Session Structure

Our sessions follow a thoughtful format that balances consistency with variety, creating a familiar yet engaging experience each week. This structure is for both group and individual settings. We provide all necessary materials, and leave them so that our clients can continue to do them with their caregivers when volunteers are not present.

1. Warm Welcome & Social Check-In

Each session begins with friendly greetings, casual conversations, and lighthearted discussions about current events or personal interests. This helps participants feel safe, seen, and socially connected from the very start.

2. “Brain Gym” Core Activities

This is the heart of our program. During this segment, participants are guided through interactive, multisensory activities designed to stimulate memory, movement, and emotion.

Rather than being confined to a single category, most activities are intentionally blended to engage multiple areas of cognition and physical function at once. For example, a music-based game may also involve light physical coordination and memory recall, while a shape-sorting task might incorporate storytelling and social interaction.

Core elements include:

  • Memory-Stimulating Games – Puzzles, association tasks, word recall, brain teasers, and familiar games like tic-tac-toe, designed to encourage mental engagement.

  • Physical Activities – Gentle motor exercises using pool noodles, bean bags, cups, and other simple tools to support coordination and mobility.

  • Music-Based Interaction – Songs, rhythm exercises, and guided movement that spark emotional responses and help unlock long-term memories.

3. Reflection & Wrap-Up

Each session ends with words of encouragement, high fives, and a reflective moment in which we ask participants about the activities they enjoyed most. Our team then evaluates engagement levels and uses this feedback to further personalize and improve future sessions.

Read below to learn more about some activities that we do.


Memory Cards

Objective: 

  • Strengthen short-term and long-term memory by connecting objects in a story 

Materials: 

  • Printed pictures of any objects

How to: 

  • Show participants two images and guide them to create a short story

  • Remove the images and ask participants to recall the story

  • Add one new object at a time, connecting it to the existing story

  • Encourage humor and tie to personal experiences for better recall )

Cup Stacking

Objective: 

  • Practice coordination, teamwork, and focus through cup stacking challenges. 

Materials: 

  • Plastic cups, rubber bands with strings, balloons, pool noodles

How to: 

  • Give participants two pool noodles and instruct them to hold one in each hand  

  • Spread out cups on table and instruct participants to slowly use the pool noodles to lift the cups and stack them one at a time

  • For a memory challenge, tell participants to stack cups in a specific order (ex. red cup then blue cup then green cup, then repeat the order)

Catapult

Objective: 

  • Enhance aim and arm strength by launching objects

Materials: 

  • Plastic cups, balloons, lightweight balls, and buckets or stacked cups

How to: 

  • Attach a balloon to a plastic cup to form a catapult

  • Place balls inside and pull back to launch

  • Aim to knock over stacked cups or land colored balls in buckets of the same color

Cardboard Balance

Objective: 

  • Practice fine motor skills by maneuvering plastic balls into specific holes on a cardboard cutout

Materials: 

  • Cardboard, plastic balls

How to: 

  • Instruct participants to hold the cardboard cutout on opposite sides

  • Choose a specific target hole that participants should aim for

  • Place a plastic ball on the cardboard

  • Have participants keep track of the chosen target and collaboratively get the ball there while avoiding other holes

Ball Drop

Objective: 

  • Practice precision, hand-eye coordination, and color recognition. 

Materials: 

  • Foam pool noodles, buckets, plastic balls

How to: 

  • Place colored buckets between two tables or on top of a table

  • Instruct participants to hold a pool noodle in each hand

  • Place a colored plastic ball between the foam pool noodles

  • Have participants work together to drop the ball in the bucket of the same color

  • For a challenge, spread the buckets further apart

Fishing

Objective: 

  • Practice precision, problem-solving, and color recognition. 

Materials: 

  • Foam pool noodle, string with tape, plastic fish, and buckets. 

How to: 

  • Create a fishing pole by attaching string with tape to a foam noodle. 

  • Scatter plastic fish and guide participants to 'catch' them using the fishing pole. 

  • Sort fish into buckets based on color.