In Juneau, Alaska, preschoolers in the Salmon Creek Head Start program have an invaluable opportunity to be immersed in an intergenerational learning environment. Located in the Juneau Pioneers’ Home, Salmon Creek Head Start is one of fifteen programs across southeastern Alaska that is part of Tlingit and Haida Head Start. Each program is unique — some are set in schools, and some in churches, but Salmon Creek is the only program set in a Pioneers’ Home.
The preschoolers’ presence provides both entertainment and joy to the senior residents, while the environment allows for teachable moments and is conducive to many types of learning. The Juneau Pioneers’ Home follows the Eden Alternative way of looking at long-term care and aims to be as homelike as possible. Animals, plants, and people of all ages are a part of the atmosphere.
The glass-walled classroom allows residents to watch as children play and learn, but there are also opportunities for the groups to interact with each other. The Head Start and Pioneers’ Home staffs work together to carefully plan lessons and select activities that are appropriate and engaging for both the preschoolers and elders. They always ensure that activities act as a bridge that connects and benefit both groups. The intergenerational partnership allows the elders to participate in activities that, in another context, might seem childish, but become something entirely different when done in companionship with young children, such as painting or reading children’s books. The elders are never asked to lead the children in activities, and the staff monitors behavior, pairing children and elders with similar needs.
Two days a week, a pianist comes to the Pioneers’ Home to play for residents, and near the end of the performance, the students come out in groups to join the residents, either with singing, dancing, or playing instruments. The songs they enjoy together are a mix of local songs and traditional ones that are familiar to everyone. On other days, the students are carefully paired with an elder based on personality and needs, and together they read books, build with blocks, color, paint, or simply occupy the same space to do independent activities.
Once a month, the whole class engages in activities around a central theme in the great room of the Pioneers’ Home. Residents are invited to join the preschoolers in creating art and playing games. Lisa Arehart, Lead Teacher of the Salmon Creek Head Start program, said the interactions are “really magical to watch,” in that they taps into elders’ creativity while giving them opportunities to help young children. The preschoolers enjoy having someone help and participate with them. Though the interactions are often nonverbal, Arehart describes them as “very communicative and collaborative exchanges.”
One resident volunteers in the classroom every day, participates actively, and is regarded by the students as “Grandma.” Her experience has completely brightened her life. If she is not there, the kids ask about her and are concerned about how she is doing. Arehart noted that many children expressed empathy, sensitivity, and concern for the elders after having developed relationships with them.
Lisa Arehart can be reached at earehart@ccthita.org.
back to February 2009 Asset Champion
back to initiative