Today was our very first visit to Spring Gardens Care Home in Portobello, and I’m sitting here afterwards feeling one of those deep, quiet, “this is why I do this” feelings.
Spring Gardens is a sister care home to View Park, where we started running intergenerational Boogie Beat sessions back in November 2025 alongside Blossom Day Nursery. At that point, View Park told me that since COVID they’d never had children coming into the home. It all felt a bit complicated, a bit daunting, and when you’re a busy activity coordinator, those barriers can feel huge.
So we started gently. For the first few weeks, it was just us and the residents. And they loved it. They remembered the sessions, they asked about them, and they engaged so beautifully. After a few weeks, the activity coordinator said to me, “We absolutely love what you do. We’d love you to come back next year — and we’d also love you to bring this to our sister care home, Spring Gardens.”
What we agreed was a lovely rhythm: one week at View Park, one week at Spring Gardens.
Last week we were back at View Park, where the children already know the building and are starting to recognise some of the residents. There was a holiday gap, but their confidence was clearly building.
And today… today we went somewhere completely new.
The children from Blossom Day had never set foot in Spring Gardens before. The building was unfamiliar. The residents were unfamiliar. But I was a familiar face, and the Boogie Beat structure was familiar. The songs, the flow, the routines — all the things that tell a child, “You are safe. You know what’s happening. You know what’s coming next.”
And honestly? They were phenomenal.
Children who, not long ago, wouldn’t leave their nursery key worker’s knee were suddenly in the middle of the room. They were chatting to residents. They were showing them actions. They were engaging — properly, naturally, confidently.
And that’s the magic of structure and repetition. It creates safety. And safety creates confidence.
We saw that confidence building not just in the children, but in the residents too.
There was a lady called Sheila who sat near the door at the start. You could tell she wasn’t quite sure what to expect and wanted to keep herself near an “escape route” just in case. But as the session went on, she engaged more and more.
During our Goldilocks story, I decided that Sheila would make a wonderful Mummy Bear. I gave her the teddy bear and explained that when the children came round, Mummy Bear would say, “Somebody’s been eating my porridge!”
She understood exactly what to do. She followed the story using the pictures — was it the porridge bowl? The chair? The bed? — and she absolutely nailed it.
And the best bit? When it was Mummy Bear’s turn to speak, all the children gathered round her. They looked at her. They waited for her. And she delivered her line with real purpose and pride.
To go from someone who wasn’t sure and sat by the door… to someone who became a pivotal character in the story — that sense of engagement, interaction, and being needed is so incredibly valuable.
Another moment that really stayed with me was with a gentleman called Gilbert, who was there with his niece, who had come to visit and wanted to sit in on the session.
Gilbert took part with the maracas as best he could with his limited mobility. But what really struck me was what happened during the familiar songs, like Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and Row, Row, Row Your Boat.
He sat completely still. His eyes were closed. From the outside, you might think he wasn’t engaging at all.
But he was singing every single word.
He knew all the songs. He was listening to everything. He was taking part in his way, in the way that his body allowed him to in that moment. And that was incredibly powerful to witness.
His niece was absolutely thrilled to see him joining in.
It felt like such a gentle but important reminder that engagement doesn’t always look loud, or busy, or obvious — and that presence, listening, and singing quietly can be just as meaningful.
And then there was Jim.
At the very end of the session, one of the carers came up to me and said, “Jim never stays for the full duration of an activity. Ever. I’ve never seen him do that.”
Not only did Jim stay for the entire Boogie Beat session… he took part. He sang along to the songs he knew. And when the children were leaving, he said “thank you” to them.
I’ve only met Jim today. But the carers know him. And the fact that she made a point of coming to tell me just how big that was says everything.
It’s such a simple thing, really. Songs. Movement. Children. Stories.
But days like today are a reminder that what we’re doing is so much more than “just an activity”.
It’s connection.
It’s confidence.
It’s purpose.
It’s inclusion.
It’s joy.
And sometimes, it’s the first time in a long time that someone stays, joins in, and feels part of something.
And that’s exactly why intergenerational work will always have my heart. 💙
Written by Mairi Curle Franchisee Owner of Boogie Beat Edinburgh, Mid and East Lothian
Interested in taking part in a Boogie Beat Intergenerational session? visit our workshop page for more info here