Activities at Leeming Bar Grange Care Home

The fun and laughter has continued at Leeming Bar Grange care home, in Leeming Bar as residents recently enjoyed trying their hand at poetry writing at their new creative writing group

Residents at Leeming Bar Grange have enjoyed our engaging activities programmes consisting of craft groups, games groups, virtual music performances, themed armchair exercises, baking, memory lane discos, virtual religious services, bingo, quizzes, coffee mornings, and armchair travel; arranged by the homes’ activities team for residents within the home and local community groups.

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Leeming Bar Grange care home, in Leeming Bar were celebrating the birth of baby chicks this week at the home.

There was a lot of ‘egg-citement’ at the home as seven chicks hatched throughout the week. Residents were able to pet and feed the chicks as they found their footing in their new home.

General Manager Michelle Keep said: “It was an eggs-cellent day when the eggs finally hatched! Residents at Leeming Bar Grange, as well as our team were all very excited about the new-borns, we’ve named the chicks Mavis, Ken, Shelley, Billy, Simon, Bevvy, and Norma.

Residents are overjoyed at Leeming Bar Grange care home in Leeming Bar as Barchester Healthcare has implemented a visiting suite for residents to continue to spend time with their loved ones for the autumn and winter seasons in addition to the outdoor visiting that has been on offer for those able for many months.

Balancing resident wellbeing and safety is at the forefront of Barchester Healthcare’s thinking and they understand how important it is for residents and their family and friends to be able to spend time together in the safest way possible.

There has been much careful planning and preparation for this moment by Barchester Healthcare, who run Leeming Bar Grange care home. It was welcome news for their residents and family and friends as we enter the colder season meaning catch-ups can continue to take place, instead of, or in addition to, outdoor visiting already offered for those able.

What a fun day it was for BBC Children In Need, it was polkadots galore at our polkadot party in which we played traditional party games such as musical statues and Simon Says! Along with enjoying a selection of party food and drinks! All the while we kept things comfy by having a pyjama day.

Chef Janet also kindly created another of her masterpiece cakes for our raffle which along raised £70! Amidst all the fun also took time to think about the core purpose of Children In Need and how we might be able to further help children who need it most. Therefore our lovely residents decided to use their creative talents to make some little Pudsey Bears to send to a local children’s hospice in the hopes of creating some smiles!

In order to help our residents and community pay tribute to loved ones we created a Remembrance garden. Residents decorated wooden crosses and poppies which we then invited residents and the community to dedicate these to fallen loved ones. Resident’s also raised funds for Royal British Legion by selling handmade bookmarks, cards and poppies

It was a beautifully solemn occasion at our Remembrance service with favourite poems and readings and tales of our loved ones. Resident Norma gave some words of wisdom stating “it may be a sad occasion however I have so many beautiful memories; so we must all remember the good times to fully honour someone”. Throughout the run up to the remembrance period residents enjoyed creating poppies to display throughout the home during which we did just as Norma recommends and reminisced with fondness.

Lots of creativity took place on the lead up to Halloween with residents creating decorations  such as ‘Positivity Pumpkins’ as part of our pumpkin decorating/carving competition; these pumpkins were then taken into the community for the children to enjoy. With our creative masterpieces displayed residents and the team got their broomsticks at the ready and engaged in some witchy armchair exercises; lots of laughter was had whilst watching Activities Co-ordinator Kim try to fly on her broomstick!  Music is a firm favourite to lift spirts here at the home so we just had to hold one of our memory lane discos filled with spooky decorations, disco lights, trick or treat goodie bags and of course plenty of dancing and enjoying the music!