Residents at Luton-based Little Bramingham Farm celebrate this year's Global Intergenerational Week

At Little Bramingham Farm, the Luton-based residential care home run by charity, Friends of the Elderly, the care team has been celebrating this year’s Global Intergenerational Week with their fun, interactive and engaging fortnightly, term-time, activity for their residents – Intergenerational Musical Bumps.

The intergenerational sessions are run by Musical Bumps Central Bedfordshire, a small business providing music groups, singing and fun for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers with their parents and carers. The group visits Little Bramingham Farm every other Wednesday during school term times for an interactive, fun and inclusive Intergenerational Musical Bumps class.

“The Musical Bumps Team has been coming to Little Bramingham Farm for over a year now, after having a hiatus during Covid,” saidEmma Lawrance, the Registered Manager at Little Bramingham Farm said: “Karen Charity, our Activities Coordinator and I wanted to introduce a new, interactive, sociable and fun activity for our residents to engage with and enjoy. We wanted something that would not only invigorate and stimulate our residents, but something they would find fun as well.

“When we spoke to Alex Martin, the lady behind Musical Bumps, to find out more, it seemed like a perfect match to what we wanted to achieve, and it’s proved to be a huge hit, not only with our residents, but with the Musical Bumps’ babies, toddlers and parents as well,” added Karen.

The fortnightly Intergenerational Musical Bumps classes bring the younger and older generations together in a creative way – making music, playing instruments, singing, dancing, puppetry, bubble art, movement and so much more.

“Alex makes sure that each class has something for everyone to participate in, enjoy and have fun,” added Emma. “The benefits of the classes are great for our residents as they not only enrich their quality of life, but also support their mental and physical wellbeing by providing a wonderful way for them to interact and socialise with the parents and children.”

The classes are also proving to be a good reminiscing exercise for the residents. Joyce Hymus, who has been a resident at Little Bramingham Farm for two years added: “It’s so lovely to see the happiness on all their little faces, especially when the bubble machine comes out. It’s great to see them grow and become more confident at each class.”

Another resident, Eileen Gleasure who has been at Little Bramingham Farm since 2018 added: “It’s so great to see the little ones jumping around enjoying themselves. They are just adorable.”

“We love seeing the residents’ faces light up when the children arrive. They really look forward to seeing them and they don’t stop smiling from the minute they arrive, to the minute they leave,” concluded Karen.