Wednesday 13th December

This week we visited our friends at Winton Court to celebrate Christmas and what an amazing day it was! In the morning the children and residents enjoyed a festive film and it was yummy hot chocolate all round. The hot chocolate (and popcorn for the adults) was a big hit and everyone was feeling the Christmas spirit. Then it was time for presents. Some of the children had brought their own gifts for residents and we also took a little something for each of them to enjoy. The residents were overwhelmed by the children’s generosity and kindness.

For lunch it was party food for everyone before the party started. We played all the festive hits and party games. All the children, staff and residents had an amazing time and showed off their dancing skills. We had some new residents join us this week and they thoroughly enjoyed their time with us and are looking forward to working with us in the new year.

After a Christmassy sing song, it was time to leave (we were running very late at this point as time had run away with us) but what a truly amazing way to celebrate the end of 2023 with our friends. We can’t wait to see what the new year brings and we already have lots of plans!

Merry Christmas to everyone at Winton Court.

Wednesday 6th December

This week the children were so excited to start festive celebrations at the care village and were so surprised when we arrived to see the amazing decorations. The windows had been painted with Santa and a snowman design and there were lots of different Christmas trees and decorations to look at. As a special surprise for the residents the children had taken their own real Christmas tree to decorate.

We all got to work and the children chose a friend to create some tree decorations with. These were then placed onto the tree for everyone to enjoy. We also started to make Christmas hats in preparation for our party next week. The children and residents discussed what type of party food we could have and there were lots of amazing suggestions. After a Christmas sing song, we had lunch and then it was time to create more decorations and Christmas cards.

We have been completely amazed by the interactions between the residents and the children. We have observed close bonds develop and the children get so excited on the days they visit the care village. They have settled well, understand the routine and are very comfortable working in the space with the residents and staff. We are all so excited for our big Christmas party next week.

Wednesday 22nd November

Today we had a wonderful visit to see our friends at Winton Court. We enjoyed sharing our books with everyone and we even sneaked in a few festive stories too. ‘The Stinky Sprouts’ story is one of our favourites! We love to share our drawing skills and this week was no exception. We drew waterfalls, trees and Christmas presents to name a few.

Two of our residents love to engage in maths activities and have been working with the children on exploring counting and shapes. We took three special books with us around the topic of maths which they enjoyed sharing. The Ten Pirates book seemed to be their favourite! We were thrilled to see one of our residents return from a hospital stay and even though she wasn’t 100 percent she stayed with us all day and enjoyed spending time with the children.

Today was a shorter visit as we had to pick up something special on our return to nursery - a rather large but beautiful, real Christmas tree. The children enjoyed walking along the line of trees to pick the perfect one. Once chosen, we lifted it onto the bus and we can’t wait to see what it will look like once it is decorated in twinkly lights.

Wednesday 8th November


This week our visit to Winton Court was a very busy one and lots of our friends came to join us. When we arrived, the children chose the activity they wanted to participate in that morning and then chose the grown up they wanted to work with. We had drawing, stories, games and magnetic shapes all going on which kept us very busy. One of the children was intrigued by watches and why some ticked and others didn’t. She began to investigate by listening to everyone’s watches and working out which ones she could hear ticking and which didn’t.

 

After lunch, the children engaged in some singing and stories and relationships with our new friends were strengthened though conversations and working together. The children chatted happily to the residents, even sharing their biscuits! The residents have enjoyed learning about and exploring some of our equipment such as the magnetic shapes and iPad. One of the residents is becoming quite the photographer! We look forward to the upcoming weeks where we plan to start celebrating the winter season and some big birthdays.

Wednesday 18th October

This week we visited Winton Court where we celebrated Halloween in style with our friends. We took lots of activities to explore and share with the residents. We enjoyed engaging in a spot of Halloween drawing, spooky stories, songs and pumpkin decorating.

After lunch we made some spooky story spoons and Halloween hats. The children kindly made hats for all the residents. They can’t wait to show them off at Halloween. A group of children worked with one of our residents to carve pumpkins. They used a pen to draw a scary face on the pumpkin before cutting it out. The children decided they wanted to leave their pumpkins and placed them on the table for everyone to admire. Happy Halloween to all our friends and the staff at Winton Court. We will be back soon!


Wednesday 11th October

Today we visited our lovely friends at Winton Court. We were so excited to leave nursery and travel on our minibus. We pointed out places we knew along the way as we get to know the route. When we arrived we took off our shoes and coats and said a huge hello to our friends. We had lots of different activities with us and as usual, the children selected what they wanted to work with that day and which resident they would spend their time with.

We shared stories, drew pictures and played games. One of our residents enjoyed a chasing game with the children and they thought it was hilarious! We also met some new friends this week. One lovely lady we met ran a Sunday school in the past and was overwhelmed by the children wanting to work with her. She thoroughly enjoyed reading stories with everyone.

Observing the children working with the older adults is quite remarkable. We are able to see blossoming friendships and meaningful interactions. Both the children and adults value their time together and we are looking forward to what the future of these interactions will look like.

One of the children made a fabulous bat hat for one of the residents.

Wednesday 27th September

This week we visited our friends at Winton Court and what a lovely time we had! We enjoyed sharing our story books, playing games and drawing. One of the residents shared some stories with us about his life working on a farm. This led to us building vehicles and animals with our sticklebricks. The children were amazed by the different types of machinery used on a farm and in particular wanted to know what a combine harvesters job is.

We have observed some wonderful interactions between the residents and children. In particular, we have found that books are a fabulous way for everyone to engage with one another. Books are a universal language where the pictures can tell many stories. The residents are currently enjoying some of our Julia Donaldson stories.

We're back!!! - September 13th 2023

This week saw us head back to Winton Court with a brand new group of children. These children will stay with us for the coming year, visiting the care village regularly. This week the children enjoyed getting to know the residents. We have already seen relationship between the children and residents begin to bloom.

We took a variety of activities for everyone to engage in. The children happily shared their resources with the residents and even supported them by handing them equipment, putting lids on pens and moving closer to them so everything was more accessible.

“ “How did you feel at the care home?”
Kirsten”
— "Happy because Jean” child

Saturday 29th July 2023 - Our Final Farewell

Today was a very special day for everyone. It was our final farewell to all the special friends we have made at Winton Court over the last year. But today was a little different as we had invited all the families of the children and residents to finally meet. We also had some surprises up our sleeves!

The day began with some special awards for the residents who have been working with us. They received a special gift and a certificate after being nominated by one of the children. We then moved on to giving the children a special certificate for their work over the last year. They were all really proud of themselves! We shared the preview of our video from our time at Winton Court. Everyone finally got to see just how magical this project has been and how much of an impact it has had on everyone involved.

We held a toast to our friends and everyone was given the chance to meet one another. The residents and children’s families enjoyed chatting about our visits and finally faces could be put to names. This was a remarkable project to be part of and we cannot wait for September to visit our friends at Winton Court.

Friday 28th July 2023

This week we celebrated our very last session at Winton Court. We were all feeling a little sad but we wanted to celebrate our time together. It was also Pat’s 95th birthday so we definitely needed to host a party. The music was in full swing with lots of party games and of course, cake! The children showed off their amazing dance skills as well as showing everyone how to play musical statues, musical bumps and musical corners.

When it was time to leave we were all sad but we remembered that we would be back tomorrow with our families to say a proper goodbye.

Friday 30th June 2023

This week we visited our lovely friends at Winton Court. As soon as we arrived, the children immediately went to greet their friends and tell them all about what they had been up to since their last visit. We also brought lots of new photographs to share with our friends. Everyone enjoyed looking at themselves in the photographs and pointing out what they were doing.

This week was a particularly special week for us. Working on our Born4life project alongside the Ready Generations charity, we were able to nominate a special person who has been involved in our project. It was extremely difficult to choose just one person as everyone has been so welcoming but we did put the lovely Jean’s name forward and she is now our ‘Intergenerational Champion’. A huge well done to Jean. You deserve it!

Friday 14th July 2023

This week was a very exciting week as we had a special visit from Newcastle cat and dog shelter who brought three therapy kittens to Winton Court. One of our residents adores cats and was very excited to meet the kittens.

We were truly amazed by how gentle and caring the children were with the kittens. The enjoyed carefully stroking them and watching them running around playing. The residents also enjoyed holding the kittens and spending time with them. At the end of the session, the kittens went into their ‘play basket’ and the children enjoyed observing them interact with one another. We want to say a huge thank you to Chris and his team for making today so special for everyone.

Thursday 13th April 2023

This week we wanted to work together to make the community lounge look beautiful to celebrate the kings coronation. The children and adults chose the flowers they wanted to create a bouquet of flowers to put in a vase. Theo wanted to work with Terry to create his bouquet and talked with him about what colour flowers they would choose. Theo then gave Terry a pair of scissors to trim the edges of the flowers. They worked together to trim them down and place them into the vase.

“I was holding the book because she couldn’t hold it. I headed the book for Evelyn. I told her what was happening using the pictures”.

Visiting our Friends at the ‘Caring Home’ - March 2023

This children have enjoyed another trip to the ‘caring home’ to visit their friends. As it was ‘World Book Day’ we asked children to come dressed as their favourite character. We had Elsa’s, Stickman, Mr Sneeze, Little Red Riding Hood, Skeleton bat, tigers and rabbits. The children enjoyed working with the adults playing games, reading stories and making their own stories.

Henrietta created her own book and asked each adult their name and what their favourite thing is. She then drew their favourite thing in her book. Terry kindly drew a horse for her as horses are his favourite thing. Henrietta was very proud of her book and when she returned to nursery made a copy so she could share it with her friends at the caring home.