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| Last updated at 11:56 PM on 21/06/07 |
Reading bridges the generation gap 
ERIC MCCARTY
The Journal Pioneer
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| The gift of reading
Grade 6 students from Alberton elementary school, Shania Ellsworth, left, and Kendra Gallant share a hug and a gift with Maplewood Manor resident Theresa Myers. The girls were making their final visit to the manor as part of a reading program, "Bridging the Generation Gap - A reading Legacy" Members of the Grade 5-6 class visited the manor every second Tuesday to visit with and read to the residents. "It's great to have the children here," Myers commented. |
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ALBERTON — It’s a heartwarming scene — elderly seniors and pre-teens in pairs reading together.
It’s happening in the main lounge at Maplewood Manor in Alberton. The children, Grades 5 and 6 students from Alberton Elementary, have brought along their favourite storybooks and are reading to the residents.
Some of the residents listen intently to every word; others, not so much. But the reading continues nonetheless.
Gracie Gaudet, the manor’s activity co-ordinator, has witnessed the impact this intergenerational program has had on residents and students.
“Friendships are formed and bonds are made,” she said.
In some cases students are paired with elderly relatives.
The program gave Brett Leard a chance to spend each Tuesday with his great-grandfather, Roy Leard. “First I read a book and then I talk to him a bit,” Brett said after reading from “Can you Catch Josephine?”.
Every second Tuesday during the school year Grade 5/6 teacher Robert MacNaught brings his class to the manor to read to the residents. He’s been doing it for seven years.
He calls he program: “Bridging the Generation Gap: A Reading Legacy.”
“It’s just something that motivates them to read, rather than be in the classroom all of the time,” MacNaught explained. “It’s a time to read and a time to socialize,” he said.
Manor residents sometimes talk about the jobs they’ve had and about their children. Sometimes the seniors and students discover they have acquaintances in common.
Snacks for the students and hugs for the residents bring each visit to a close.
This week’s visit, however, was MacNaught’s last. Next year he returns to O’Leary Elementary, where he taught previously for eight years.
While in O’Leary he brought his students to the Lady Slipper Villa to read to residents. He plans to reinstate it when he returns.
Gaudet is hoping another teacher picks up the program in Alberton, as residents look forward to the visits and the sharing.
She said the impact is long-lasting.
Some of the participants in past years continued on their own to visit their new senior friends at the Alberton manor.
wbureau@journalpioneer.com
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21/06/07
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