This year’s National Poetry Day was on 5th October 2023. National Poetry Day is celebrated on the first Thursday of October every year and encourages everyone to celebrate and write poetry with family and friends.
We celebrated Poetry Day at The Porterbrook with our residents and team members who all shared their much-loved poems from school. We read the top 10 popular poems together, which included “The Leaves of Autumn” and “Daddy” and discussed the meanings behind them. While we were sharing poems we enjoyed a tipple of sherry or baileys throughout the activity.
Engaging with poetry can have a profoundly positive impact on elderly residents in care homes. It provides cognitive stimulation by challenging memory and language skills, fostering emotional expression, and offering a creative outlet for self-expression. Poetry also encourages social interaction, creating a sense of community among residents. Its calming and stress-reducing qualities can reduce anxiety and promote emotional wellbeing. Furthermore, it allows elderly individuals to preserve and share their life stories and experiences, helping to connect generations.
Additionally, poetry therapy can address psychological and emotional challenges, enhancing mental health and self-esteem. This engagement with literature and culture, along with the multi-sensory experience it offers, enriches the lives of residents, encouraging personal growth and self-discovery.
Poetry offers a wide range of cognitive, emotional, social, and therapeutic benefits for elderly individuals in care homes. It enhances their quality of life by providing opportunities for creative expression, communication, and connection with others. It can be a meaningful and fulfilling activity that contributes to their overall wellbeing and we are delighted to be able to offer this as part of our wider activities programme here at The Porterbrook Care Home.
If you would like more information about life at The Porterbrook Care Home, then we welcome you to get in touch with our friendly team.