Activities at Alice Grange Care Home
Activities are an integral part of life at our care home. We want to ensure that the people we support have as much fun as possible during their time with us, so it’s important that our activities programme is created with the interests of residents in mind. Our skilled Activities Coordinators bring a certain uniqueness to the home that can’t be found anywhere else, and which is reflected in the activities they organise.
Penny Allen
Hi, my name is Penny and I am the Lead Activities Coordinator here at Alice Grange.
I have many years of experience working in care homes in Activities, leisure and lifestyle roles.
I love being part of the Alice Grange team and supporting our residents to live their best lives with fun, interesting, and varied activities available every week. I always feel that the residents' input into our weekly planner is important as it gives all residents equal opportunity to explore new interests as well as keeping up with previous passions and hobbies.
Read our brochure 'Life-enriching activities' for more information about life in our care homes.
Read our brochure
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 Alice Grange Care Home
International Women's Day
We celebrated International Women's Day at Alice Grange with a presentation from General Manager Andrea on some of the women who have inspired her. This talk included a particular reference to Mary Seacole as she displayed great resilience and dedication in the Crimean war but was not as well-known as Florence Nightingale until after her death.
Residents and staff spent the afternoon in discussion over the women who have inspired them personally and those who they believe have had the greatest impact throughout history.
Andrea's thought provoking presentation was the catalyst for a debate over how some modern women will be remembered, and how many great women are often lauded only after their time. Together we raised a glass of Prosecco to those women who helped shape the world we live in today.
Versus Arthritis Knit-athon
At Alice Grange, we have teamed up with Versus Arthritis which is the UK's largest charity dedicated to supporting people with arthritis.
We have coincided this with our weekly Knit & Natter group and we are aiming to make a Doctor Who inspired scarf during the month of March. Whilst we are fairly sure we won't reach the longest knitted scarf which measured an outstanding 4565.46 meters long, it would will be wonderful to create something together and raise money at the same time.
Please go to our Facebook page to sponsor our group of residents and staff, many of whom live with arthritis. Thank you for your support.
St David's Day
Daffodils everywhere, Welsh cakes on the table and the smell of rarebit and leeks coming from the kitchen... it must be St David's Day!
St David's Day was honoured at Alice Grange this week with all the traditional food, flowers and fun. We held Welsh quizzes, laughed at our attempts at place names, decorated with dragons and daffodils and enjoyed some delicious food.
Flower Arranging Class
Our Activities Coodinator Penny, who used to work as a florist, has been leading Flower Arranging Classes at Alice Grange. These classes are always enjoyed by the residents who attend and the whole home is able to enjoy the wonderful arrangements which are placed around the home. Many residents enjoy the classes as a relaxing hobby, whilst many more are keen to polish their skills.
Magic Table Fun
Alice Grange has recently brought a bit of magic to residents by providing a new ‘Magic Table 360 and the Happiness Programme’ as a way to improve residents’ quality of life.
Designed and manufactured in the UK, the Magic Table 360 uses interactive games to connect residents with staff and with each other, and research shows it improves the wellbeing of people living with dementia. Using interactive light projections, the Magic Table 360, which can be played independently or in a group, stimulates movement by inviting participants to take part in all sorts of different fun activities such as popping bubbles, playing the piano, colouring in pictures, sweeping leaves or interacting playfully with fish. Games are rich in colour, movement and detail, and allow people of all ages to play in a safe and comfortable environment.
The Magic Table 360 is portable so it can be used wherever residents feel most comfortable, it can be projected onto the floor, ceiling, walls, a whiteboard or even the bed. The Happiness Programme allows for a range of games that change seasonally and have country-specific versions covering 14 different categories, so there will always be something new for residents to try.
The benefits of the Magic Table 360 has shown to improve mood and behaviours especially across the mid-to-late stages of dementia, greater physical, social and cognitive activity, reduction in withdrawn-like symptoms, weight gain and positive impacts on relationships with care staff, friends and family.
Pancake Day!
Residents and staff at Alice Grange had a flipping great time on Pancake Day!
We held a pancake flipping contest which became very competitive! The mistakes and drops were applauded as much as the successful catches. The kitchen team also produced some fantastic pancakes for all to enjoy.
