When you're caring for someone with dementia, one of the hardest questions can be surprisingly simple:

What can we do together?

Something they can still take part in.

Something that doesn't feel childish.

Something that doesn't turn into a test of what they can remember.

And something you know how to introduce when simply putting an activity on the table isn't enough.

The Caregiver Confidence Kit gives you 18 printable dementia activity sets, covering a wide range of interests and ways to participate, plus The Guide to Connecting with Activities for Dementia Caregivers.

There are activities for reading, picture matching, word and picture matching, sorting, familiar phrases, music, humour, nature, hobbies and gentle trivia.

But just as importantly, every activity comes with instructions to help you use it with the person you're supporting.

More than 18 things to keep someone busy

These activities aren't designed simply to fill time.

They're designed to give you somewhere to begin together.

One person might happily match pictures of classic cars.

Another may no longer manage matching but can still read a joke aloud.

Someone who isn't interested in either might enjoy garden birds, familiar songs, baseball, fashion, fishing or cakes and desserts.

And the same person may respond differently on different days.

That's why the kit gives you different themes, different activity types and different ways to participate.

You don't have to find the dementia activity that works.

You have a collection you can draw from according to the person and the day.

Start with the person

A good activity begins with more than someone's diagnosis.

What have they enjoyed?

Cars? Baseball? Birds? Clothes? Music? Fishing? Knitting? Reading? Gardening? Cooking? A good joke?

Those interests can give you a doorway.

The kit includes activities with themes that may appeal to very different people, including options particularly useful when you're struggling to find appropriate dementia activities for a man.

But interest comes first.

Choose for the person—not for a demographic.

Different ways to participate

The Caregiver Confidence Kit isn't 18 variations of the same matching game.

Across the collection, the person can:

read individual large-print cards
match identical or related pictures
match words with pictures
sort pictures or familiar words
complete familiar phrases and book titles
sing or enjoy familiar music
read and share jokes
take part in gentle trivia
look at and enjoy beautiful photographs
talk if conversation arises—or simply enjoy the activity in the moment

This gives you alternatives when one kind of activity becomes difficult or simply doesn't interest the person you're supporting.

Activities you can adapt to the person

You don't have to put every card on the table.

You don't have to finish an activity.

And you don't have to use a resource exactly the same way every time.

Offer one reading card.

Start a matching activity with two or three pairs.

Give the person one word card at a time.

Demonstrate instead of explaining.

Read aloud if reading independently has become difficult.

And if the activity starts a conversation, follow the conversation.

The activity adapts to the person—not the person to the activity.

No memory test required

Many traditional activities depend on questions:

Do you remember...?

What is this called?

What did you used to...?

The activities in this kit give the person something to work with in front of them: a picture, a word, a familiar phrase, a reading card or a choice.

A memory may emerge.

A story may follow.

But neither is required.

The person can enjoy a picture of a garden bird without remembering birds from their own garden.

They can read about a 1950s toy without remembering whether they owned one.

They can enjoy a familiar song without telling you who originally sang it.

The aim isn't to test what they remember.

It's to find ways to be together using what they can enjoy now.

What's inside the Caregiver Confidence Kit?

You'll receive all 18 Sylvia's Heart activity sets, each with its own instructions:

1. Animal Parent & Baby Matching Cards 16 parent-and-baby animal pairs (32 cards), with the option to match related animals or print twice for identical picture matching.

2. Baseball Word & Picture Match 20 pictures of familiar baseball objects and actions with 10 large-print word mats.

3. Classic Cakes & Desserts 20 individual reading cards featuring familiar cakes and desserts, with large images and easy-to-read text.

4. Classic Cars Picture Match 20 classic American and British cars from the 1950s and 1960s for picture matching.

5. Famous Animals Gentle Trivia 10 questions about familiar animals from television and popular culture, with large-print question and answer cards and a participation-friendly answer format.

6. Famous Singers and Their Songs 24 reading cards featuring well-known singers and familiar songs from earlier decades, designed to invite reading, singing and enjoyment.

7. Finish the Book Title 32 individual large-print cards featuring familiar classic book titles with the final word to complete.

8. Finish the Phrase 80 individual large-print cards featuring familiar sayings and phrases to complete.

9. Fishing or Knitting? Word Sort 16 large-print word cards plus two illustrated headings for sorting familiar words between two hobbies.

10. Flowers Picture Match 24 pairs of beautiful flower cards for matching, sorting, looking at and enjoying together.

11. Garden Birds 30 individual reading cards featuring garden birds from the USA and Eurasia, with photographs and short, easy-to-read descriptions.

12. Joke Cards 30 large-print joke cards. Read the setup, turn the card over and reveal the punchline.

13. Kitchen Word & Picture Match 20 familiar kitchen pictures with 10 large-print word mats for matching pictures with written words.

14. Men's Clothing Picture Match 28 men's clothing picture cards that can be used for identical matching or sorting by clothing type.

15. Popular 1950s Toys 20 individual reading cards featuring familiar toys, large images and easy-to-read text.

16. Purse or Toolbox? Word Sort 16 large-print familiar-word cards plus two illustrated headings for category sorting.

17. Tool & Task Picture Match 30 pairs (60 cards) matching familiar tools and everyday objects with their associated tasks.

18. Vintage Women's Fashion Color Match 48 vintage fashion accessory cards featuring hats, scarves, brooches, handbags, shoes and gloves that can be matched and sorted by color or item type.

Plus: The Guide to Connecting with Activities for Dementia Caregivers

The kit also includes:

The Guide to Connecting with Activities for Dementia Caregivers

The guide helps you think beyond simply choosing an activity and consider how you introduce it, how much you present, how you respond and when to let the activity go.

Together with the instructions included with every set, it gives you practical support for actually using the resources—not just files to print.

A Montessori-inspired, strengths-based approach

The activities draw on Montessori-inspired dementia-care principles and the work of dementia educators including Tom and Karen Brenner, whose approach has strongly influenced the use of large-print reading cards, familiar material, physical cards to hold and activities that provide opportunities for interaction and connection.

Across the collection, the emphasis is on making the activity manageable and supporting abilities the person can still use.

Prepare a comfortable space.

Reduce distractions.

Offer fewer choices when needed.

Put a card in the person's hands.

Demonstrate rather than over-explain.

Don't correct unnecessarily.

And if something else captures their attention, go with them.

Connecting is the game.

What if an activity doesn't work?

Put it away.

That's useful information too.

Someone who loved fishing all their life may have no interest in sorting fishing words today.

Someone who can't manage parent-and-baby matching may be perfectly comfortable matching two identical animal pictures.

Someone who doesn't respond to a matching activity might light up when they hear a familiar song.

Having 18 different sets means you can try another doorway.

There is no requirement to make a particular activity succeed.

Who is the Caregiver Confidence Kit for?

The kit is designed for:

family members supporting someone with dementia at home
professional caregivers
aged care and memory care staff
activity coordinators
people looking for adult-appropriate printable dementia activities
anyone who finds themselves thinking, “I don't know what to do with them anymore.”

You don't need to be an activity professional.

The instructions are there to help you begin.

What you'll receive

Your instant digital download includes:

18 complete printable dementia activity sets
instructions with every activity
The Guide to Connecting with Activities for Dementia Caregivers
A4 versions
US Letter versions
activities suitable for individual, family and small-group use

Print the activities you want now and keep the rest available for another person, another interest or another day.

You don't need an endless supply of new activities.

You need enough different ways to find something the person can still enjoy doing with you.

Printable Dementia Activities