Activities at grasmere

Music is a major part of many of the Activities!

music reaches people in many ways -

memories of the past

both good and bad-happy and sad!

From olde tyme,

war songs and sing a long to nursery rhymes,

Christmas Carols and remembered hymns from school!

Music to dance to, to sing to, to do actions to? Remembering when you did these things! Remembering when?

Music to exercise to and tone muscles in fingers and wrists, music to sing-a-long with, to put actions to, to smile and laugh and be funny with, to sway a scarf and shake a rattle, roll a ball and squeeze it tight, let it go and feel muscles tighten and tone, pat a drum and push a hoop around your fingers.

Crafts range from making Christmas cards, painting glass pebbles, knitting a square, tapestry, flower arranging a table decoration. Velvet art and colouring in felt tip pens, using clay and sculpting mediums to make nic-nacs, cake decorating using icing pens and jelly sweets, making marzipan sweets by rolling and cutting shapes into sweets.

There`s Bingo and board games - draughts, dominos, snakes and ladders and noughts and crosses, puzzles and quiz time!

There`s reminiscence in groups and one to one, using pictures/photographs and props to remember when as each persons memory is theirs and very meaningful.

There is no set day or time for specific activities, except it is two hours per day -five days per week, either from 10am 'till 12 noon or 2pm 'till 4pm every weekday, each and every activity is tailored to meet the differing and individual needs of the residents, their abilities and aspirations are met on a day to day basis.

Activities are done in the residents lounge, collectively and on a one to one basis, daily visits are made to residents confined in their room`s due to frailty and/or preferences, just to chat, reminisce and pass the time of day, no one is left out and all are seen, not forgetting that the choice to be alone and not participate is respected.

In just three weeks our first project has been completed, hand painted glass pebbles which were done by many of the residents, now adorn a plain glass vase, a work of art for a small poinsettia to reside for the Christmas season.

A raffle is in progress to be drawn on 15th December at the Christmas party, proceeds to the Activities Fund for even more fun and interests for the residents of Grasmere.