Reminiscing, School and Education
Journaling Worksheet
Short Description:
Reminiscing is a way of remembering the past.
For example, if you are sharing stories from your life long ago with your friends and thinking of happy memories and happenings in your life, this is reminiscing.
In this activity, the topic is “School and Education”. Use the journaling page and write down some of your memories and experiences. And remember that education is not just school. We learn every day in our lives! To assist you with your writing, we are giving you some questions to help trigger your memories. Maybe you’d like to share your story with your friends and see if their experiences are like yours?
Directions for Caregivers:
Print the worksheet and compare your experiences from your school days. Make it a nice social occasion.
Maybe find some photos from that time in your lives.
Listen to the stories and share your own! We are giving you some conversation starters and a school topic to get the conversation flowing. Take a question at a time and go around the participants. Respect that some people might prefer not to share and just enjoy listening.
Caution: Be aware that reminiscing can trigger bad memories. You need to be sensitive to the mood of the participants and be there to support them if necessary. We also give you a journaling page for residents to do the activity independently in the room.
Early and mid-stage dementia
With dementia, long-term memory is often much better than short term. A person may not remember you from yesterday but has no trouble remembering their first day at school.
Listen to the stories and share your own. Use the questions to trigger conversations.
Caution: Be aware that reminiscing can trigger bad memories. You need to be sensitive to the mood of the participant(s) and be there to support them if necessary. We also give you a journaling page for residents to do the activity independently in the room.
