Stepping into spring: seasonal activities at CHS Group services

As the days get longer and brighter, CHS Group has been celebrating the new season with a range of activities across its nurseries, care homes and community support services – from hatching chicken eggs to creating bird feeders and enjoying a sing and dance in the garden. 
 
Sunflower Nurseries – Cambridge & Cambourne
Children at CHS Group’s Sunflower Nursery in Cambourne have been exploring nature and looking out for different animals, including ducks at the local lake and rabbits in the surrounding woodland.
 
At the Cambridge nursery, staff members have recently reintroduced the ‘Living Eggs’ experience for the children, a two-week educational programme that provides nurseries with everything they need to hatch chicks. Over the past few weeks, children have been waiting patiently for the eggs to hatch and now have an unmissable opportunity to look after the baby chicks for two weeks at the nursery, gaining a better understanding of the life cycle of a chicken.

CHS Group’s Cambridge Care homes
Elderly residents at CHS Group’s Langdon House care home made the most of the milder weather recently and experienced some garden entertainment – including a sing and dance – with The Entertainment Providers’ Rock Around the Clock show. Residents at Langdon House and Alex Wood House have been keeping busy with lots of cooking, painting and gardening activities, and, as more springtime birds come out to sing, they have also been handmaking bird feeders which will hang outside the lounge window, making an attractive bird watching spot.
 
At both Langdon House and Alex Wood House care homes, residents have enjoyed the easing of restrictions around visitors and being reunited with family members.

Russell Street service
During the inaugural National Day of Reflection, which recognised a year since the first UK lockdown, residents and staff at CHS Group’s Russell Street service put together and buried a time capsule to mark both their individual and shared experiences over the past year during the COVID-19 pandemic. Russell Street offers accommodation and support for single adults (18-64) who have a learning disability, are on the autistic spectrum, or have acquired brain injuries.
 
Railway House service
Railway House offers accommodation and support for young people aged 16-25 who would otherwise be homeless. To ensure residents did not miss out on Easter celebrations, supporters donated £176 to ensure every young person received an Easter egg and they were even treated to a lockdown takeaway too.

Nigel Howlett, Chief Executive, CHS Group, comments: “As the seasons change, the days get warmer and England moves out of the latest COVID-19 lockdown, there is much cause for celebration. We love hearing about all of our nursery children’s explorations with nature – there is so much curiosity about animals and the way the world works. It is also truly wonderful to see the residents at our care homes finally able to see two visitors, however, we recognise the need for ongoing cautiousness over the coming months and we will be putting on lots of garden and socially distanced activities while certain lockdown measures remain in place.
 
“I would like to say a huge thank you to all of our staff members across the CHS Group services who always go the extra mile to offer such creative, brilliant activities to our residents, nursery children and service users – no matter what challenges they face.”