“Somehow we have to get older people back close to growing children if we are to restore a sense of community, a knowledge of the past, and a sense of the future.”
~ Margaret Mead
Legacy Lodge and The Children’s Learning Center are teaming up to offer younger and older generations an opportunity to interact.
Since kids build much of their foundation for reading from before they get to kindergarten , it made sense for a group of volunteers at Legacy Lodge Assisted Living to look at ways they could work with their across-the-street neighbors, preschool students of the Children’s Learning Center.
According to Generations United, a non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of children and older adults, intergenerational programs are not only enjoyable, but they also result in positive experiences for both seniors and kids alike. In schools where older adults were frequent volunteers, children had improved reading scores compared to their peers at other schools. And, interacting with older adults helps kids develop a more positive attitude towards aging.
These trends prompted Legacy Lodge’s Director of Life Enrichment Alenlia Woerner and Children’s Learning Center’s teachers Michelle Rutecki and Heather Menke to start a joint program that could benefit both organizations.
“We are particularly pleased that our kids have the opportunity to spend some time with Legacy Lodge seniors,” said Patti Boyd, Executive Director of Children’s Learning Center. “ I think that grandparents of many kids in Jackson live outside of the area which may limit the children’s contact with older adults. This makes the reading program and interaction with Legacy Lodge seniors even more special for those kids.”
Each week the kids tromp across the street to Legacy Lodge, or the residents hop the Legacy Lodge bus to the Children’s Learning Center for an hour of reading together. This week Woerner kicked off the program by reading aloud to the group. The theme was dinosaurs (of course). After that, the kids each grabbed a book and easily found a resident to sit and read with one-on-one.
Teton County Library works with the volunteers to choose books that are age-appropriate and the Learning Center staff suggests books that will enhance their curriculum each week.
“It is really interesting to see how comfortable the kids and our residents are together. Right away one of the students grabbed a book and crawled up into a waiting lap,” said Woerner. “It brought both groups out of their shell a bit”.
Legacy Lodge at Jackson Hole offers independent and assisted living apartments on two levels in a beautiful lodge-style community nestled at the foot of the Tetons in the Rafter J division of Jackson. For more information, please check out our website.
