Life Skills

Make and Bake

Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated or hard. With the right basic skills and a few handy recipes, you can create healthy meals in your kitchen with confidence. You’ll learn so much our Make and Bake Cooking Program

Build your independent living skills with this hands-on cooking course, including tips on cooking, buying, storing and eating good, fresh, healthy food. Start with the basics and then level up as you get more confident!

Skills you’ll develop:

• Basic cooking techniques
• Food safety and handling
• Kitchen equipment and knife skills
• Following instructions and recipes
• Organisational and time management skills
• Motor planning coordination
• Social skills
• Community engagement

What you can expect:

• Learn basic cooking techniques including chopping, frying, cutting and how to use equipment
• Small friendly groups
• Socialise, make friends and have fun
• Based at Darra in our open plan kitchen

Cooking class

Build your independent living skills with our practical, hands-on cooking classes.

Learn to find your way around the kitchen. This popular class shows you what’s involved in healthy eating. It takes you through everything from planning and shopping for nutritious meals through to food preparation and safety.

Skills developed:

• Food safety
• Cooking for others
• Time management and organisation skills
• Fine motor and motor planning coordination
• Social skills
• Community engagement

What you can expect:

• 1:3 or 1:1 ratio. $15 per person each week to pay for ingredients
• Montrose can also offer Occupational Therapy for modified kitchen utensils if required (additional cost)
• Plan and prepare a new meal and dessert every week to build your own recipe book
• Get involved in the Lifestyle & Leisure kitchen and enjoy you your cooking for lunch
• By the end you will have a selection of meals to confidently cook any day of the week

Community gardening

There’s always something fun to do when you are out and about!

Grow food, friendship and community with our community gardening program. By visiting a number of Brisbane gardens you can learn how to grow and harvest flowers, herbs, fruit and vegetables. We also have a collection of plants in our Lifestyle and Leisure room to teach you how how to grow and care for indoor plants.

While out in the park you can also get involved in a variety of sports including cricket, netball, basketball and soccer – keeping you fit and healthy!

Skills you’ll developed:

• Team building and leadership skills
• Gross/fine motor skills and motor planning coordination
• Health and wellbeing
• Social skills
• Community engagement

What you can expect:

• Travel to Brisbane parks where our community gardens are located
• Plant, grow and harvest crops, flowers and plants
• Play a variety of team sports including netball, cricket, soccer and more
• Develop new skills and find new hobbies
• Socialise, make friends and have fun

Get active at the gym

Grab your gym gear and join this group for a fun, intensive gym workout!

Each week you’ll travel to Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association in Albion to work on your own individual gym program. The personalised programs are developed and supervised by an experienced personal trainer. We know that everyone’s goals are different and there is a wide range of gym equipment which can be accessed by people of all abilities including wheelchair users. From dumbbells to cardio equipment, each movement or activity can be modified to suit your level of fitness and mobility.

Engage in circuit style and functional training, or have fun with friends shooting hoops on the basketball court.

Skills you’ll developed:

• Strength and fitness
• Sport specific skills and rules
• Time management
• Social skills
• Community engagement

What you can expect:

• 1:2 or 1:1 support depending on need. Montrose can also offer Physiotherapy to develop a modified gym program (separate cost)
• Individual program developed by a professional personal trainer
• Each week work on your own personal program
• Participate in different sporting activities
• Transport to and from the gym
• Socialise, make friends and have fun
• Return to the Lifestyle & Leisure room for a pre-prepared lunch and dessert by the Cooking Class.

Creative arts

Do you have a passion for creativity? Our weekly Arts and Craft group is the perfect place to create your own artwork or continue working on your Art Program projects.

From scrap booking to painting,  the choice is yours! This group gives everyone the opportunity to communicate and express themselves through art while catching up with friends.

Skills you’ll developed:

• Creative thinking
• Exploration and research skills
• High order thinking
• Organisation and technical skill development
• Team building and independency
• Fine motor and motor planning coordination
• Social skills
• Community engagement

What you can expect:

• 1:2 or 1:1 support depending on the support required to create your artworks
• Centre based art projects of your choice
• Develop new skills and find new hobbies
• Socialise, make friends and have fun

Social group and recreational outings

You’ll look forward to our weekly social group! It’s a chance to meet new friends and enjoy hanging out. Most importantly, you can have a say in what you’ll do! Bring your sense of fun and plenty of ideas!

This Life Skills service is available at the following locations: