LITTLE CURRENT—In February, Manitoulin Centennial Manor began an ‘intergenerational program’ with Mrs. Gray’s Grade 6 class from Little Current Public School (LCPS). The students come in once a month to do an activity with the seniors, such as playing Bingo, painting and, coming soon, planting indoors.
“For my seniors, participating in an intergenerational program provides the opportunity to spend time with children and the joy they bring is often the highlight of their day,” said Julie Omnet, the Manor’s activity director. “The elderly are natural nurturers while children bring a lot of positive energy to any room they enter, and seniors are thriving off that energy.”
“I started taking my class to the Manor three years ago when both of my grandparents lived there,” Mrs. Gray explained. “When it was nearing Christmastime, it dawned on me that some of the residents might never receive a gift during the holiday season and knew that I had to do something about this. In an effort to brighten the residents holiday season, I put my Grade 6 class from LCPS to task in creating personalized, handmade cards and gifts for each resident at the Manor. When we delivered the cards and gifts to the residents during the first year, I saw how much it meant to my students to see the smiles on the residents’ faces and knew this tradition needed to be continued. After delivering gifts to the manor this past Christmas, Julie and I talked about planning monthly visits for the remainder of the school year. My class and I have truly enjoyed this experience. We have sung with the residents, read to them, played bingo with them and even created works of art with them.”
“Seeing the relationships that my students have built with the residents has truly warmed my heart,” Mrs. Gray added. “The kindness, compassion and caring that I have seen in them each time we visit is not something you get to see in a classroom every day. They make me so proud. We only have two more visits left this year but we are really looking forward to them. I hope that my students will always remember our visits to the Manor and continue to cherish the memories that we have made.”
“I really enjoy the children coming in,” said retired teacher and Manor resident Brenda Chapman. “The interaction with the kids is the major thing; we are developing friendships with them. Having the children exposed to the older generation in our home is beneficial to them, I think.”
