Care residents create poem for nursery children to celebrate World Nursery Rhyme Week

To celebrate the week, the care team at Wren Hall, a dementia specialist nursing home in Selston, worked with residents to come up with their own nursery rhyme to see if they could entertain and impress the children who attend the adjacent Little Wrens nursery.

With intergenerational relationships a big part of the ethos within the care community, the residents love spending time with the nursery children and looked to pay tribute to this relationship with their own attempt.

Focusing on the heart-warming interactions between the care settings, the residents composed the following rhyme:

A Tale of Two Wrens

In Wren Hall, elders reside,

Little Wrens, joy by their side.

They meet for fun, a joyous ride,

Sharing stories, hearts open wide.

At Little Wrens, children play,

Giggles and games, throughout the day,

Their youthful energy, a sunbeam’s ray,

Warms the hearts of elders in every way.

Laughter and love, everywhere,

At Wren Hall and Little Wrens, a pair so rare,

Sharing, caring, a tale they share,

A heart-warming bond, beyond compare.

Resident, Peter Mansell, who was a part of the nursery rhyme making process, recited the poem to the children. Delighted with the outcome, he proclaimed that it was “Very good! Very good!” as he enjoyed the enthusiastic reception from the children.

Anita Astle MBE, owner and manager of Wren Hall, said: “Our residents, who we refer to as family members, absolutely love spending time with the children – and it’s a fundamental part of our care offering.

"Knowing that World Nursery Rhyme Week was coming up, they were eager to have their own attempt to try and entertain the children. So, working closely with our care team, we pulled together a draft – and Peter delivered it with great aplomb!"

She continued: “It’s so heart-warming to hear how much our older residents appreciate and admire the children from the nursery. The connection between the two really is joyous and, as the poem says, Little Wrens bring a sunbeam to the home, lighting up our days. We’re extremely lucky to have polite and caring children who treat our older Wren Hall family members like they would their own grandparents.

Rated ‘Outstanding’ by CQC, Wren Hall strives to provide a homely and friendly environment to help those living with dementia to achieve optimum independence. Part of this includes referring to those who reside in the home as ‘family members’ rather than residents.

For more information on Wren Hall, please visithttps://wrenhall.com/.