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
National Gardening Week
To mark National Gardening Week at Woodland View, residents from our Memory Lane community were transported to one of the very popular local garden centres.
The various varieties of plants, shrubs and flowers - both real and artificial - were admired before sitting down in the garden centre cafe for a refreshing cup of tea or coffee.
It was a lovely sunny day with lots of smiles as they boarded the bus back to Woodland View, just in time for dinner. A great trip by anyone's standards.
Music, Dancing, Instruments & Exhaustion
Woodland View recently invited Clare Leach to be a regular entertainer at the home. Activities Coordinator, Kevin Riley, is now wondering if he's bitten off more than he can chew!
Clare, grandaughter of resident, Bert, is the leader of 'Harwich Sing', a local choir that has performed at Woodland View on a couple of occasions. Clare agreed to come in and interact with residents using music and percussion instruments. But Clare didn't stop there - oh no! Asking Kevin to help her with a 'game', Clare dragged Kevin into the thick of things and played 'I am the Music Man' with an unsuspecting Kevin awaiting instructions. If you know the song, you can probably guess the rest, but now Kevin is considering aerobic classes to improve his stamina! Clare's grandfather, Bert, was sitting in the audience and enjoyed the event very much.
April in March
Woodland View's Receptionist, April Smith, was named Employee of the Month for March. April has continually supported management and the day-to-day running of front of house at Woodland View. Residents and visitors regularly comment on how helpful and friendly she is, always going above and beyond.
April was presented with a bottle of plonk and a gift card to a round of applause from everyone present. Well done, April!
World Poetry Day
World Poetry Day at Woodland View was marked by the return of some special guests.
Relatives of former resident, Frank, agreed to read some of his favourite poems as a tribute to his memory. Other residents read their own contributions as well. Resident, Betti, brought along her own compositions, some of which were very humorous observations on life.
All in all, it was a very entertaining and touching event for everyone involved.
St Patrick's Day
Woodland View always welcomes an event to celebrate - and St. Patrick's Day was no exception!
There were staff and residents wearing the now-obligatory hats, shamrock-shaped glasses, t-shirts, ties, and much more. The menu was complimented with a beautiful Irish stew and there was entertainment from the guitar-playing Shirley-Ann.
The day was rounded off with a 'Happy Hour' in our own bar, the Woodland Arms. Background music by The Dubliners was played, providing a very appropriate atmosphere, whilst residents discussed trips they'd had to the Emerald Isle over the years. Of course, samples of cold Guinness and Magners Irish Cider were available for tasting. It doesn't get much more Irish than that now, to be sure!
Woodland View & Wedding Bells
Woodland View staff members, John McNally and Lembit Saar, escorted resident, Bert Bone, to his granddaughter's wedding on 12th March, which was held one and a half hours drive away at Moor Park Gold Club, near Watford.
Bert (3rd from the right in the picture), who is 95 this month, required support for the day, so the family asked if Woodland View could help - and of course they could!
Bert had a wonderful time with his family as the celebrations continued throughout the afternoon, and returned to Woodland View as a very happy gentleman.
