This week residents at Hill House have loved celebrating all things English, as part of our St Georges Week. Residents slayed a dragon, played giant snakes & ladders. Took long walks in the garden and sung at our Royal themed tea party to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s 96th birthday.
Monday morning in our day lounge we took on our Famous Faces Quiz of famous English actors, comedians, politicians. We heard trivia and shared stories about them, like the story of reading the first Harry Potter books.
The act of colouring can increase eye and hand coordination. It also improves dexterity, grip control and focus. It is important for seniors to strengthen motor skills as much as possible and colouring is a great way to do this. Our ladies in our garden view lounge took part in our therapeutic colouring session themed around St Georges day, flags and dragons.
That afternoon with the sun shining we took long walks around the garden, feed the fish in the pond and spent time reminiscing about holidays and summer themed activities.
Indoors other played shove ha’penny board game. The Game – Each player shoves five coins up the board in turn. To prepare each coin to be pushed, the player positions the Ha’penny at the front of the board with the rear of the coin just sticking over the front edge of the board. Any part of the hand can then be used to shove the coin up the board.
Tuesday, in our garden view lounge we played a variety of fabulous board games.
Our person-centred approach to activities comes from, having created a picture of a resident’s past and present. Based on that information we provide them with meaningful choices of the activities they wish to partake in.
Reminiscing and sussing out the spring summer fashion.
Our day lounge spent the morning completed a St Georges day themed brain training white board game. Working as a group we to try and find as many words as they could using the letters from ‘St George’s Day’.
That afternoon we starred as St Georges as we took on our very own Slay the Dragon game, for a chance to win dinosaur eggs.
It was so much fun as we tapped and poked at the game, trying to unveil the egg.
Alongside, we played a group game of dominoes.
Our sensory table we set up with optic lights and mix medium optics to stimulate the senses with calming jazz music playing alongside.
Wednesday morning, we welcomed our 4-legged goat friends into Hill House.
We love seeing the goats trot around the home, hooves clicking along the floor as they visit those of us in our rooms or in the quieter lounges across the home. Their friendly nature means they are great fun as we feed them mints and food. They bring big smiles to all our faces.
Followed by group armchair exercises in the day lounge.
The afternoon continued with tremendous fun activities, a large group took garden walks and spent the afternoon sipping on fruity mocktails by the fish pond or on our patio area.
As the sun shone, we gathered for a sing along in the garden.
Indoors our interactive TV quiz was underway we started with a St Georges / English themed quiz before moving on to general knowledge quizzes.
We love having the quizzes on the big screen as we find it more inclusive, with picture rounds and visual aids for those of us that are hard of hearing.
Thursday morning a trip to the hairdresser for some R&R and social chats about life and what ever took our fancy. Our weekly flower arranging club met in the day lounge and we arranged this week’s flowers to be displayed around the home.
Sewing club took place in our garden view lounge. We all got really stuck into it and had a go, we choose between making a bookmark or a coaster.
Sewing increases nimbleness in the fingers and softens the joints in the fingers over time. Sewing is relaxing and can lead to a steadier heart rate, lower blood pressure, and less perspiration over time. The calming effects of sewing can reduce stress if your mind is focused on it.
We were invited to a Special Tea Party to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s 96th birthday on Thursday afternoon, with Louis played on the piano, everyone sung along while sipping on tea and eating scrumptious cakes.
The Queen’s birthday also fell on National Tea Day so it was the perfect opportunity for a double celebration.
Friday morning, skittles in the day lounge is a fun way to exercise to have fun at the same time.
In our garden view lounge a great game of snakes and ladders. We had loads of fun playing together. Great team work and encouragement amongst all who played.
This was followed by a more relaxed end to the afternoon, while sipping on tea we hand painted luxurious water colour cards.
We also spent one to one time playing dominoes with carer staff while listening to country music.
With so many excellent activities on offer today in our garden view lounges, it was hard to try and fit them all in. That afternoon we congregated for a game of Bird Bingo, with our very own bingo caller MA. He called out the names each time followed by a fun fact he could think of, also adding their own facts in. Following bingo, residents took on a group game of dominos, helping one and other out as they went, great team spirit.
As St Georges Day celebrations continue, we were treated to an English Food Tasting experience. We sampled some English classics Lincolnshire Sausages, Melton Mowbray Pork Pie, Bakewell tarts, Cornish Pasties, Devonshire Cider, Eckles Cake, Cheddar Cheese and so much more!
Saturday morning, and St Georges day we started our day with a fun game of themed Bingo, we raced the board trying to be the first.
Adding to the excitement we had to wave our hands and say a silly word if we had a bingo or full house, this got everyone laughing and joking.
Followed by Can you name and how you feel, whiteboard games.
Afternoon Movie we chose the original snow white, while we gathered for it to start, we spoke about when the film was realised how we remember gathering to watch it and it was the first of its type of film.
Sunday Morning service and daily newspapers was the perfect start to our Sunday.
That afternoon we enjoyed a Neil diamond singalong in the day lounge. Our garden view lounge we tucked into an English afternoon Tea.
