How to Make a Tabletop Zen Garden

A Zen Garden is a creative tool to calm anxiety, quiet the mind and relax an individual to relieve stress and be open to more creative and joyful thoughts. It can be meditative as well. Not in a New Age sense either. It can simply slow one’s mind down enough to focus on one thought at a time or cause one to explore a thought outside of a traditional line of thought, or “outside the box”. A traditional Zen Garden implements all natural elements, but this isn’t absolutely necessary.

The tools needed for the project are:

The tray can be a wooden, metal, plastic or ceramic item and not a tray at all. It could be a bowl. The sand should be clean, sterilized sand, white sand preferred, and this can be purchased at a craft or hobby store.

The rocks could be polished stones, or even gems from custom jewellery. In addition to, or instead of rocks, you could also use petrified wood, shells or sand dollars. The rake need only be a raking instrument like a small fork or comb, or some other pronged instrument.

Seniors can write in the sand or just create patterns in lines or swirls. Very easy to erase what has been done, start over and make a new design. No rules to Zen Garden use and creativity.

Using a plastic container or tray with a closing lid is a great way to put it aside for storage until it is pulled out again to use.

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ZEN ROCK GARDEN
A miniature zen garden is a coffee table conversation piece that brings peace of mind. Includes square dish, white sand, three stones, mini pagoda and a rake. 7 1/4" x 7 1/8" x 1 3/4" high. Set exclusive.

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Memory Box and Reminiscence Box Ideas

Reminiscence Boxes are a great way to stimulate memories in the elderly. It is fun for anyone to revisit the items that were popular in their past and seniors will love to see the items that were a part of their daily lives in days gone by.

A Reminiscence Box could be created for any type of memory, such as going out on a date in the 50’s. This reminiscence box might contain lipstick, a corsage (fake), a record, photos, hair curlers, a comb, etc.

A time period like the 30’s or 40’s could be populated with items of the musicians of the time, coins, magazines, and more. These can also be customized for areas in which people live, or even different countries where the seniors may have lived at one time.

These boxes can be additionally useful and stimulating with tactile items varying in texture, shape and size, as well as sensory items with fragrance and sound (soaps, bells, etc). The senses help bring back memories and these items may help the elderly remember times and experiences they have forgotten.

Other memory box and reminiscence box themes you could try:

Museums occasionally have these boxes that can be borrowed and used by nursing homes. Check there or with your local libraries. If they don’t have any, consider making your own reminiscence boxes. You could even involve several different assisted living facilities. Each can choose to make a few reminiscence boxes, based on different themes, and the boxes could be circulated amongst all participating facilities.


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