Linwood care home resident records classic children’s stories using technology

A resident of Linwood care home is using technology to overcome the limitations of lockdown, by recording classic bedtime stories for children at a nearby nursery.

Margaret Reed, 84, used to attend Busy Bees nursery and read stories, but has been unable to do so due to the pandemic. In light of this, Margaret and the team at Linwood came up with a solution. They decided to create videos of Margaret reading a selection of six nursery stories, such as The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, for the young children to watch at home.

The recordings were captured by the team at Linwood using one of the homes’ iPads. The recordings were then sent to Busy Bees’ teachers who will be showing them to their pupils as part of their online learning courses, enabling Margaret’s visits to continue at the nursery virtually.

Margaret was delighted that technology had provided her with a way to keep in touch with the children of Busy Bees. She said: 

It’s marvellous what we can do these days with technology isn’t it? Reading at Busy Bees has always been one of my favourite activities but obviously given the current circumstances it’s been impossible to do so I hope these recordings make up for it. I’d like to say a big thank you to all the team at Linwood, not only for looking after us so well and keeping us safe but also for helping me with the recording and organising the books and everything!

Hayley Poulton, Deputy Manager of Linwood, said: 

We’re so happy to be able to help Margaret to continue reading to the children of Busy Bees. We’ve had a wonderful relationship with them over the years and it’s great to see that despite everything we can keep that relationship alive. Margaret has always loved her reading activities at Busy Bees, so being able to find a way to keep them going using technology is really special for us. Our priority is to keep our residents as safe and as happy as possible and it is wonderful that we have the technological means of doing so.

Hollie, Acting Centre Director for Busy Bees, Thames Ditton said: 

We are so happy Margaret is reading stories and sending them over to the children, they are over the moon listening to them. They miss Margaret so much; they talk about her on a regular basis since she has not been able to come in and see them. We have built up a good partnership with Linwood and are happy we can still continue this partnership even in the pandemic.

Linwood care home is well-known for its schedule of rewarding activities and its outstanding level of dementia care. Looking for a home for yourself or a loved one? Why not find out more about what Linwood has to offer? For further details, head over to our dedicated webpage or call 0800 085 4279.