We have a full programme of activities at Meadowside. There is something different to do every day. This could include games, puzzles, a review of the weekly news, reminicient discussions, arts and crafts and so on, as well as trips out for coffee or shopping to the local garden centre, river or town. Our bright and sunny communal lounge/dinning area, is a place where residents can enjoy watching films of their choice or, if they prefer, listening to music while enjoying the view of the garden from the two large south-facing windows.
We also provide newspapers, and we support residents to engage in daily coffee mornings which often involve word games. There is also time for scrabble, as well as cards and dominos.
Additionally, we do a range of arts and various crafts activities. And we have tea parties and, of course, we celebrate seasonal events such as Christmas, Easter, Harvest Festival, Halloween etc.
Flower arranging is a favourite activity with fresh flowers that brighten-up our communal areas. Our residents enjoy walking around and sitting in the garden. They have chosen many of the plants and get involved with seasonal planting – tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers etc. There is a beautiful water-fountain in the centre with sensory smells, such as lavender, from our diversely planted borders.
Beauty Day takes place every week. It includes an in-house visit from the hairdresser who provides a unique personalised service to give each resident exactly what they require from their own hair styling. But it is not just about beauty. It is also a very social event at which we serve tea/coffee, cakes and biscuits, and provide magazines to read as well as encouraging general conversation about life and topical issues. The afternoon session focuses on hand massage and manicure. Residents can also choose to have their nails painted if they wish.
One morning every week our exercise trainer, who specialises in care of the elderly, comes to encourage all residents to participate in armchair exercises. This is accompanied by music of their choosing. The purpose of this weekly exercise is to help maintain general muscle tone and help develop upper body strength. But it is also a great deal of fun! For those who prefer privacy, our trainer is also happy to visit residents in their own rooms to give one-to-one sessions as appropriate.
We have an activities coordinator who comes in to organise arts and crafts activities, which has included creating birthday cards, cutting seasonal shapes for the wall collage, drawing/colouring pictures of birds/animals as well as cooking mini pizzas and such like. Residents can choose for themselves which activities they want to partake in, or can simply watch if they wish.
At regular intervals throughout the week staff organise informal sessions that might, for example, involve playing board games, such as Scrabble, and/or card games as well as varied quizzes that are always popular and a lot of fun.
We use the daily newspaper at Meadowside as a catalyst for discussion every day in the residents’ lounge. The horoscopes section is very popular, and the sharing of thoughts about the world today is always a hot topic for discussion. We find this often leads to more reflective discussion about how things used to be. Time to reminisce can be a valuable source of comfort for our residents, who often share their thoughts with one another.
We are always keen to invite external talent to perform ‘in-house’ – whether they be musical groups, singers, musicians or simply interesting people from a variety of backgrounds to give talks – which add to the variety. In addition to this, simple trips to the local shops or garden centre, or organised outings to the theatre and such like, are all part of everyday life at Meadowside.
You can see an example of a typical week of activities by downloading a table below.
Activity Schedule
