This week at Hill House, the residents enjoyed a varied week of cat-themed activities to honour International Cat Day. Our residents enjoyed being tested in the animal-themed trivia, and getting creating with cat-mask crafting. They also loved getting their hands dirty in gardening club, and this weeks cooking club rustled up some cat-tongue biscuits.
On Monday morning in the main lounge, we kicked off the week with a game of floor Trivial Pursuit. We took turns throwing a small blue beanbag to decide on the category, and worked as a team to figure out the answers and earn points. In the end, we completed four Trivial Pursuit hexagons!
In the garden view lounge, we played conversation catch. In this game, whoever catches the ball must answer a question about themselves, and thereby start a conversation. This social game combines physical coordination with interpersonal connection.
In the afternoon, we all came together for a resident’s meeting, led by Christie. In this meeting, we were introduced to new members of staff, and given an update on the day to day running of the home. We were also informed that a brand new ice cream freezer had been ordered for the main lounge, which we are all very excited about. Once the meeting was concluded, most of us enjoyed a glass of wine and a piece of cake.
On Tuesday morning in the garden view lounge, we tested our knowledge with an animal picture quiz. While some of the animals were easy for us to identify, others had us scratched our chins for a while before we figured out the answer.
Meanwhile in the main lounge, we played an energetic game of cat-themed bingo, before immersing ourselves in a challenging quiz.
In the afternoon, we all came together to participate in Dementia Choir. We reconnected with our friends from Farnham mill and Hill Brow, and all sang together with help from our choir director, Caroline. Towards the end, some of us had a little dance.
On Wednesday morning in the garden view lounge, we began the day with some flower arranging. We created several beautiful bouquets, which we then decorated our lounge and bedrooms with.
In the main lounge, we were working together to complete the A-Z of Farm Life. Between us, we managed to come up with several farm-related words for each letter of the alphabet. Afterwards, some of us elected to do some colouring.
After lunch, we got our hands dirty in Gardening Club. The task was to re-pot around 20 young plants, so that they could be donated to charity as raffle prizes at our up-coming BBQ. We had great fun and giving these leafy plants new homes, even if we did make a bit of mess!
In the garden view lounge, we were delighted to receive some music therapy. We played along to the songs we recognised, and some of us had a good sing-song.
On Wednesday morning in the garden view lounge, Steve gave us a ballroom dancing lesson. We got groovy to a number of songs, and Steve gave us a real spin!
Meanwhile, in the main lounge, we got involved with flower arranging club. The variety of flowers that arrived from the florist was astonishing, and we loved the colours and textures of the plants. Together, we created many beautiful arrangements to decorate the lounge with.
In the afternoon, we got busy crafting table decorations for our upcoming BBQ. The BBQ will be ‘Team GB’ themed, so we combined tissue paper with Olympics logos to create the centrepieces. We had a lot of fun and were proud of our work.
In the garden view lounge, we tested our hand-eye coordination with a game of balloon tennis. We all got involved in batting the balloon backwards and forwards and loved the opportunity for light-hearted exercise.
On Friday morning in the main lounge, we bonded as a group during this week’s Knit and Natter club. While some of us were keen to do some knitting and crocheting, others joined us simply for the pleasant company.
Meanwhile, some of us went on a trip to Squires, a local gardening centre. We admired the little creatures for sale in the pets department and treated ourselves to a lovely cup of tea in the café.
n the afternoon, we made cat tongue biscuits at cooking club. There was a lot of mixing involved, and when the mixture was fully combined we piped it into straight lines on baking paper. Once cooked, they were light, sweet, and delicious!
We worked our creativity muscles in the garden view lounge, with some watercolour painting. We loved experimenting with the paints and using some different equipment.
On Saturday, we all came together for our annual summer BBQ. The garden had been decorated with bunting an balloons, and many of us invited our families to enjoy the event with us. We were audience to a wonderful singer, who performed country music and rock and roll. Among us was a balloon artist, who crafted fun animals and hats while we ate heartily. The food was delicious, and included a variety of meats, salads, and a very tasty desert. There was also a charity raffle, and some of us won prizes!
On Sunday morning in the garden view lounge, we got up and danced during the dementia-friendly church service. We sung along to an selection of hymns and popular Christian music, and listened to an optimistic bible reading at the end.
In the main lounge, we watched the Sunday church service via a YouTube live stream.
In the afternoon, some of us gathered in the garden for cocktails to make the most of the heatwave. Protected by the shade, we enjoyed a peaceful afternoon of tasty drinks and great company. Julie read us the Daily Sparkle, a feel-good periodical of uplifting news. It was lovely.
Meanwhile, in the garden view lounge, we were each pursuing our own individual pleasures. Some of us took the opportunity to walk to the fishpond and admire its beauty from a shady spot beneath a tree. Others played giant card games, worked through themed crossword puzzles, or did some therapeutic colouring.
