Prior to our visit, our children drew on bags with messages such as “Stay Safe and Be Healthy” and proceeded to place some daily necessities such as biscuits and toothpaste as part of creating a ‘care pack’ for our elderly.
“I will draw some cute shapes on the bag” said one of the children.
As they packed, children expressed their well wishes towards the elders. One child also mentioned that she thinks the elders will definitely be thinking of them as they use the things in the care pack.
Children carefully packing the items into their bags.
Then on 28th September, students from N2, K1 and K2 classes went over to St Luke’s Eldercare for some intergenerational activities with the eldery.
Children’s excited faces as they await till the elders are done with their breakfast.
Each class had a performance ready to be shown to the elders there. Nerves were present in most of our children, they felt shy having to perform infront of unfamiliar faces. But seeing the positive reactions their dancing and singing had garnered, it made the children more relaxed and eventually overcome their initial stage fright.
The grandparents showing their support as they clapped during our children’s performances.
After the performances, it was time for some crafts! Children were split into pairs/small groups to join the tables with the elders. As they wait for the teachers to distribute the materials, children took this time to mingle and interact. As a way of getting over their shyness, the elders ensured to initiate the conversation, which definitely helped our children to warm up to them. Our craft involved them tearing magazines cut-outs into small pieces which they then pasted onto a template of “I ❤️ SG”.
The children and the elderly working together to complete the craft.
Proudly presenting their collages!
Our collage craft went by smoothly and we completed it rather quickly! With some time to spare before our next part of the programme, both teachers and children took this opportunity to get to know the elders a bit more. We found out some interesting facts about the elders there such as their careers in the past and hobbies they have. By this time, children were a lot more comfortable with the elders around and were also seen initiating high fives or communication.
Getting to know the elders!
Lastly, we were almost at the end of our programme, the final activity left was to give out the care packs. Children were all excited to pass the bags, especially to the elders that they were paired with. They proudly showed off their drawings on the bags and the contents. Some children were also heard saying their well wishes to the elders.
“Enjoy the things in the care pack Ah Gong and Ah Ma!”
The 1 and a 1/2 hours spent there went by so quickly that children were saying they wished they could spend a longer time with the ‘Ah Gongs’ and ‘Ah Mas’. Thus, both SLEC and our school agreed on making this programme a continuous one for both the well-being of the elderly there as well as our children. Our planning for the next session is on-going as we speak. We look forward to our next trip down to SLEC! 🥰
