Activities at Woodland View Care Home
Activities at Woodland View
Woodland View is passionately committed to providing residents with a varied choice of entertainment, social, health and well being, craft and relaxation based activities.
Activities will all be meaningful and based on the likes of residents and will continue to evolve depending on our residents. The activities provided will also include involvement from other local community based organisations and are open to all residents, family and friends of residents. Our activities will be facilitated by staff from all departments as well as invited guests. Families are also enthusiastically encouraged to play a part in activities when possible.
There will always be at least one person at every activity who has been DBS checked to ensure the safeguarding of our residents. The dignity of our residents and our respect for them is at the centre of everything we do, each and every day.
We are always reviewing and changing our schedule of activities to be a centre of excellence and actively invite feedback and suggestions for new and meaningful activities and ideas.
Petra Hardman
Hi my name is Petra and I'm the Activities Coordinator here at Woodland View. I love seeing the difference that activities can make to each individual, and finding out what interests they have and ensure I incorporate that into our activities here.
I love music and drama coming from a musical background as a singer all over the country, music is important to me and I feel it makes such a difference to everyone, it evokes memories, and creates happiness. I also love to boost residents self esteem by creating pampering sessions and having one to one time to relax and reminisce.
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 Woodland View Care Home
Spooky fun at Woodland View
We had a 'spooktacular' time here at Woodland View for Halloween!
We started the day with our friends from Nannas Day Nurseries, the children joined residents in the coffee lounge, and then in individual rooms, for "trick or treat" Residents were ready with the treats to delight all!
The children stayed with us while we had our session with Owen from Rise Life - Essex, but this week, he looked a little different!
Thankyou Owen for being a great sport! You bring so much happiness to our residents in your sessions!
We then finished the day off with a Historic Ghost Talk from the fabulous Di Bignell of Colchester Heritage Tours, who told us all about the spooky side of our city. Who would have thought that some of the buildings we pass each day are full of so many interesting stories. Thankyou once again, we can't wait to see you next for our 'Christmas Traditions' talk.
Thankyou to all involved for making our residents day fabulous!
Residents get a backstage invite with cast of ‘Legally Blonde’
Two of our residents used to love going to the Westend, and watching musicals, however confidence has made it more of a challenge to do so, but they are both avid musical lovers.
Our Activities Assistant, Zahra spoke to residents about a show she was in through Colchester Operatic Society, called ‘Legally Blonde’ at Mercury Theatre in Colchester. Both residents said they would love to attend, as this is so much closer, and they both felt confident to do so. Zahra played the part of Vivienne Kensington within the show, and as cast representative, she got to work to surprise the ladies with a backstage invite to meet the cast!
Both ladies were delighted on the day to meet five of the main cast, including Zahra, they talked about how much they enjoyed the show, how talented everyone was, the costumes, set and how much they loved all the musical numbers, they commented how they felt like they were actually back watching a show in the Westend, due to all the talent.
They then posed for a picture together, with huge smiles after a lovely afternoon, and we said thankyou, and bid farewell to the cast, as they went on to perform the evening show. Upon arriving back at Woodland View, we spoke about our visit, and another two residents said they loved musical theatre too, so we are already making plans for the next visit, with more attendees!
Plenty of fun at the Pumpkin Patch!
We love discovering new places to visit here at Woodland View, so we were very excited to learn about a ‘”Pumpkin Patch” right on our doorstep!
We visited Foxes Farm Produce, where we found pumpkins of all shapes and sizes, the colours were amazing, much to the delight of all of us, as we love the Autumn season.
Our residents commented on the fact they had no idea what a Pumpkin Patch was, but how lovely it has been to visit, we looked at the corn field and maze, we had a seat on the big deckchair, with much amusement when we got stuck! There was lots of laughter, the sun was out, and we finished the morning off with a Pumpkin Spiced Latte, it really was the most perfect Autumnal day!
We are now looking up recipes to make pumpkin pie at our next baking club, with cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, it really does sound like the most perfect seasonal treat!
Macmillian Fundraiser and Pudding Club - The Emerald City
We wanted to say a big thanks to any families that supported us on Monday at our Macmillan fundraiser and pudding club. This was "Emerald City" themed, we all travelled to Oz!
Our Kitchen Team, Head Chef, and Head of Housekeeping worked so hard! Between them they created over TWENTY different puddings and cakes, some traditional from different countries and from UK regions. We wanted to say a huge Thankyou to the team, for putting on an amazing spread! They never cease to amaze us with their talents!
The Activities Team decorated the coffee lounge in a glorious green as a tribute to Macmillan Cancer Support . With pictures from all the Wizard of Oz characters, twinkle lights, and our best China!
At present we have raised £135.00 for the charity, however you can still donate with the QR code.
If you missed this one, make sure you put in your diary 7th December! This our next big themed pudding club, and Christmas party, you do not want to miss it!!
World Mental Health Day
Today, we have made sure to spend extra time with each other, even if it's just over a cup of tea, which residents in our Tom Bowdidge and Queen Boudica did, putting the world to rights with tea and cake!
Our staff in Kingswood ensured residents sensory needs were taken care of, by doing some gardening. Sensory activities are fantastic to aid mental health needs.
We also had some physical activities, with over half of our residents attending Rise Life - Essex Sports Session with Owen today, some huge smiles and cheers came from the coffee lounge throughout.
"Here's to prioritizing mental wellness today, and every day!".
Mini-bus Trips
We have really enjoyed getting out and about in our local community lately. We have had trips to the Country Park, Clacton sea front, Pubs, Garden Centres, Coffee shops, Marks and Spencer. At our recent resident meetings, residents mentioned they really enjoyed being surprised by us on their destinations, which we are happy to oblige with! We have been also continuing to ask residents where they would like to go. We have Wivenhoe, Museums, Southend and shopping requested. We are also happy to look at family requests if you would like to take a trip with your loved ones.
