Our Intergenerational Project

We began out intergenerational journey around eight years ago when we were involved in a piece of research looking at the benefits of older adults and children working together. Since then the children have been involved in weekly visits from our amazing ‘Poetry Pauline’, creative sessions in the woodland with Kath and woodwork with Ronnie.

In August 2022, we began visits to a local care home. Our first visit was a short trip to complete a planting activity. The children wowed us with their empathy and compassion. They supported the adults by passing them tools and moving the compost closer to them. As we increased our visits, the children began to build relationships with the adults. The children began to talk about the adults at nursery and looked forward to their visits.

On our recent visit the children wanted to celebrate Valentines Day. The children enjoyed reading stories with the residents, making Valentines cards for them, creating hearts with dough, drawing pictures and decorating cupcakes which were shared between the children, residents and staff. The children thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the adults and were sad to leave.

When the children returned to nursery, they reflected on their day.

“We decorated cakes. We read a story with Joe. I read Dinosaurs love Underpants. I read a story with Kirsten and Terry. With Terry we talked about what birds we see at forest school and Terry saw a sparrow in the garden”.

- Theo

“I was playing with noughts and crosses and we made horses. I felt excited because I was doing noughts and crosses with Jean. I was showing Jean my cupcake. Jean maked a cupcake too with all the things from Lisa”.

-Heidi

“We’ve been to the care home and we have been playing and singing songs and reading stories. I was reading stories with Mona. We read Dinosaurs love Underpants, the Magic String and I can’t remember the rest of them. We was drawing, we were drawing monsters and my family in different kinds of pinks”

-Iona

“We decorated cakes. I shared them with my friends Bob and another one. I’ve been reading books, Stickman, Dinosaurs love Underpants. I read I love to go to the moon. I made a picture for all of the friends I maked today”.

-Blake

“I was playing with my friend Stella. I was reading a story, it was the kind story. There’s different animals and they give some toys to the lions. Stella liked it. I’m happy and I am excited because I made a new friend”.

-Sara

“I have been giving cakes round to friends, they said thank you. I felt happy because I loved it and them. I’ve played with the play dough with Theo, Joe and Mary. We were making wiggly worms and special play dough love hearts. We added a bit of red on with a pen so we could make it pinker”.

-Emilia

“I’ve been doing loads of things like drawing some pictures for some people, for the grown-ups in the home. I was drawing faces. They were happy cause at the care home, I was making them happy and I was making a lovely heart for them”.

- Henrietta

“We were playing noughts and crosses. I played play dough with Brenda. We made a volcano, it had lava and it had a big big ball. Brenda said they are very dangerous because there’s lava. We sprinkled cakes then we give them to the older people”

-Luke

“We went to see the care home people, we made cakes! We had a lovely time. We were having some fun with the people like playing with the play dough and drawing pictures. I made a taco sandwich in the play dough. I played with Jean”.

- Joseph

“Playing with the play dough with Joe, Mary and Brenda. I think I was making little balls. We made a flower. We read stickman with Grandpa (Terry). We did do something like talking about birds in the forest and at the woods”.

- Edward

“I’ve been making cards with some of those little square shapes. I made cards for Stella, the one Ted was talking to (Terry) and the one Iona was talking to (Mona) and the one in the red t-shirt. I think Doreen, and Brenda and the one in the big chair I think she was Mary. I felt happy because they were all pink, the residents were happy because I was kind”.

- Rory