Dear gentle JP readers, the British summer is upon us once more and we are delighted to share all about our latest activities and adventures. Getting out and about whilst the sun has been shining has definitely been a marvellous highlight for all our members, and we are excited to reveal to you, dear readers, the places we have been and the people we have encountered.
Sunnyshine, Rain, and Everything in Between
Despite the ever changing weather of our “British summer”, we have still had a fun-packed month full of laughter and new experiences. We started off our summer, exploring our week’s theme of ‘Environment, Weather, and Sustainability’ (very fitting indeed!)
Here at James’ Place, we understand the importance of encouraging sustainability and how it affects the environment around us. Finding more sustainable options like reusing material such as bottles, jars, and newspapers and conserving rain water to water our plants in the courtyard area. We are also planning on growing our own vegetables and fruit in the allotment which the members can use when learning cooking skills. During this topic we also learnt about the different types of climates and weather in a variety of environments, ranging from the tropical weather of the Amazon Rainforest to the sweltering dry heat of the Sahara Desert. Members designed their own ‘mini jungle in a bottle’ where they thought carefully about the different types of microorganism and vegetation that inhabit there because of the moist humid temperatures. To explore the desert climate, our team decided to incorporate a tactile sensory activity, where members made their own sensory sand playdough. This activity encouraged members to use their fine motor skills and develop their understanding of different textures.
Everyday is an Adventure
We have also been on a variety of trips to new places and amongst our local community. On one trip, we went on to Paultons Park, in the New Forest. What a rollercoaster ride of a day! We travelled to Paultons Park with some of the members around the start of July, where a fun day was to be had indeed! Roller coasters and other fun rides and attractions could be seen with the members going on them all and enjoying them! There was a roller coaster of emotions on these amazing roller coasters, we also got to see some awesome animals such as an enormous iguana, terrifying tarantulas, and other incredible insects and remarkable reptiles. Our resident roller coaster fanatic said: “I give it a 10/10 for Paultons park!” At James’ Place, we are determined to make all activities and day trips person-centred and tailored to our member’s hobbies, interests, and preferences.
“Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away!”― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
First Hand Life Skills
Careers Week paragraph During the middle of the month, my lovely readers, we celebrated a variety of different careers, from brilliant builders and bakers to fantastic farmers and firemen. There were also two career paths that we recognized and admired during this week, and those were doctors and nurses! During this time, we worked with the members to grow our knowledge of what both doctors and nurses do, as well as crafting nurse headbands and stethoscopes. To learn more and grow more with life skills, a few of the members, alongside some team members, worked with some certified first aiders to discover how to put someone into the recovery position, as well as bandage wrapping, with one of our members being excellent indeed at wrapping bandages around our team member Jake.
Another JP Success!
There was something quite spectacular that happened in the middle of the month. We have our very first open day at JP Basingstoke, and wow, what a success! The team worked hard to put on quite an event to show off what we do here. We had activities, refreshments, treats, and our welcoming environment open for the day on Saturday 13th. We look forward to executing another one in the summer of next year.
That is all for now gentle JP readers, but we do hope that you come back to read our August blog next month to see what our members get up to next. Take care and stay cool! Many thanks, Team JP.
