Idea Submitted by Erin McPhie

Singing at a nursing home is a simple, fun way to involve your family in service.  You can do it during the holidays or any other time of year.  Here are some tips on how to make it happen: 

(1) Print out a list of all the local nursing homes, and decide which one(s) would be most convenient for your family to visit.  You might want to call ahead to find out when would be the best time of day to sing.  Our local nursing home has specific mealtimes when everyone is gathered in the main hall.

(2) Choose your songs--let your children pick their favorites, find some older songs the residents might enjoy, and put together a list, complete with lyrics.

(3) Hold a couple of practice sessions.  Sing together as a family while you're cleaning up after dinner, while you're driving in the car, or before bed (this will help your littlest ones learn the songs, too).

(4) Pick a day (or evening) for the visit, gather your song list and singing voices, and make your way to the nursing home. 

(5) Enjoy!  We had such a wonderful time visiting with the elderly men and women, and they loved the singing.  The woman at the front desk gave us a few room numbers for residents who do not get many visitors, so we went specifically to those rooms and spent some extra time with them.