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Section 18
Bean Scooping & Clothes Pins

Table of Contents | NCCAP/NCTRC CE Booklet

Bean Scooping
(The last track of the DVD contains slide(s) illustrating implementation of this activity.)

Remember the hard rounded beans you bought for the Bean Bag Rolling?  I suggested navy beans.  You can use those same beans for bean scooping.  Materials needed are one can, about the size of a Planter’s Peanuts can or large tuna can, a second can or dish, and a spoon. The resident scoops the beans out of the can into the second can or into a dish.  I know that this doesn’t make any sense.  However, this is a nonsensical activity.  The reason why this activity doesn't make any sense is because once the beans are scooped, they are dumped back into the empty peanut or tuna can, and the resident starts all over again.  

The Sound of Success
However, I have found there is something motivational to the resident about the Sound of the beans going into the second can or dish.  Obviously, as I mentioned with clay, you should assess beforehand if the resident is going eat the beans that you are having him or her scoop.  To introduce this activity:

1.  You might say something like, "Marie, I have a hand exercise for you.  Would you like to exercise your hands?"
2.  Demonstrate scooping the beans from one container to the next.
3.  Hand the spoon to Marie, and say, "You try." Reinforce any attempt by saying, "Good, great, you did a good job!"

A Weird Successful Story
I had a group of fairly alert residents who just loved to do Bean Scooping.  Yes, I said "alert" residents.  They would come into my Activity Room and say they wanted to scoop beans.  Gosh, how often does that happen?  They had observed some disoriented residents scooping beans and said they wanted to try.  They would sit in the activity room and scoop beans into one container, and then dump them back into the original container and start over again.  They thought it was fun.  Perhaps it reminded them of a cooking activity.  Even with some less alert residents, there is just something magical about the sound of those hard beans dropping into the plastic bowl or can.  So watch for your resident's facial or verbal reaction to the sound of the beans striking the container.  Reinforce this additional involvement in the activity by saying, "Good, you noticed the sound.  It sounds nice, doesn't it?"

Residents with whom to try Bean Scooping

Culture Change Implementation: Place Bean Scooping in labeled Activity Project Bag left in resident’s room for CNA, volunteer, etc. use.

Clothes Pins

The Clothes Pin activity is an activity some of your older female residents, who have hung their laundry on a clothesline with spring-type clothes pins, may be able to relate to.  Buy clothes pins from a discount store or craft store, either the old wooden ones or the more common plastic, spring-loaded kind.  Clip clothes pins around the outside edge of a small coffee-sized can or Cool-Whip-type container.  Ask the resident to remove the clothes pins from the edge of the container and put them inside. One way to motivate the resident, of course, as in the case of Block Stacking and Bean Scooping, is to say that this is a “hand exercise.”

Clothes Pins is actually a fairly difficult activity.  That is why the ideas in this Manual are arranged from least difficult to most difficult.  If a resident cannot do the Clothes Pin activity, you might try Bean Scooping, Block Stacking, Clay, or other activities further back down the ability level line located towards the front of this Manual.  Of course, since this is part of a series, don't forget about the core Success Therapy® activities presented in the CD and Manual in Volume One.  If you recall Caps-in-a-Bowl from Volume One, the Clothes Pin activity is a far more complicated version of Caps-in-a-Bowl.  Clearly, the thumb and index finger dexterity required to unclip the clothes pin and the hand-eye coordination to drop the unclipped clothespin into a container surrounded by other clothes pins is beyond the physical ability of many residents, not to mention beyond the length of their attention spans.  However, the Clothes Pins activity does work with a limited number of residents who can do this activity, but cannot do the next activity to be described, Bead Stringing.

Residents with whom to try Clothes Pin Clipping

Culture Change Implementation: Place Clothes Pin Clipping in labeled Activity Project Bag left in resident’s room for CNA, etc. use.