Activities at Ashminster House Care Home
Activities at Ashminster are based on residents' life histories. We host music workshops and encourage participation in a number of other activities, including gentle exercise, bingo and gardening. Monthly live singers entertain everyone with music from the 50s, 60s and 70s and residents are encouraged to interact with the musical instruments. Sensory sessions with fibre optic lights and touch & feel blankets are provided, which can be calming to those living with dementia. Residents participate in cooking sessions and enjoy the aromas of bread, scones and cakes - and, of course, sampling the finished product over a cuppa! We promote family values at Ashminster, and those we support can enjoy reminiscing about family events in the past, including weddings and previous occupations.
Elaine Hilden
I have worked at Ashminster House since 2003, first as a carer then progressing to activities coordinator, which has know as 'Head of Lifestyle'. I have a wealth of experience in my role, as well as NVQs in Health and Social Care, Activities in the Care Setting and Dementia.
I am passionate about fulfilling residents' lives by getting to know each individual with a person-centred approach, learning about their experiences and helping them to express themselves, such as through reminiscing with items of old.
My interests outside of work include antiques, dogs and spending time with my family.
Activities and Events Partnerships
As part of our bespoke life-enrichment programmes, we host a number of live virtual events in the home on a regular basis through a number of partnerships with places of interest and world class performance companies
Life at Ashminster House Care Home
Words of Advice for Local Schools
Our lovely residents here at Ashminster House decided to write up some excellent advice for the young minds that are going back to school.
Janet said: "Being kind is one of the best important things you can be while you're at school, because you never know who you might meet when you leave it later on!"
Looking at bugs up close
Our residents looked into the closer detail to the finer parts of nature with our microscope and selection of Petri dishes of tiny bugs.
Roger was especially interested, saying 'It's so surprising how beautiful and delightful the smallest things are when you take a closer look like all the creatures!"
Cooking Fun
Here at Ashminster House, with the assistance of the staff, our residents got together to make a selection of tasty cheese twists for their supper.
Pat commented “I always like making things for other people, it’s such a delight to see the smile you get when they tuck in to something homemade and fresh!”
Trip to Town
Our residents headed off to the busy high street of Ashford to browse the shops and enjoy a lovely coffee and cake in the County Square shopping centre.
While exploring the shopping centre, our residents met with their friends and family whilst connecting to the community and enjoying the sunshine!
Reminisce
Residents enjoyed a reminiscing session with newspapers from the end of world war two describing the day of victory and how people celebrated such a momentous occasion, the crowning of the Queen, stamps from around the globe and coins from the past from various countries such as Greece, India and even Japan.
Music for Health
Residents got together for an exciting session of Music for Health, where they clapped, sang and played their instruments which ranged from rhythm sticks to plastic plates, enjoying a classic selection of musicals tunes such as George Formby, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley as well as a fun ‘guess the music’ quiz!
