It’s 8:15 a.m. and the lobby of the skilled nursing facility is filled with an air of anticipation as older adult residents are excitedly stationed in their usual spots. Some have brightly colored red, purple or green streaks in their hair, and several staff are dressed in wigs and unusual outfits; a Dr. Seuss display fills the table in the entryway in celebration of Reading Across America and Dr. Seuss’ birthday.
Cars pull up outside and bouncing 4- and 5-year olds burst into the entryway, slowing down to carefully fist-bump, give a high five, or offer a gentle pat on the arm to residents who eagerly smile and greet them. One child doubles back and offers a special friend a warm hug; that resident’s face lights up as if she’s just won a million dollars. It’s just a normal weekday at the Grace Living Center in Jenks, Oklahoma where Jenks Public Schools’ West Elementary pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classroom is co-located, and Grace’s staff and residents are involved in the learning.
This special site in Jenks is but one example of an intergenerational shared site program, where the ordinary, everyday routine becomes extraordinary due to these skipped-generation relationships. “Both populations really get something out of the relationship,” said Suzanne Lair, principal of Jenks West Elementary and supervisor of the intergenerational program at Grace Living Center, who has been involved from the beginning of the program in 1999. “It’s a natural fit.”
This story appears in The Best of Both Worlds: A Closer Look at Creating Spaces that Connect Young and Old by Generations United and The Eisner Foundation, June 2019.