It has been a busy fun filled week at Hill House with lots of time out in the spring sunshine, sitting by the fish pond and walking the gardens. There has been lots going on inside too, as we dived into the history of the Titanic, revisited pastimes, loved playing board games together and hosted our Big Hill House raffle.
Monday morning we had fun at arts and crafts club, as we painted a Titanic scene to display on our weekly themed table, including port holes. Taking part in artistic activities and engaging in therapeutic processes with art are both valuable but in unique ways.
In the afternoon, we settled down with drinks and snacks to watch the history of the Titanic on the big screen.
After which we had some One to One activities with staff, these are tailored solely to our interests and abilities. There are so many enjoyable games and activities that keep our minds and bodies strong and active.
On the bright and sunny Tuesday morning we partook in fun exercises. Parachute games promote our social interaction and develop coordination and help us stretch our upper body. They are novel, fun and exciting. The parachute is very popular here at Hill House.
We took time out of a busy morning to relax and read the daily papers and spend time on sensory activities.
As lock down continues, we are so appreciative that staff are keeping us looking beautiful by setting, curling and styling our hair.
A skittles competition in the main lounge, filled our afternoon. Everyone was trying to win the competition and take home the winning prize. Skittles was inspired by deck games that would have been played onboard cruise ships like the Titanic.
Deck games continued in the garden view lounge with more traditional deck games like quoits. We also played we enjoyed ball and balloon games.
We are so blessed to have been able to be outside in the garden, tending to the plants and enjoying the fresh air. Getting outside also allows us to exercise in fresh air while benefiting from sunshine and daylight. Walks outside can reduce our stress levels and increase our self-esteem, allowing for activity and sociability as well as contact with nature.
On Wednesday morning we enjoyed updating our scrapbooks, this allows us time to redefect on all the fun things we have been up to and share our pictures and stories with others.
All aboard for the Captains Tea Party, we have been learning about the Titanic and the many stories that have come out over the years. The tea party gave us the opportunity to share with our friends some of the stories we have heard or that have been passed down through our families over the years of loved ones on board. The captain and first lady served freshly baked scones with cream and jam, while we enjoyed reminiscing over teas and coffees.
Our Captains Tea party was finished off with a fun game of musical bingo, the home was filled with singing and music as we played along guessing the songs, before double bingo winner where crowned.
Thursday morning, we enjoyed relaxing with Puzzles. At their core, every type of puzzle is about solving a problem. Jigsaws are figuring out which pieces fit together to create the end picture and reminisce over the memories the images bring back to us.
Ahead of Fridays Big Raffle we started to make a multipurpose raffle board on Thursday morning. We wanted it to be BIG and bright. We worked together to cut and stick small envelopes, coloured and painted lettering for the sign. Others spent time reading and listening to classical music.
The garden view lounge was busy with lots of activities to enjoy, we played a group game of dominoes and helped each other out when needed. We also enjoyed getting back into old hobbies like knitting and sewing as we rummaged through the sewing rummage boxes.
Thursday afternoon the sun was shining bright as we sat out on the patio. We enjoyed answering quiz questions on gin and the month of April.
Creativity is an important part of our week and our flower arranging club gives us a creative outlet. Our weekly flower delivery allows us to create beautiful floral displays to decorate the home. This week we had bright oranges and yellow flowers.
We started our Friday morning with a lively exercise programme to music before settling down into our mornings activities of therapeutic arts and crafts and group reading.
Animals like dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, turtles, guinea pigs all offer an important part of ‘life’ and represents nurturing and normalcy and that does not go away as we age. Our sensory animals are key to daily living and provide comfort and reassurance and bring back happy memories of loved pets.
Garden walks are a key part of the activities programme and we look forwards to going outside and enjoying the fresh air and when the weather is this nice, we can sit outside and listen to the sounds of all the birds.
The BIG Hill House raffle was hosted on Friday afternoon by our fabulously creative Activities Team. The prize trolley was overflowing with wonderful prizes as it was wheeled around the home visiting every residnets. We picked numbers off the board to reveal our prize, they made sure everyone won a prize of sweets or chocolate and special numbers revealed a bonus prize that we could choice from the trolley.
Saturday morning, we had brain training, we got so much delight from playing giant scrabble as a group. Creating words to fill the board, it brings the whole lounge together and gets our brains thinking outside the box.
Our interactive activity table has a diverse selection of meaningful person-centred activities, so there are lots of activities for us to choose from.
Saturday, we took long walks in the garden and enjoyed the spring sunshine.
Saturday afternoon we played board games together leading to lots of laughter and reminiscing about our childhood and the games we played with our children and grandchildren.
A small group of us spent Sunday morning looking through photographs of our families and loved ones, we shared stories of our past and worked out that although some of us lived miles apart we lead similar lives and had similar interests and hobbies. While other lives took others down different paths, we have all come together and built friendships here at Hill House.
We ended the week how we started getting out into the gardens and enjoying the fresh air and the beautiful flowers that are blooming. In the afternoon we settled down for the showing of Titanic on the big screen.
