Intergenerational Fun !
Today we started talking about our bodies . We made a book for our classroom library. I traced the children’s hands and they completed the sentence ” My hands can… ” The answers ranged from hold a friends hand to wiggle ! Later in the day we decorated the handprints.
The most exciting part of our day was our honorary grandparents visiting. Before they arrived I read them a precious book I found about a little boy that lives next to a nursing home. He has a wonderful relationship with the elderly residents. He found that many of them had lost their memories. He went on a ” hunt ” for memories because he wasnt sure what a memory was. He returned with shells and medals and other fun things. Of course, these every day items sparked memories for his elderly friends. The book gave us the opportunity to talk about our new friends that would be coming to visit. Can they run like us ? Can they whistle ? What are some things they might like to play with ? The kids had so much to learn and they were excited.
As our new friends arrived I realized with all the planning I had done to make today run seamlessly
there were two things I didn’t think of.
I have scatter rugs all around our rooms to add warmth. Scatter rugs and older people that scoot their feet can mean disaster. As they climbed out of the van I ran inside and yanked up all the scatter rugs. Chairs… I have a few adult size comfy chairs around our rooms but none at the table. If Mrs Flossy was going to help with painting at the table she would need a chair that was more study and higher. ( We also had to add a towel to her lap . She didnt want to get paint on her pretty dress. ) Mrs, Flossy loved the Elsa dress that many of the girl wore as they painted. She would look at them and say ” how cute…” She helped the kids paint fall trees on canvases that we made for each of he residents to take back with them as a memory of today.
In a chair sat sweet Mrs. Loretta . She used to be a nurse. A few of the kids would go to her and climb on her lap to read or hear a story. She was soft spoken and smiled very easy. I think she enjoyed it.
When they arrived there were eight children playing outside with Randy and Holly. Ms. Anita and Ms Ruth joined them. Ms Ruth used to work at Cookson Hills so she was very accustomed to littles. She would grin at them . You cant help but wander if it made her long for the days when she was active with her group. ( On a side note… I wonder if I will be in a nursing home one day and visit a preschool …. hmm.. ) Ms Anita got around the best. She was a mover and a shaker. They were a little late arriving and I think I heard it was because she had to finish putting on her makeup. She had jewelry on top of jewelry. She even dressed the part. Her bright yellow shirt had super heroes on it.
It was a good day . We talked about how these ladies used to be babies and how amazing our bodies are that they grew so much. Ms Flossie is almost 94. We counted to 94 (with help. ) Whew.. that is a lot of birthdays. I asked the kids what they liked about them coming to visit. Pretty much the answer was ” They played…. ” Its really that simple. Sometimes we forget.
Nothing is more beautiful than a smile that has struggled through the years and tears.
I am really excited about this partnership with Quail Ridge and these wonderful ladies and their helpers, Rose and Peggy.
This will be a blessed year.