Residents at HC One’s White Gables care home spent their time enjoying the beach in a box.
One of the Colleagues at the Lincoln care home had recently had a lovely walk with her family on the beach near Anderby Creek, which inspired an idea for an activity.
While there she found some lovely items on the beach such as shells, drift wood, seaweed and stones. The Colleague collected some of the most interesting specimens and brought them home.
After letting them dry for a week or two the staff member mixed them with a box of play sand and used a CD soundtrack of crashing waves and a spray scent of the ocean to create a ‘Beach in a Box’.
This allowed Residents to enjoy a beach experience in a multi-sensory way. Some liked to explore with their hands, finding all the different objects hidden in the sand, whilst others liked to stroke the sand while listening to the music.
One Resident simply liked to watch the sand pour from the staff members’ hands back into the bowl for ten or so minutes.
This activity allowed the staff to adapt the activity to the needs of the specific Residents and their level of cognitive ability on that day.
The home manager said “What a brilliant idea, so simple and yet has brought the summer sun back into their lives, albeit in a metaphorical sense.”