The Daily Sparkle is a reminiscence newspaper specially developed to provide stimulation and interest for older people and those living with dementia. We have a subscription to The Daily Sparkle in all our Nellsar Homes and copies are circulated for our residents and Recreation and Well-Being Teams to share together in groups or on a one-to-one basis.
“The Daily Sparkle has been part of our regular activity calendar for many years now and is loved by our residents and staff alike. Research has shown that Reminiscence Therapy can help older people by focusing on positive and rewarding aspects of their past, giving them a sense of competence and confidence through using a skill they still have.
The Sparkle is so much more than a reminiscence newspaper; it brings back memories that can be shared along with a cuppa and slice of cake! Whilst it can create a great social gathering, many of our residents simply look forward to the Sparkle delivery and enjoy it at their leisure.
We have a great relationship with The Sparkle team who have used us in the past to pilot some of their initiatives. Some of our Recreation and Well-Being staff are also on an advisory board with them, so our ideas and feedback are being listened to for future users.
For our residents and staff, it’s a great part of our activity calendar, as you can see from these insights from our Homes below.”
Viv Stead, Recreation and Well-Being Manager
“We usually get as many people together in our lounge as we can and then take our time going through each topic in The Daily Sparkle, pausing here and there to have a chat about the topic. For example, if one of the themes is Scotland, I’ll ask everyone who has visited and gently encourage individuals to share their experiences with the group, as a good way of getting a discussion going.”
Kayleigh, Lulworth House Residential Care Home
“At Sonya Lodge, we like to host Daily Sparkle Coffee Mornings when we will go into our tearoom or lounges and enjoy hot drinks and the latest edition, read it together, enjoy the pictures, task ourselves with the quizzes and of course have some cake! Some of the best reminiscing activities in The Sparkle are the images, for example different foods, makeup items and games. Pictures are important as they can inspire conversations, help recall a memory or just produce a feeling of comfort.”
Victoria, Sonya Lodge Residential Care Home
“The Daily Sparkle has easy-to-use resources, reminiscence articles and stories that residents can relate to, with seasonal content. It provides great ideas for group and individuals activities. More widely, our residents benefit from shared reminiscence activities which often spark conversations and memories. During the Coronation of King Charles, we looked through photos and watched the day on television, sharing lots of stories and memories. Tunes can bring back strong memories of favourite films, singers, places visited and childhood memories.”
Paula, Hayley and Charlotte, Loose Valley Care Home
“We use The Sparkle weekly for some of our group sessions, or sometimes our residents prefer to look through it on their own. Our residents tend to like the reminiscence articles which can bring back memories from their childhood or from when they were a young adult. They also enjoy the quizzes, wordsearches and crosswords. The main benefits of reminiscence are that it promotes positive self-esteem, self-understanding and a better understanding of others.”
Christine, Princess Christian Care Home
“You can pick up The Daily Sparkle anywhere and just start to read some of the lovely articles about the past. I have personally found that it is a great tool to use throughout the Home and is a great resource to use on family visits as a conversation starter. Who knows where a conversation can take you, one minute you can be talking about food, the next you can be talking about traveling around the world!”
Marina, Nellsar
“Each week, The Sparkle gives us a new conversation starter and is a brilliant way to unlock core memories. Whether this is by filling in the missing words of a song that we’d forgotten, or quizzing our knowledge on something we haven’t thought about since school – it’s a terrific way to get the brain working and a fun way to share memories. Reminiscing is a very important and amazing way to keep treasured memories alive, just by the sight of something, the sound of a song or even the mention of a word.”
Lauren, Woodstock Residential Care Home
“We enjoy The Daily Sparkle in one-to-one sessions with our residents and have recently started to use it in group activities too. The word searches, quizzes, ‘On this day’ stories and ‘The way we were’ sections are the most popular with our ladies and gents. Reminiscence boosts creativity and communication and a key benefit of reminiscing is being together and sharing things from each other’s past.”
Mihaela, Lukestone Care Home
“I am new to The Old Downs and have started to use the activities from The Daily Sparkle recently. We sit with our residents, have tea and cake, and chat about the topics together. We also like doing the crosswords. I feel The Sparkle is a great way to start conversations with our ladies and gents and bring back memories for them.”
Dee, The Old Downs Residential Care Home
“We love our Sparkle here at Hengist Field – it has so many resources! We’ll read aloud the articles about famous people, well known buildings, television programmes and well-known landmarks, giving clues for our residents to guess which ones they are, which is a brilliant way to engage everyone. We feel reminiscing can help reduce stress and improve a person’s quality of life, communication skills and confidence. Revisiting meaningful memories can also improve memory. There are so many benefits of reminiscence!”
Jackie, Hengist Field Care Home
