It is currently National Carers Week: a week taking place from the 7th to 13th June, dedicated to appreciating carers and all of their hard work. Buchan House Care Home in Cambridge wanted to make sure that they were prepared, and so brainstormed ideas for the week early on.
Debbie, the Lifestyle Coordinator at the home, gathered the residents to ask for their ideas on how to best honour the home’s brilliant carers. After a big brainstorm and some lively discussion, it was decided that they would create a colourful collage of flowers.
Debbie saw this as the perfect opportunity to link with several of the activities that the National Activity Providers Association (NAPA) had come up with in their May activity schedule. She began with a sensory activity, asking the people living in the home to break up some artificial flowers, so that they could use the pieces for the collage. This task prompted some great, detailed discussions about the different types of flowers, their textures, and the smells that come from the non-artificial versions. They also mentioned their favourite scented flowers, comparing their answers and explaining their choices.
Buddha Day took place on the 26th May, and NAPA suggested a flower collage to celebrate Buddha’s birthday. So, after teaching the residents some facts about Buddha, Debbie suggested that they use their broken-up flowers to create one collage for the carers, and one for Buddha. As well as this, they also coloured in ‘Thank You’ posters for the carers, putting them together in a hallway display, so the carers could see the love loud and proud.
The carers working at Buchan House were absolutely overjoyed with the wonderful surprise and thanked the residents for all the hard work. They felt very loved and appreciated and are looking forward to the rest of this week!