Reminiscing with June
On Monday 17 January we took a trip down memory lane with one of our residents at Loose Valley Care Home, talking about her life experiences, family and friends.
June adores reading Danielle Steel who is one of her favourite authors. She received a pile of books from her son, who also dropped in a bag of flower bulbs, which included lilies and dahlias. We will get some compost and a flower container and help her plant them – the label says they can be planted outside from February to April, so we will wait until the frost eases up!
Gardening was another hobby June loved when she was able; involving her in this pastime is so positive for her well-being and she can feel a sense of achievement and pride once the bulbs start flowering – all differing shades of yellow, just right for when they flower in June to September.
This type of person-centred, focused activity is a powerful way of showing a person that they are valued as an individual. Taking time to reminisce can improve mood, bring a laugh and allow us to learn about our resident’s life history and stories they have experienced along the way.
A talking clock for Peter
With one-to-one sessions we can tailor an activity to what a person would like to do.
Today we spent time with Peter, who likes to know what’s going on in the news and also in sports, as he loves cricket. As England are playing Australia at the moment, he was eager to know the score.
We read out some of the world news and local Maidstone news for him and he also listened to a uTube video of the cricket ‘down under‘.
Being visually impaired, Peter was struggling with not knowing the time and having to ask staff, so we fixed this by sorting out a talking clock, which has a button he just had to press to hear the time. It tells him the time, day and date and he’s overjoyed with it!
Reminiscing together, we talked about driving on motorways and his job in the past which was with the old fashioned tills like those in ‘Open All Hours‘! He used to drive up to Dartford and had a 30 mile radius with his work. He said he wouldn’t like to drive nowadays as the roads are far more crowded and you have to watch out for the other drivers who are not paying attention!
Bunny Scrabble!
We played a game of Scrabble on Sunday 16 January with four of our residents and a bunny no less!
Rabbits are the cutest and Bella is no exception; such a gentle creature, so affectionate and she adores being involved in what is going on. She also really enjoys being handled and having a cuddle.
Our residents loved the interaction and Bella kept going to everyone across the table – so while they were waiting for their turn, they could ask her to help them with choosing a word!
