August 2024

A fairy garden, created by a resident, hiding alongside a walkway amongst the flowers

Occupational Therapy at Wake Robin -

Continuing Education in the Real World

Tasia Benham M.S. OTR/L, C-MLD, with two of the Occupational Therapist students visiting Wake Robin

Simply put, an Occupational Therapist spends time with individuals to find out what they usually do in their day-to-day life and identifies challenges they face. Then they help to find ways to overcome those challenges.

The University of Vermont recently started an Occupational Therapy (OT) training program and Wake Robin is part of their field study component. Tasia Benham, M.S. OTR/L, C-MLD, is their instructor while they are with us. So far, we have had three UVM students do their Wake Robin rounds and there will be one more this winter and another in the spring. One OT student did her 3-month rotation here. Another OT student did her 2-week observational fieldwork with us and requested a return to do her Capstone research, a kind of final thesis.

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Ask Wake Robin

A resident and her grandchild, appreciating the flowers

Question of the Month:

Can my grandchildren visit me and stay overnight?

The quick answer to this month’s question is: Absolutely! When you move to Wake Robin, you can continue the life you were leading with more freedom and time to enjoy special moments. Sometimes, you just have to reconfigure the sofa and build a fort out of cushions and blankets!

Grandchildren are welcome to visit you, stay overnight, share meals in the dining room, take part in appropriate activities…be the Super Grandparent you want to be. One of our more recent residents, Roberta M., made her grandchildren’s visits part of her new life routine at Wake Robin. Most days, she is involved in this adult community interacting with her peers, and serving on committees, but throughout the summer school break, she got to be Gigi once a week.

Roberta says she is fundamentally a laid-back person and her approach has been to “sit back and let Wake Robin come to you.” Opportunities and routines will evolve without pressuring them to happen. In this case, fellow residents would come to her and suggest things that might be fun for grandkids to do. That led to rock painting, making miniature sculptures, deciding what they wanted to eat, watching pickleball, and basically tagging along with Gigi for the next adventure.

With the start of the new school year, Roberta lost her summer companions but there are always school breaks and holidays to come. It’s a change of routine, just like the seasons. Overall, Roberta says “this place makes me vibrate!” 

Helping kids get a great start in the new school year!

All the backpacks and supplies collected at Wake Robin

We worked a new angle into our spirit of giving back to the community this summer. Last year, Wake Robin staff members supported the Shelburne Food Shelf by donating back-to-school necessities as well as contributing to a brighter Christmas for selected families. Still working with the Food Shelf, this year’s summer project involved buying backpacks and stuffing them with the usual supplies for the new school year. This is an exciting and sometimes stressful transition out of the summer season, and children should be prepared to have a great start.

Spear headed by our departments of Environmental Services and Human Resources, lists were posted and checked off as staff members contributed to the collection. A vibrant assortment of 14 backpacks was assembled and filled with all the useful items every young student needs. We extend best wishes for academic success and maybe some fun along the way!

Depositors Outing at Shelburne Farms

Depositors exploring the Breeding Barn at Shelburne Farms

Event planning requires a certain amount of flexibility and go-with-the-flow attitude. The best laid plans are sometimes subject to things beyond our control. Our most recent Depositors’ outing was one of those occasions.

The plan was to take a tour of the Brick House, the residence at Shelburne Farms that is actually part of Shelburne Museum. We were informed the day before that, due to some water damage, the entry to the home would require major repair and was not safe for a tour. Enter Plan B.

As our guests arrived, we told them of the sudden change in plans and we proceeded to the Inn at Shelburne Farms for our first stop. Our Museum guide had previously worked for Shelburne Farms and one of our Depositor/guests had worked in the Archives for the Farms. The group was well informed from a couple of unique perspectives.

The Inn represents the grandeur of the 1880s that defined the Gilded Age in America. It was built as the summer “cottage” of the Webb family with plenty of room for family and guests and still functions as a remarkable destination for dining and overnight stays. The Wake Robin group walked the grounds of the Inn and strolled through the magnificent flower gardens overlooking Lake Champlain.

Our next stop was the Breeding Barn which was built to support a short-lived horse breeding operation at the turn of the 20^th century. We finished our field trip with a drop-in at the Brick House to see the grounds and the peony gardens. One day, we hope to do the originally planned tour to see the inside of the house as well.

Lunch at Wake Robin’s Birches Café capped off the morning’s events. The plans may have changed, but this Depositors’ event turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to sample some local history. 

Wake Robin residents took a trip to the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center as a part of Inquire (Wake Robin’s lifelong learning program). Two groups of residents went out for an 80-minute sail helmed by one of the Lake Champlain Sailing Center Sage staff (lifelong sailors, who share their love and knowledge of sailing). They also participated in helping operate the boat. What a great day on the lake!