20 Mar 2017

This morning we had a very active session with great support from our Boost volunteers, who took the lead with the physical activities.

We started the session with hot drinks, biscuits and orientation exercises before I asked the Boost volunteers to set the hall up for the parachute game. The CD player was moved to the opposite corner of the room and a number of chairs were placed in a circle before the volunteers supported participants to the circle ready for the game. The volunteers then led the participants in the exercises to the music, offering support and encouragement as well as repeating the instructions, which can be difficult to understand in the broad American drawl.

Those who couldn’t take part in the parachute game engaged in tabletop games such as cards and dominoes, as well as socialising with their friends.

The winner of the blind card was Eric, who won afternoon tea for two at Cafe In The Park in Billingham.

This afternoon at Young At Heart ULO we had a change of heart from physical activity to a conversation game.

We started the session with the orientation exercises before ordering our hot drinks and nibbles from the Cafe In The Park next door. Then I chatted to the group about the reasoning for the switch from a physical activity to a conversation game – namely the low number of participants.

I recently purchased the game ‘Call To Mind‘ which was developed by University College London. Having never tried the game before, I spent some time with the volunteers before the session familiarising myself and the volunteers with the rules of the game. I then let the volunteers lead the activity in order to help them increase their confidence within the sessions.

The game went well and gave us the opportunity to explore topics of conversation we may not naturally stumble upon during general conversations. We identified that in order for the game to work better in the future it might be best to identify a question-master to control the questions and elaborate on them when needed.

Next week will be cognitive stimulation, with the activity as yet undecided.

This afternoon we had a relaxing session at Young At Heart ULO in Thornaby. After our round of refreshments and our orientation exercises we chatted about an exciting opportunity coming up in a few weeks time, something I will share at a later date…

We didn’t have a lot of time left after chatting about the upcoming activity, so we spent the end of the session completing crossword puzzles and word searches that were suitable for reminiscence and encouraged conversations.

At the end of the session, the group helped each other complete their crosswords by sharing the hints and the answers.

Next week we will be playing the parachute game.