What a year it’s been! It’s been particularly difficult for care home residents over the past year who haven’t been able to see their loved ones.
But things are looking up for care home residents with the vaccine rollout, and we were all thrilled when we read the news they could start receiving one visitor from March 8.
We know that activity coordinators organise loads of fun activities targeted specifically at older people, and are always looking for new and fun ideas to try.
Here at Made by Mortals, we’re running our third FREE online workshop for care home activity co-ordinators so they can run their own creative music and drama sessions with their residents, inspired by our Armchair Adventures project.
The free session will take place on Tuesday, April 27 from 2-3.30pm on Zoom.
This training session is for anyone working in a residential home or dementia care home as well as carers who visit people in their own homes.
So, tell me, what is Armchair Adventures?
Armchair Adventures is a series of fun, interactive podcasts, created by older people. They were made to capture and respond to the mood of the nation during lockdown, which left many people alone, unable to go on holiday or see friends and family.
We created this interactive podcast to give people some escapism from their daily lives and to boost health and wellbeing through movement and fun.
The story follows teenager Connie, whose parents run a travel agency that’s been hit by coronavirus. With the help of her customers, she takes them on exciting fictional journeys of the imagination. Each episode is inspired by a customer’s experience, knowledge and passions and expressed through drama, music and immersive sound design.
So far, listeners have been led on a magical treetop journey, a superhero adventure and a bubble trip to see the Northern lights. The latest podcast episode sees Connie and our adventurers go to a showbiz wonderland!
What are the benefits of Armchair Adventures for older people?
The role of theatre and music is well-known in supporting mental and cognitive health for older people, and especially people with dementia.
The podcast is interactive and immersive, meaning that the listener is invited to sing, dance and act along with the action. There is also a complementary activity pack, so that activity coordinators can create their own Armchair Adventures with their residents.
The Armchair Adventures interactive podcast allows people to use their imaginations to mentally escape their situations, through music, theatre, dance and singing. It is playful, creative and light-hearted – intended to make everyone smile.
The actions and songs are all easily done from an armchair – as the name suggests, so the activities are perfect for older people with limited mobility.
There is an unlimited restorative power of people coming together to sing, dance and use their imagination, as well as connecting with others.
What does the free training session involve?
The session takes just an hour-and-a-half of your time and will be run via Zoom by our expert music and theatre professionals. You will connect with other activity co-ordinators and carers and learn some of the music, drama, movement and creative writing activities we use to create Armchair Adventure episodes with our community of older people.
How do I book onto the session?
Please use the Eventbrite link below to sign up to the online training session on Tuesday, April 27, from 2-3.30pm.
Please drop us a line via our contact page, if there’s any more information you need.
Listen to our podcast on our Armchair Adventures page or directly on our Audio Boom podcast page.