"The richest, most surprising stories from care home residents often appear in those quiet, in-between moments - waiting for the kettle to boil, walking to the dining room, or peeling veg for shepherd’s pie. These golden snippets of lived experience can transform your activity planning, turning everyday conversations into meaningful, mind-stimulating sessions that celebrate residents as experts in their own stories."

Let’s be honest: flying by the seat of your pants every day is exhausting. Planning ahead, using monthly themes, flexible activity templates, and person-centred tools (like those in the Activity Coordinators Toolbox™), helps you feel more organised and in control. That doesn’t mean you lose spontaneity, it means you’ve got the groundwork in place, so when inspiration strikes, you’re ready.

The language we use in care isn’t just admin. It shapes how people feel. If something looks vague, clinical, or confusing on a planner, residents may skip it - or worse, feel that it’s something being done to them rather than with them.

Understanding the signs of ill-being in dementia and how you can help As activity coordinators, we’re trained to bring joy, variety and...

The feelings of being valued, cared for, and included are powerful and lasting, even if the details fade.

Care home activities matter: Part 3 Engaging in activities within care homes can offer significant neurobiological benefits for residents....

It's essential that care homes provide opportunities for a wide variety of activities. For those of you on a low budget or no budget. ...

Avante Care and Support homes, Northbourne Court and Weybourne, joined forces to create a special 'Come Dine with Me' dining experience ...

As we age, our bodies undergo numerous changes, and one often overlooked aspect is the disruption of the natural cycles that regulate our...

I want to introduce you to the HOPES approach to care home activities. This is a simple acronym to help you keep in mind what is importan

I'm recharging an old blog here. The links in the original blog are outdated and this is still a very important subject. Last Friday was...

Engaging residents with dementia in group activities can be both rewarding and challenging. While dementia presents unique cognitive and...

Before the Easter Break, I wrote about how residents can get involved in meal preparations in various ways, depending on their interests,...