Activities at St Thomas Care Home

As Easter approached, the halls of our care home buzzed with anticipation and the residents eagerly joined together to prepare for a special celebration.

The scent of chocolate filled the air as residents gathered to indulge in sweet treats and share stories of past Easter celebrations.

But the highlight of the day was yet to come: an Easter quiz designed to test their knowledge and spark memories of seasons past. As questions were read aloud, residents huddled together, pooling their collective wisdom to find the answers. Laughter bubbled up as they debated each response, their minds sharpened by the challenge and their spirits buoyed by the sense of accomplishment.

When the final scores were tallied, cheers erupted as residents discovered they had achieved an impressive 50 out of 60. It wasn't just a testament to their individual knowledge but a triumph of teamwork and shared experience.

A special visit awaited the residents at St Thomas. Trained guinea pigs, with their soft fur and gentle demeanour, brought a burst of joy and excitement to the day. As they scampered into the common area, eyes lit up and smiles adorned faces.

With tender hands, residents reached out to stroke the furry visitors, their fingers dancing with newfound purpose. Each gentle caress was a celebration of fine motor skills, a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Memories, once dormant, stirred at the touch of a soft nose or the sound of a contented squeak.

As the guinea pigs nestled in the laps of their new friends, a chorus of laughter and conversation filled the room. For some, it was a chance to reminisce about childhood pets; for others, it was an opportunity to share stories of love and companionship. The therapeutic power of these furry companions was evident in the smiles that lit up the room and the voices that echoed with newfound vitality and the simple joy of connection. 

In the cosy corridors of our care home, a group of residents found joy in a simple yet meaningful activity: baking banana bread. They found comfort in the familiar task of mixing ingredients. With each turn of the spoon, memories stirred, and laughter filled the air. Together, they measured, poured, and mixed, guided by muscle memory, the warmth of companionship and the discussion of creations made in their own kitchens years ago. 

As the scent of freshly baked bread wafted through the kitchen, anticipation grew. With smiles as bright as the golden crust, they eagerly sliced the bread, savouring each bite. For a moment, time stood still as they savoured not just the flavour, but the memories intertwined within each delicious morsel. In that simple act of baking, they found not only nourishment for the body but also for the soul.

Recently we had a lovely lady called Florence move in to St Thomas. Florence was very scared of being in the home and didn’t want to talk to anybody as she didn’t know them. We set up talking group for the ladies in the home and invited Florence to join us. Florence was very reluctant to join but with a gentle hand to hold she come along and join in with the group. We introduced Florence to the ladies and sat her with one of our lovely ladies called Greta. The ladies enjoyed talking about their children growing up, what they used to do for a living and what their hobbies were. It wasn’t long before Florence was chatting away with them all. Greta had taken Florence under her wing and made sure she was ok. They sat and talked for a long time it was then we saw both ladies laughing. We decided to take a photo to catch this moment of how they formed a friendship with in just a couple of hours. We have since printed the photo off and put it in the ladies bedrooms so they can look at it and remember how they become friends and how Greta made Florence come out of her shell. Since then Florence has come out of her shell a lot more and she enjoys talking to everyone in the home.

Our residents enjoyed celebrating Valentine’s Day. the staff went around the home and gave all the ladies a rose. We had four different colour roses the ladies chose what colour they wanted, pink, purple, red or yellow. All of our ladies really enjoyed being given a rose on this special day but for us this one photo stood out among the rest. One of our beautiful ladies Margaret had just had a visit from her husband which she really enjoyed but when her husband left to go home Margaret was very sad that she couldn’t go with him. We went to see Margaret as she looked down and we showed her the roses. Margaret was very shocked to see such beautiful roses and it didn’t take her long to pick what colour she wanted. Margaret picked red as she said red is a beautiful colour. When we gave Margaret the rose she was very happy Margaret looked at the rose and said this is her first time of being given a single rose on Valentine’s Day. Margaret sat and looked at the rose for some time she looked so deep in thought while looking at the rose. We gave her an artificial rose so it would last a life time and that every time she looked at it she would remember that one special day she was give one single rose that made her day.

Marion is one of our lovely female residents her at St Thomas. Marion has always been very arty and enjoys how art makes her feel. Marion is very popular with visits from her family they always come to see her. Which took Marion’s focus off art as she wanted to spend all her time with her family. We spoke to Marion and her family and expressed that Marion wasn’t getting enough social interaction with our other residents. We also asked Marion what she liked to do the most as an activity Marion expressed that she really likes art. We come up with a conclusion with Marion that we would help her find her love for art once again. Marion was very excited about this and also the family  thought it was a good idea that Marion socializes with other people and find common interest. We started an art group for Marion and other people to join and socialise Marion found that she had a lot more in common with the other residents than she thought. Marion will explain to the residents and staff about different shades the lighting and what affect that has on a picture and all the attention to detail. Marion now joins with arts every week her family brought her very nice colouring pages and pencils so Marion get to do art when she is in her room and also with others. Marion finds arts relaxing and peaceful the family said that they can see Marion’s passion for art come back as she has a constant smile when she is doing art.