This week residents at Hill House have been out and about in the gardens, collecting items that remind them of this time of year. With Sensory leaf crafts and traditional harvest customs of bread baking, the residents have loved sharing their memories of harvest festival and traditions that are important to them.
Monday morning, we kicked off harvest week with walks around the garden, collecting leaves and other nature and autumn items, we used these to create leaf rubbings, draw and paint images all inspired by the objects we had collected.
That afternoon, we continued to explore nature with our sensory table, filled with all things harvest. We were delighted to have our in-training PAT dog Tinkerbell around the home.
Tuesday morning, our gardenview lounges engaged in an Autumnn Spa morning, with sensory music and hand massage, using seasonal pumpkin and cinnamon hand creams. We chose autumn colours and relaxed while enjoying a manicure.
Others participated in themed water colour painting and brain training word searches.
We used images of autumn to create an autumn collage in our day lounge.
That afternoon, our knitter and natters group gathered in the gardenview lounge, for an afternoon making hats, scarfs, and squares. Others raced our model airplane around the lounge.
Knitting promotes wellness by reducing stress, creating strong social bonds, and increasing feelings of usefulness. The repetitive and rhythmic movements of knitting are often equated with meditation.
We spent time crafting a giant scarecrow in our arts and crafts club, followed by activities of daily living where we helped the house keeping fold laundry sheets.
Activities of daily life help maximise an individual’s ability to be independent.
Wednesday morning, our brain training activities saw us completing harvest themed word searches.
Others painted harvest leaves and completed jigsaw puzzles. Our interactive Omi magic table was enjoyed with themed sensory sounds and bread baking swipe games.
We enjoyed manicures and hand massages, this lovely lady wanted to return the hand massage.
That afternoon, a fun time playing Fall Bingo with lots of seasonal icons that brought many memories back while we played. Bingo can improve your brain’s processing speeds, alertness, and memory capabilities, according to a study.
Our gardenview loved playing giant snakes and ladders before afternoon tea and group socials.
Thursday, we gathered for a morning of flower arranging across the home. We really love our weekly forestry club meet ups. Others opted for a morning of reminiscing, of homes and the towns and villages they grew up in. We looked through books and the internet, to find old pictures.
We were so pleased to see our family members appear in a couple of old school photos, it was fabulous being able to share the stories and our history.
Thursday afternoon we made fantastic harvest loaves in cooking club. Kneading the dough, mixing in harvest herbs and spices filled the room with the iconic smell of freshly baked dough.
Friday morning harvest cards in the day lounge, cutting, trimming, sticking and peeling to create stunning seasonal greeting cards.
Others enjoyed activities of daily living like pairing socks and rummaging through our rummage dresser.
We also explored our harvest festival basket; full of foods that we give thanks for and other items that remind us of the festival of thanksgiving.
That afternoon we put on our dancing shoes for our barn dance entertainment with Terry.
We were delighted to host Hillbrow who joined us for the party and it was a great opportunity to meet up with old friends and make new ones.
Saturday morning, we painted autumn leaves for the harvest display table.
Painting encourages people to use both sides of their brain simultaneously. This helps creativity and increases cognitive function. Learning a new skill increases brain activity without struggle.
Sunday, we gathered for our weekly live streamed services. Religion is important to us because spirituality can improve the quality of life for seniors with dementia. Practicing a religion can help slow cognitive decline and reduce or stabilize cognitive disorders, according to International Psychogeriatrics.
Sunday afternoon, our brain training game, provided us with a challenge to name harvest items and objects for every letter of the alphabet.
