Answers for nurses, activity directors, caregivers and families

Most activity books are written for children or hobbyists. Cognicopia makes pages for adults living with memory loss: thick, high-contrast lines, plain uncluttered layouts, subjects and prompts from the decades a resident actually lived through (roughly the 1910s to the 1990s), and three difficulty stages so the same activity can meet each person where they are.

The Personalized Packet Tool goes further and builds a whole workbook around one resident's own life: their hometown, work, family and favorite things.

Every activity offers three stages: Early, Moderate and Advanced. As the stage advances, pages use larger type, fewer items, shorter words and simpler choices. A word search, for example, is a 12 × 12 grid at Early, 10 × 10 at Moderate, and an 8 × 8 grid read left to right at Advanced; many puzzles move from a blank to write in, to a first-letter hint, to a choice of two.

These are practical groupings, not a clinical scale. Choose the stage by what the resident can comfortably do today, which may not match the staging in their chart.

Many people living with dementia have changes in visual perception: it can be hard to separate an object from its background, judge depth, or make sense of busy detail. In Lewy body dementia, a busy pattern can even be mistaken for something that isn't there.

So every coloring page shows one bold, familiar subject in pure black lines 3 to 6 points thick, with plain white space around it and no hatching or textured backgrounds.

Yes. For one-on-one time, Memory Lane prompts, an artist reminiscence sheet for a resident's favorite singer, coloring pages and large tracing pages work well at the bedside. For groups, try the Daily Orientation board, 24–36pt sing-along sheets, the Who Sang It? music match, beanbag targets and rhythm sheets.

In the Packet Builder, add whichever pages you want to your packet, then print them together in one go.

Memories from earlier in life, especially the teens and twenties, often last longer than recent ones. Prompts about the songs, cars, kitchens and prices of those years give a person something they can still reach, which invites conversation, confidence and a lift in mood. This is the idea behind reminiscence therapy, and it is why Cognicopia lets you choose the era that fits each resident.

In the Packet Builder: decade-themed word searches, Finish the Saying (familiar proverbs), Word Scramble, Name Three (naming things in a category), Goes Together (pairs like salt and pepper) and Memory Lane reminiscence questions.

The Personalized Packet Tool adds word puzzles built from the resident's own life, a life-story page and many more.

It prints pages you use alongside music you play from a record, CD or streaming service: sing-along sheets in 24–36pt type, Name That Tune song-title completion, Who Sang It? artist-to-song matching, and an Artist Spotlight that matches a singer's hits to the years they came out.

Search for any of about 170 artists, from Scott Joplin to Garth Brooks, or choose a random mix of eras. Printed lyrics come only from public-domain songs; newer songs appear by title and artist only.

Yes. They range from extra-large number tracing with dots to count, to coin counting with old-time prices, number ladders that count by 1s, 2s, 5s or 10s, and large-print 4 × 4 and 6 × 6 sudoku. At the Advanced stage, most become a simple choice of two.

Seated chair yoga cards with a simple figure showing the body part and four large steps; fine-motor line tracing with dashed paths 4 to 6 points thick; tabletop beanbag targets; and rhythm sheets where each shape is a move (circle = clap, square = tap your feet). Everything is done sitting down, and each page carries a short safety note for staff.

They keep reading, recognition and fine-motor skills in use: large-format letter scrambles with a clue, missing-letter words, A-to-Z category sweeps ("Things in a Kitchen, A to Z") and very large letter tracing, which can even use the letters of the resident's own name.

Shadow silhouette matching, and a giant-type Daily Orientation board showing the day, date, season, weather and today's menu.

Coloring pages now have their own category, Cognicopia Coloring: 37 pictures in six themes (nostalgia items, classic vehicles, animals, floral and nature, household objects, and seasonal pictures).

Yes. Type the resident's name in the setup panel and it prints at the top of each page ("For Margaret"; coloring pages read "Prepared especially for Margaret"). Letter Tracing can use the letters of their name, and Number Tracing can use a birth year or room number.

There isn't a separate room-number line in the page header yet. If that would help your team, tell us.

Your facility or unit name (for example, "Oakridge Memory Care – South Wing") can be set once under Settings & defaults in the Packet Builder, and it prints at the foot of every page. Cognicopia Coloring pages print it as a header above the picture instead. Uploading your own logo isn't available yet; let us know if you'd use it.

You don't have to. Every page is generated fresh. In the Packet Builder you can ask for 1 to 4 versions of an activity, and each version is checked to be different from the others. Clicking again always makes new ones.

The Personalized Packet Tool also remembers, on each computer, what it has already given each resident, so new packets avoid repeating recent content.

Personalized packets can include an Engagement Notes page: date, staff, how the resident took part and responded, and what held their attention, built around what surveyors look for in activity records. Ailment-specific packets end with a participation log.

A stand-alone group sign-in sheet isn't in the Packet Builder yet.

Not once the page has loaded. Every page is built right in your browser, not on a server, so it keeps working if the connection drops. You only need the internet to open the site on a computer the first time and to buy a license.

The Packet Builder uses a dark screen that is easy on the eyes at a staff station. What prints is separate: white pages with near-black text and small green accents.

Turn on High Contrast Mode (in the Packet Builder's Settings, or under "How is their vision?" in the Personalized Packet Tool) to print in pure black and white. That is sharper for low vision and uses no color ink. It only changes the printed pages, never the screen.

Standard US Letter, 8.5" × 11", with at least half-inch margins so nothing is clipped on a typical office printer. Each activity fills exactly one sheet. If your printer uses A4 paper, choose Fit to page in the print window.

Each drawing sits in a 6 × 8 inch box (a 3:4 shape), centered inside a half-inch margin with a thin frame, with your facility header and the resident's name at the top. Lines are pure black and 3 to 6 points thick, with plenty of open space to color.

No. Names and details you type stay in this browser on this computer, encrypted (AES-256-GCM) in its own storage, and the tools can save a locked resident or roster file (.cognicopia) to your Downloads folder so you can reload it or hand it to another station. Nothing is sent to us or to any other server, and the site loads no tracking or analytics. For more protection, add a passphrase in the Packet Builder's Settings: saved details then open only for staff who know it.

On a shared computer, use Clear saved data in the Packet Builder's Settings when you've finished. Printed pages with a resident's name on them should be handled under your facility's privacy policy, like any other paper record.

Yes. A license is $39 a month or $349 a year for your building (the yearly plan costs about 25% less), with unlimited packets for as many residents as you have. Several buildings are a custom quote. After you pay, your license key appears on screen: paste it once on each computer your staff use. Every computer also starts with 25 free packets, so anyone can try it first. See plans and prices.

Choose the Advanced stage. It uses the largest type: about 26pt on most pages and up to 36pt on sing-along sheets, with giant type on the orientation board and tracing pages. High Contrast Mode also helps many people with low vision.

There isn't a separate text-size dial yet. Tell us if a resident needs something larger.

Yes. Packet Builder puzzles print a small "For staff · answers" line at the foot of the page, easy to fold under or cover. The Personalized Packet Tool puts its answer keys on separate staff-only pages at the end, which you simply leave out of the resident's copy.

There isn't an on/off switch for answer keys yet.

New activities, artists and drawings are added as we hear from the facilities using Cognicopia. Updates appear on the site automatically; just reload the page.

We'd love to hear it. Cognicopia is shaped by the activity directors, nurses and families who use it. Email us using the box at the bottom of this page.

Compliance belongs to a facility's own program, not to software, so Cognicopia does not claim it. What is true: no resident data leaves the device. Resident details stay in the browser on the computer you use, kept encrypted there, and the packet tools make no network request of their own. That supports a facility's HIPAA privacy practices. Your privacy officer decides how it fits your policies. See Privacy & Your Data and Security & Vendor Questions.

Yes. The first 25 packets are free on every computer: no sign-up, no card, nothing to install. The 30-day pilot plan suggests what to try and what to write down, and the sample packet shows what a printed packet looks like.

Most activity books and apps are the same for everyone. Cognicopia makes each page from one resident's own life: their work, hometown, music and interests, at the level of support they need, and it avoids any topic you list. It does not replace your calendar or your records. It makes the pages and prompts that go in your hands on the unit.

The tools make and print packets on the computer, and make no network request of their own, so a blocked or missing connection does not stop printing. A license key is checked on the computer too, and keeps working until the date it is paid through plus 90 more days. Only buying uses the internet.

No. One license covers one building, with as many computers as it has and as many residents as you care for. There are no per-resident or per-packet fees. A group of buildings is an Enterprise agreement by custom quote.

$39 a month or $349 a year for your building. The yearly plan works out to under $1 a day. Card payments go through Stripe, and invoices on net-30 terms are available, payable by ACH or check, with a W-9. If it is not right for your community, ask within 30 days of your first payment and we will refund it. See plans and prices.

You do. The pages are made on your computer for your residents, and the resident information stays in your browser: Cognicopia has no server, account or cloud copy of it. Keep your own backup from the Resident Profiles page, because there is no other copy to restore from.

Nothing needs setting up for a new person: they open the tool on a computer that has the license key and make a packet. The Academy has short masterclasses and guides for new aides and nurses, and a Shift board for handoff notes that holds residents by alias or room only.