mentally engaged. You may miss your old routines but maybe this is an opportunity to create new ones.

Listed on this page are activities that require various levels of technical and athletic abilities which reflect the capabilities of the senior population.

Some information from the AARP will help you during this time:

The AARP has ideas for caregivers on how to keep loved ones active at home
Listen live and archived AARP Coronavirus Tele-Town Halls where experts share information about coronavirus.

Entertainment

Complete a jigsaw puzzle

Scrapbook your photos

New York Times Crossword Puzzles Website - Free simple puzzles as well as (archived) original crossword puzzles that can be printed

AARP Brain Games - Free Mahjongg, Solitaire, Word, and Arcade games. More games if you have an AARP membership

Watch some of Valley Cottage Library’s favorite program providers on video - musicians, artists, and various practitioners, take virtual tours through museums, watch operas, find volunteer opportunities, and much more with our Adult Virtual Programming Resource

Learn about your ancestors through Ancestry.com. The Valley Cottage Library has now made this resource accessible from home. Enter the first five digits of your library card number

Your Valley Cottage Library card allows you access to the OverDrive, Libby and Hoopla apps where you can borrow e-books and audio books to be used on your device(s). You can also check out available e-magazines with OverDrive and Libby. In addition you can stream movies through Hoopla and Kanopy to watch on your device(s). If you have questions or need assistance with these apps, please e-mail us at vclref@rcls.org.

The Valley Cottage Library is now opened for curbside delivery and Express Browsing and Internet use. Please visit our website for details.

The library is still holding events when possible, but they are being offered virtually. Scroll down our Adult Program Events Highlights page to see what is scheduled and how to register for them.

Crafts

Just Crafty - Instructional knitting and crochet videos with patterns provided.

Crafting a Green World - eco-friendly crafts

Craft videos and projects from the Do It Yourself Network

MyBluPrint.com - Instructions on how to make face masks that require sewing or no sewing. Project kits, instructions, lessons for knit, crochet, sewing, embroider projects.

Exercise

Before doing any exercise routine, be sure to put on a pair of sturdy athletic sneakers and clear the exercise area of anything that may cause you to fall like rugs, decorative items, and furniture. Do not push yourself beyond your capability. This is not the time to take any risks that may result in a trip to the hospital or doctor. Remember to hydrate during or afterwards. (You can click "Skip Ads" to start the exercise video.)

These exercise videos are listed by challenge level (easy to challenging):

Seated exercises for older adults with balance and mobility issues - 10 minutes
Yoga for Seniors - Chair Stretches for Pain Relief, Relaxation, Joint Health, Flexibility, Stress 15 minutes
Chair Exercises For Seniors - 30 Minutes - Whole Body - Seated
Zumba Gold Chair
Challenging seated or standing 30 Min Exercise for Seniors, Older People, and Elderly
Gentle Yoga with Valley Cottage Library’s yoga program provider Donna Hunt
AARP 10 minute workouts - stretch, cardio/sculpt, lower body

Learning

Acquire more computer skills with Techboomers.com. Techboomers aims to improve the quality of life for older adults and other inexperienced technology users by empowering them to learn how to use popular and trusted websites and Internet-based applications.

For those seniors that need to enhance their business and/or technical skills, the Valley Cottage Library now has made LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) available to its cardholders. Access it through our database page. All you need is your library card number and your pin.

Take advantage of this time to improve your online critical thinking skills. During this politically charged public health crisis and election season, learn how to distinguish fact from fiction and real from digitally altered, with some reliable tools:

The Reuters News Agency fact checks current news events and coverage.
The Snopes Media Group main mission is to fight misinformation.
FactCheck.org is a project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.
A new goal of The Poynter Institute is to teach older Americans how to sort fact from fiction online through their new initiative - MediaWise for Seniors. In June 2020, the MediaWise program expanded beyond teens and college students to older Americans, teaching America’s 50+ population key digital literacy and fact-checking skills to ensure they make decisions based on fact and not fiction. Read articles from their staff, try their fact-checking tools and sign up for their newsletter. Poynter is also offers fact-checking articles through the PolitiFact.