Activities at Maple Leaf Lodge Care Home

Staff and residents marked World Braille Day on 4 January. Invented by Louis Braille, a young Frenchman, each braille cell is made up of up to six dots, rather like a domino, and spells out the alphabet.

Not just for reading from a page, braille is used in all sorts of different ways to help blind people stay safe and maintain their independence.  Braille can be found on signage in public places, in lifts, on door signs, on menu and medication, the list goes on.  Braille can even be found on board games and on Lego bricks, helping blind people embrace all aspects of daily life.

Everyone had a go at learning the braille alphabet which was far more difficult than it looked and then residents played a game looking around the home for things that were marked in braille to see how many they could find.

Throughout the month of December residents have been busy making gingerbread men, Christmas cakes and mince pies! The home has been full of joy and the smell of cinnamon, sherry and orange are all wonderful smells that reminds us of Christmas. We had a lovely time joining Paul Hawkins and Steve Wiles from Unilever for an exciting immense Christmas experience. Our residents were welcomed with chocolate treats as Paul and Steve took them on an exciting chocolate truffle and biscuit making journey!

Residents were treated to an interactive virtual Christmas bauble-making masterclass courtesy of the very talented Jennifer Owen, from Goldfinch. 

Founded by Jennifer, Goldfinch is a floral design studio based in central Somerset that prides itself on delivering out of the ordinary flowers to people who are craving something a bit different. During the workshop, residents were invited to join Jennifer to make unique, hand-made Christmas baubles to gift to friends and relatives or to hang on the home’s Christmas tree. The baubles were filled with beautiful dried flowers and grasses to create simple yet stunning decorations.

Goldfinch’s founder, Jennifer Owen, said; “Delivering workshops like this is absolutely the best part of my job. I just love helping people create something beautiful and seeing how much they gain from the experience residents finished off the afternoon with a glass of bubbly and a mince pie."

Maple Leaf have been supporting BBC Children In Need. Staff and residents dressed up in their Pudsey outfits for the occasion. Staff members were paired with residents for our afternoon quiz, and one our residents and activities assistant, Courtney, won the quiz with a score of 28. The game was very competitive!

Staff and residents were treated to an interactive Christmas theme floristry masterclass, courtesy of master florist, Michal Kowalski, from Blooming Haus. Residents and staff were invited to get together flowers and foliage, chosen by themselves, and follow Michal’s demonstration to create their own Christmas wreath.

International Men's Day (IMD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on November 19 to recognise and celebrate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of men. We have introduced our own weekly men’s club for residents to take part in, it is know that men can often feel isolated and lonely in an often female dominated care environment. This allows us to provide activities for them that addresses their needs specifically. As we got to talking today all of the men share an interest in football. It was only fair we had a game!