There are lots of unique ways to use the Daily Sparkle. They function most simply as a newspaper with reminiscence topics and stories from the past, but, with a little creativity and the use of all the extra resources we include, you can use them for a range of activities throughout the home. Here we look at how a little extra effort can make a real difference for residents…
At Avery Lodge Care Home, the team edit the Daily Sparkle to make a personalised version for each individual resident of the home. This provides a sense of their life story and helps new staff or carers get to know the residents. So, for the ‘On This Day’ column, staff find out what happened on the day residents were born; for ‘The Way We Were’ section, the team write the resident’s life story and include an image of them. These personalised Daily Sparkles can then be added to care charts or notes for all residents. Residents are able to look at the images and the information about their lives and the interesting facts that happened on the day they were born, while carers can use it to see the resident’s specific care needs. For the residents, it helps them to reminisce and bring back memories of their own; while for the care staff (and other health care professionals coming into the home), it helps to know these residents in a more in-depth way.
There are other ways you can use the Daily Sparkle too. Lots of homes collate articles from several issues to make a themed edition to support a specific day or time of year – we also sometimes produce special Daily Sparkles ourselves. At Queensbridge House, the team add a couple of extra pages to the Weekly Sparkle, including their own bits of news, including any celebrations or birthdays they are currently celebrating.
