Program connects kids with seniors

By Lethbridge Herald on July 19, 2023.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Eileen Sawatzky listens for instructions from Silvia Billings and Tori Dudley on how to put the lego pieces together while blindfolded, during the intergenerational games activity presented by Nord-Bridge Seniors Centre, Building Brains Together and Family Centre Tuesday morning at the Chinook Lake Park.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald

eniors and children of the community had the opportunity to interact through intergenerational play Tuesday morning thanks to a partnership between multiple organizations. 

Nord-Bridge Senior Centre, Family Centre and Building Brains Together partnered up to close the age gap between seniors and children from the community through a multitude of activities beneficial for both age groups. 

Nord-Bridge Seniors Centre Program Coordinator Ashley Kern said the activity was part of their intergenerational program, something they try to do once a year in the summer. 

“Children and seniors get partnered together, similar to the program we have at Nord-Bridge already but outside. It’s also different because we’ve partnered with other organizations and they have helped us with setting up some activities for the kids and the seniors to do together,” said Kern. 

She said at the end of the program, which lasted about an hour, participants received a snack and had the opportunity to win some prizes while socializing. 

“It’s a good way to get connected to each other and breakdown those ageism barriers that may exist,” said Kern. 

Research associate and coordinator for Building Brains Together, Vicki Hazelwood said they were bringing together older adults and children to engage in play together and mutually benefit. 

“That intergenerational play aspect, we know from our research that play has an incredible impact on children’s development or and for adults as well, because it builds such incredible skills such as our working memory, conflict resolution skills, and emotional regulation,” said Hazelwood. 

She said all those skills can be built through play and therefore their focus is to give people opportunity to play and experience the benefits of it. 

The activity was divided into stations, where each team of a senior and children would engage in each game together and rotate once they were done. 

“The station games are all different activities that we have in our building brains curriculum of games. These ones are from our adolescent curriculum that focus on building executive function skills in youth through playing these activities and games,” said Hazelwood. 

Some of the activities included one word story with a ball, where the teams tossed a ball and created a story, a dimensional card sort, where the teams had to use flexible thinking to determine how they could sort the cards in different ways, musical breeze, where teams would dance and once the music stopped they had to strike a pose shown on a card, a what’s missing game, where teams had to determine what item was removed when their eyes were closed and blindfold Lego. 

“Blindfold Lego is a really challenging, as one of them got a blindfold and their partner has to use verbal communication to explain how they need to build a certain model without having seen it. It seems simple, but it is very challenging,” said Hazelwood. 

She said that game allowed teams to work together and work on their listening and communication skills.

Hazelwood said another benefit from the activities was social connection as it is something important for all humans, as social creatures and the activity provided the opportunity for intergenerational social connection with benefits for both generations.

“The children bring a lot of energy and the seniors a lot of wisdom, so when you combine those two there’s going to be some great play and fun had. And along the way, they’re going to have the benefits cognitively of how play will facilitate learning as well,” said Hazelwood.