- Phone: 01626 778580
- Email: care@cchdevon.com
Gentle Activities That Boost Elderly Wellbeing | Summer Court
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In elderly care, health is often discussed in terms of medication, nutrition, and fall prevention. But at Summer Court Residential Home, wellbeing is understood more holistically — nurtured not just by healthcare professionals, but through meaningful, gentle experiences that take place every single day.
During the week of 12–18 May 2025, the team at Summer Court delivered a rich variety of simple yet impactful activities — from beachfront strolls to creative bouquet-making — that touched every aspect of residents’ wellbeing. These small, thoughtful engagements serve a powerful purpose: they restore joy, promote independence, and support emotional calm.
Why Gentle Activities Matter in Elderly Residential Care
Gentle activities are low-impact, inclusive, and emotionally enriching experiences designed around the individual needs of older adults. Unlike intensive therapies, these engagements focus on creating comfort, stimulating the senses, and offering light movement or calm creativity.
They’re not just “nice to have.” These moments:
- Promote circulation and mobility
- Support cognitive clarity and memory
- Strengthen social bonds and emotional safety
- Help reduce agitation, isolation, and low mood
At Summer Court, gentle activities are not occasional extras — they are integrated into the weekly rhythm of life, personalised to resident needs and preferences.
Beachfront Outing: Nature as Natural Therapy
One of the highlights of the week was a refreshing visit to the beachfront. Accompanied by staff, residents enjoyed gentle walks, fresh air, and social interaction along the coast.
This kind of outing offers:
- Sensory stimulation from the breeze, sea sounds, and ocean views
- Mood elevation through movement and sunlight exposure
- Social connection as residents share the experience together
It’s also a subtle form of mobility therapy — walking at their own pace, safely supported, helps residents maintain balance and confidence in movement.
Appointments Support: Care Beyond the Home
Another underappreciated aspect of wellbeing is the ease of access to essential healthcare. This week, Summer Court staff accompanied residents to dental appointments, ensuring continuity of care.
By offering emotional and logistical support during medical visits, the home:
- Reduces resident anxiety
- Promotes proactive healthcare
Demonstrates genuine, whole-person care that extends beyond four walls
Interactive Ball Game: Physical Fun with a Purpose
Inside the home, a lively ball game session brought out both movement and laughter. Simple, seated or standing, catch-and-toss games offer:
- Improved hand-eye coordination
- Light cardiovascular engagement
- Release of feel-good endorphins through laughter
- Group bonding and shared joy
For elderly residents, especially those with reduced mobility, this form of play helps maintain agility in a way that feels social, not clinical.
One-to-One Room Sessions: The Heart of Personalised Care
Between group activities, carers at Summer Court prioritised one-to-one time with residents in their rooms. These private sessions offered:
- Emotional reassurance and deep listening
- Mental stimulation through personalised conversation
- Gentle sensory or spiritual engagement, tailored to each resident
Especially for those less likely to participate in larger group settings, these moments of undivided attention provide emotional safety and self-expression.
Music in the Garden: Soundtracking Serenity
With sunny weather on their side, residents enjoyed a music session outdoors in the garden. Familiar songs, a peaceful setting, and shared experience came together to create a tranquil yet emotionally resonant activity.
Music in this context helps:
- Trigger long-term memory recall
- Reduce stress and agitation (especially in residents with dementia)
- Increase group cohesion through familiar melodies and shared singing
And when set outdoors, the experience doubles in impact — nature and music together create a calming sensory cocoon.
Flower Bouquet Making: A Creative & Sensory Journey
One of the week’s most beautiful activities was creating flower bouquets using blooms from Summer Court’s garden. Residents selected flowers, arranged them by colour and height, and proudly displayed their finished creations.
This gentle activity:
- Supports fine motor skills and hand coordination
- Encourages personal creativity and aesthetic choice
- Provides rich sensory input (smell, touch, visual colour play)
- Delivers a sense of pride and accomplishment
Using flowers grown onsite also strengthens residents’ relationship with the garden, fostering a sense of place and seasonal awareness.
Armchair Exercises: Physical Wellness Without Pressure
The week also included gentle armchair exercise sessions, led by trained staff and tailored to varying levels of ability.
These sessions focused on:
- Seated leg lifts
- Arm raises
- Light stretching and circulation techniques
By providing structured movement in a relaxed setting, the home helps residents:
- Maintain flexibility and muscle tone
- Improve joint health
- Prevent stiffness from long sedentary periods
Even brief, 15–20 minute routines make a significant difference over time.
A Week That Balances the Mind, Body and Heart
What ties all of these activities together is a commitment to holistic engagement — creating touchpoints for wellbeing across emotional, physical, social, and sensory domains.
Each day offers a new layer:
- Outdoors and creativity one day
- Movement and play the next
- Quiet connection and music in between
Together, these experiences deliver more than just entertainment — they form the foundation of daily mental clarity, emotional resilience, and dignified independence.
Small Moments, Lasting Impact
At Summer Court Residential Home, care goes far beyond schedules and routines. It lives in small, meaningful engagements — from a shared song in the sun to a gentle chat in someone’s room.
This week’s activity report is a powerful reminder that it is not the scale of the activity, but the sincerity behind it, that creates true wellbeing. Through consistent gentle engagements, the team delivers what every resident deserves: comfort, connection, and the freedom to feel like themselves.
About
We are proud to provide excellent care for our residents and are committed to training our staff so that they can provide this. We also employ specialist activity workers to ensure that residents are able to enjoy a variety of activities.
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- Summercourt Residential Home Shute Hill, Teignmouth Devon, TQ14 8JD
- care@cchdevon.com
- 01626 778580
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