Wednesday 24th April

This week the children had a great time with their older friends. We took some new resources to explore and the children and residents were very excited to try them out. One of our residents wanted to practice some woodwork with the children so we purchased a tool set. He was thrilled and immediately began to demonstrate to the children how to use the equipment. He then helped support them by guiding them and holding the wood in place. This encouraged other children and residents to engage with the new resources and before we knew it, a group had gathered to build, hammer and screw the pieces into place. We will definitely be continuing with our woodwork theme next time.

The children and residents also enjoyed sharing our new books about famous people. The books about Muhammad Ali and David Bowie were definitely our favourites. One of the residents knew a lot about the famous people and could extend upon the book which was very interesting. We also tried out decorating rolls of paper to make a collaborative piece which was very successful. The children worked together to create a beautiful mural which we are planning to display.

Wednesday 10th April

On today’s visit to the care village the children were very excited to celebrate Easter. We had decided to host an Easter party for everyone. The children enjoyed becoming the Easter bunny and handed out Easter eggs to all the adults who were completely surprised by the kind gesture. In the morning, we enjoyed spending time with our friends with the books (our favourite), drawing, working with the construction sets, threading and jigsaws. The residents and children have a mutual love of jigsaws, so this is always a popular activity. We were so pleased to see lots of our friends come to work with us and as usual there were cuddles all round.

In the afternoon, we got our Easter party up and running with some party games. The children have clearly been practicing and showed off their best dance moves. We played musical bumps, statues and corners. The residents cheered on the children and even helped to pick out some of the best dancers. Before we knew it, it was time to leave. The children said their goodbyes, gave hugs and it was back on the minibus to listen to the children chat about their day.

Wednesday 20th March

This week the children had another super week at Winton Court. Before we left the children talked about what sort of resources, they would like to take with them and we had lots of suggestions. These included jigsaws, matching games, blocks, animals, threading, books, pens and paper. We took all our resources and were greeted by Carole, the manager. We said good morning, took off our shoes and coats and got busy. It was a quiet start to the morning but soon we had lots of residents join us. We were so happy to see one of our friends return from hospital this week and there were hugs all round.

Everyone was so excited to work with their friends and the morning was full of joy and laughter. The children got busy with their chosen activity and with their chosen adult. One of the children were thrilled to share the London resources which were donated by the families of Childsplay with one of the residents. The resident drove London buses for most of his life and was amazed by the memorabilia. It brought back lots of precious memories which he shared with us. This really made our special friend happy.

 The children and residents enjoyed sharing the construction and threading equipment. We made vehicles, animals and dinosaurs to name a few! Threading has proving to be a big hit with the residents as this is an activity they can support each other with. We all chatted about what we would like to do on our next visit and it was unanimous. The children would like an Easter party and to put the ‘big screen’ up. We are also looking forward to a big event in May when we celebrate one of the residents 90th birthdays. We have a few ideas for that too!

Wednesday 13th March

The children and staff had a wonderful visit to Winton Court this week. We were very excited to return after a month’s break (due to illness in the care village) and see our friends. As soon as the children arrived, they immediately embraced their older friends and we talked about how much we had missed visiting. This week, we took some new resources with us which we thought the children and adults may want to use together. We also took with us our family photographs which the children shared. The residents could now put faces to the names as the children are constantly updating them about their family life. The residents were very genuine and asked the children questions about their families which the children thoroughly enjoyed answering. The residents are all looking forward to meeting the children’s families in August as part of our goodbyes before school.

We have made some new friends at the care home recently and they have signed to join our project which is amazing news! They have enjoyed working with the children using jigsaws, construction resources and books to name a few. We also have a favourite resident who the children affectionately call ‘the tickle monster’, who has entertained the children this week with tales of farm life and we now know about the types of animals which live on a farm. He also talked to the children about the other animals you may see on a farm such as hawks, owls, badgers and foxes. He spoke fondly of his sheepdog, tractor and cat and his farmyard friends. It is so rewarding to listen to the children learning from the adults. Our ‘tickle monster’ friend is always a hit with the children and shares his knowledge and wisdom with everyone. He is there week on week to share in the activities and work with us. We will be visiting next week with all of our new London resources which have been very kindly donated by the families of Childsplay. Thank you to everyone who supported us.

Wednesday 14th February

This week the children visited the care home and what a wonderful day we had. We were so lucky to be able to spend time celebrating Valentine’s Day with our friends. The children enjoyed sharing stories, making Valentines pictures and cards as well as handing out some little gifts to celebrate the day which the residents were a little overwhelmed by.  

We had a visit from a very special someone, little Fergo, a beautiful puppy who belongs to one of the resident’s families. We spent some time with little Fergo and there were snuggles and cuddles all round. The children displayed how kind and gentle they are by being calm and quiet around the puppy (who then fell fast asleep). One of the children spent some time with one of our residents who has dementia and showed just how capable the youngest children are by supporting him with identifying birds and talking about the types of animals you may see on a farm. As always, the children amaze us with their considerate and thoughtful approach to the residents. Our intergenerational project is going from strength to strength so watch this space!

Wednesday 31st January

This week we visited our friends at Winton Court and what a busy day we had! Everyone was there ready to see us and we enjoyed sharing our resources with our friends. The children had already decided what they would like to take with them and this included dominoes, books, pens, paper, chalk and puzzles. Each child chose a resident to work with and off they went! The residents were amazed at the children’s abilities both with the puzzles, drawing and number work. They were in awe of the children’s compassion and ability to support others as they observed them bringing their resources closer, pulling up chairs and helping to different ways so the residents can be part of the activity.

 

A short time after we arrived, the staff informed us that it was one of the resident’s birthdays and she was 88 years old today. One of the children was thrilled to celebrate with his special grown up and we all made a birthday card which we presented to her after lunch. We sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and she was completely overwhelmed. After lunch we all got back to work before finishing our day with a group sing song. One of the residents requested baby shark which the preschoolers were more than happy to sing.

Wednesday 17th January

This week we had another visit to see our wonderful friends at Winton Court. We had decided to take lots of maths and science resources as some of the residents really like to talk to us about these topics. We have a lovely resident we worked as a farmer for many years and tells us lots of tales of life working on the farm. One of the children enjoyed spending time with him and the resident even showed off his drawing skills by drawing a green tractor! We have another resident who loves to work with the children on shapes and numbers and has developed his own activities to share with them. We took some measuring tapes, number cards, number stones, peg boards and dominoes with us.

One of the residents had a visit from their friend who brought in some old coins. We talked about the different names of the coins such as farthing and halfpenny. The children were intrigued as to who the figures were on the back of the coins, so we investigated further. We looked at the date and the name and we discovered that some of the coins had Queen Elizabeth engraved and even Queen Victoria! This led to a conversation about our current royal family. We were able to bring the coins back to nursery to share with our friends. We will then return them on our next visit.

We were very lucky this week to have been joined by so many of the wonderful residents. Everyone joined us to read stories, chat and show off their drawing skills. The children were sad to leave with one child stating “It’s too long till we come back. I don’t want to go yet!". This shows us just how much this wonderful home from home environment means to the children.

Wednesday 3rd January 2024

It was great to get back to Winton Court and visit our friends. After wishing everyone a happy new year, the children enjoyed sharing what they had done over the festive period and talked about what they had received from Santa. The residents loved listening to the children’s tales of Christmas. One of the children had decided to bring a special book all about birds to share with one of his favourite residents. The two read the book cover to cover and explored all the bird names! As the resident used to run a farm, he knew lots about the birds in the book and shared this information with us.

The children and residents enjoyed spending the day together and engaging in reading, drawing and games. One group of children played word games whilst another enjoyed number games. We love to see collaborative work between the children and the residents!

Today was also a very special day for one of our residents. She is 90 years old (or 90, 2, 1,000,000, 1,000 as one of the children thought)! She was thrilled when the children sang Happy Birthday to her and she was also quite impressed with her birthday cake too! Just as we do at nursery with the children’s birthdays, we like to celebrate the birthdays of the residents as they too are part of our Childsplay family.

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.