Thursday, July 02, 2009

Grandbuddy Program

Last term Leah's teacher came up with an idea of a Grandbuddy Program for the Grade 6's to take part in with the residents from the local aged hostel. All the kids were teamed up in pairs with one of the residents.

Leah and Terrence were buddied up with Marjory. The gem of the hostel. A gorgeous lady. Marjory was born locally and at 96 although her sight and hearing are failing her mind is still100%. She has an amazing sense of humour. The grade 6's spent 9 weeks doing the program and visited the hostel every week taking part in various activities with the residents as well as taking part in an art project directed by a local artist, Sally.

Each pair took part in writing a biography about their buddy. The books were bound and the buddy, kids and school all received a copy about the life history of their buddy. During the presentation each pair stood up in front of the audience and spoke about their buddy. A slideshow was played with photos of their nine weeks of activities and themed music. I was quite teary at some stages. It was so moving to see the kids interact and learn from their buddies.

The school presented the residents with a Wii. Something they had all been fundraising for. They were over the moon and couldn't wait to play.

The afternoon concluded with a lovely afternoon tea. Marjory insisted Leah sit on her knee. Leah was a little embarrassed but Terrence was relieved she hadn't asked him as they feel way to old to be sitting on someones knee. I think this will be a program that will remain in their thoughts for many years to come.

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3 comments:

Petrina McDonald said...

what a fantastic idea Dawn - what lucky kids to have a teacher dedicated to such a worthwhile project :) And good on the kids for doing such a great job!

Dawn Stan said...

It was a fantastic program petrina. The kids learnt so much. Leah is planning on visiting Marjory once a month or more. She's a busy lady and keeps very active. She loves crosswords so loved the kids reading her the clues etc with her failing sight. They learnt so much about her childhood. She went to the same highschool that Leah will go to.

Unknown said...

Always loved this idea of a Grandbuddy Program that I decided as an Activity Coordinator to create a website to share this resource.
http://www.grandbuddy.ca

Best wishes to you and your little buddies.

Brenda