Wednesday 22nd October

This week the children were very excited to go and visit their friends at Winton Court. One of the children in particular wanted to see her special friend who always shows off his harmonica playing skills. The reason for this… she had brought her own harmonica with her! The adult explained ow to use the harmonica and they decided to play a song together. What a magical moment for them both!

Some of the other children had planned what they would like to do with their morning and many children wanted to attempt puzzles. The children and their friends enjoyed working together to solve the puzzles. We also introduced our puppets this week which everyone enjoyed engaging with. We have begun writing our letter and drawing pictures to send to our pen pal friends in Spain and we are very excited to post this off in the next couple of weeks.

Monday 13th October

This week the children enjoyed exploring construction with their older friends. a small group of children and a couple of residents decided to build a tower of blocks. The tower started to get higher and higher and higher! Eventually the tower was so high that the children asked for help from their nursery grown-ups to place the next block on top. The tower started to wobble and then suddenly it came down with a great big crash! Everyone laughed together before trying to rebuild it.

This afternoon we began talking about landmarks and local places of interest. One of the grown-ups showed everyone photographs of local landmarks which included the Tyne Bridge, Greys Monument, the Angel of the North, Newcastle Keep, the Millennium Bridge and the Glasshouse. Everyone got busy drawing their interpretation of these places. The children talked about the shape of the bridges, what colours they were and what they were made from. One of the children pointed out that the Angel of the North must be made from bricks as it is the same colour! Our drawings were then placed on the wall for everyone to see. We hope to add to our drawings on our next visit.

Wednesday 8th October

This week at the care village saw us further develop our friendships with our older friends. Our friends are always keen to learn about the children and this week one of the children took in some photographs of herself eating the sweetcorn she had harvested at the allotment the previous week. She was so proud of her photographs and showed each and every resident. They were all fascinated to learn that she had been caring for the sweetcorn, harvested them and cooked them with her Mum.

The children and residents love nothing more than sharing stories. They are also keen to draw, play games and build using our construction sets. Over the coming weeks, we will be focusing on our construction as we learn about our local area and the landmarks within it. This week we looked at pictures of the Tyne Bridge, Angel of the North and Greys Monument.

Monday 29th September

This week the children were so excited to go back and meet their older friends. They happily chatted on the minibus about the care village and what they would do. They had even remembered some of their special friends names. One of the special relationships we have been observing is between a little girl and an older lady. They were immediately drawn to each other and have spent most of their mornings together. They have enjoyed building, drawing and reading. This week, they both enjoyed caring for one of our dolls. They supported each other with nappy changing, feeding the baby and creating a cot with a cardboard box and cushions.

The children have been demonstrating their empathy this week. One of our friends recently had a fall and one of the children who has developed a bond with him, created a plaster with paper and sellotape to help the healing process. Next time we visit, we plan on taking our ‘real’ first aid kit to further practice our caring skills.

Wednesday 24th September

This week, we visited with our second group of children for the first time. The children were excited to learn about the care village and who lived there and what it would look like. Before we knew it, the children had selected their resources and were off making new friends. The children and residents are quickly learning each others names whilst chatting and getting to know one another.

We are already beginning to see joint interests emerging. Our dolls, puzzles and games seem to be of a huge interest to both the children and adults. The children are able to clearly demonstrate to the adults how they care for others. One of our children demonstrated how to use a nappy with sticky flaps as the resident was not familiar with this type of nappy. The residents in turn, demonstrated to the children how to complete our puzzle cubes. We are able to observe the collaborative interactions between young and old as they teach each other new skills. It is truly heartwarming to watch.

Monday 15th September - Our first day back!

This week saw us take a brand new group of children to the care village. As we left nursery, the children and adults chatted about what we might do that day and what the care village may look like. The children were excited to meet their new friends and keen to get off the bus and get inside. As we entered the care village, we could see our older friends waiting for us. We took off our shoes and started to gather our resources for the day. We then went into the large room where we introduced ourselves.

Before we knew it, the children were off getting busy and working with their new friends. We could already see the beginning of new friendships. The children’s kindness shone through as usual as they helped their friends to take the lids off the pens, picked up equipment which had fallen onto the floor and collected resources as needed.

One of our residents brought his harmonica with him today and the children were intrigued as to what it was. He played some tunes much to the delight of the children.

Our first trip to the care village was a huge success. The children have begun to get to know the environment and have already learned some of the residents names.

Wednesday 23rd July - Our Last Day

Today was a very special day for everyone at the care village. It was our final trip for our Wednesday group. The children were very excited to visit their older friends and the whole day was spent working together reading stories, drawing, making cards, threading and building using our construction materials. As the day came to an end, we sang our very special song, ‘You are my sunshine’. Everyone joined in and it was a great way to end the day.

As we left and said our goodbyes, there were lots of tears but these tears were not tears of sadness but of love. Our older friends will miss this group of children immensely as connections and relationships have formed. This has been a very special year to be part of this amazing project and everyone is looking forward to our new groups of children who will begin visits in September.

Monday 14th July

This week the children were so excited as our celebration day at the care village gets closer and closer. We continued to create some decorations for our event which everyone joined in with. The children and their older friends created some masterpieces which we plan on hanging from the ceiling. The purpose of our project was always to bring the old and young together and create reciprocal relationships. For some children, these connections happened quickly and they found one special person to spend their time with, for some they enjoyed the company of different friends throughout the year and others enjoyed watching on and observing, choosing to work with both their nursery friends and older friends. However, even as we head into the last weeks of our 2025 project, we observe children making more connections.

The project has developed children’s confidence, language and listening skills as well as developing their curiosity about the world and the people who live in it. The children have developed an understanding of how to be play around our older friends which they often reiterate, “walking feet”, “kind hands” etc. The children are supportive of their older friends, moving tables and equipment to ensure they can join in with whatever is happening. This has not been ‘taught’ by the adults and instead children have been observant, they have been kind and caring and recognised that these older adults want to ‘play’ but need a little support to do it. These moments make us realise the impact this project has had on everyone. To observe the kindness and compassion from three- and four-year-olds is something really special as well as the joy and awe we see in the older adults faces when they spend time with our children. This really has been a wonderful intergenerational year!

Wednesday 9th July

This week the children were very excited to visit their older friends and there were hugs all round. As our celebration day is coming up, the children and adults worked together to make decorations. We have decided to create some beautiful bunting which we will hang from the ceiling. Everyone got involved creating their own designs on their piece of bunting. We strung them all together and we can’t wait to showcase the result. What a true collaborative piece of art work!

Monday 30th June

Even at this point in the project, we see new friendships blossoming. The children are so comfortable in the space with their older friends. Activities and resources are available which support both generations. Stories and drawing seem to be a favourite and this is something both age ranges gravitate towards. These activities create partnerships where adults and children can work together to create something special.

As we approach the end of our 2024-2025 project, we reflect on our year. We have made so many observations of quality interactions between the young and old. The older adults have the time and patience to get to know the children well. They often form a strong bond with a child who has a similar personality or interests to them which leads to a deeper connection. The children and adults are looking forward to their upcoming celebration day where all the residents, children and their families come together for one special day. Finally names can be put to faces and parents get a chance to meet the wonderful residents who have had such a big impact on their children’s year.

Wednesday 25th June

This week we took two new items with us to the care village. One was a bean bag toss game which went down very well. The game was loved by both the children and the residents. The children took it in turns with their older friends to throw the beanbag and see who could get the highest score.

We also took with us some photographs of old Blaydon and Winlaton which the residents really enjoyed looking at. They reminisced on days gone by and chatted about their childhoods. They shared their tales with the children.

Monday 16th June

This week, the children thoroughly enjoyed their visit to the care village. This group of children had yet to engage with our new resources so they were very excited to get involved. Their older friends were keen to show how to use the resources as they were now professionals at how they work. The hoopla was a very popular activity, so much so that we had to get out the spare hoopla. The children and residents enjoyed competing against one another to see who could get the highest score.

Our maze game and sensory balls have also been a big hit. The children and adults have enjoyed squashing the balls between their fingers, giggling as they did so. The maze has developed the children’s understanding of team work and compromise.

Wednesday 11th June

This week we introduced the children and residents to some new resources. We purchased some magnifying screens to support with reading however the children and residents found a much better and much more fun way to use them - to make their faces look really funny! This was a great source of fun for the day. We also took some new puzzle games which were a huge hit!

Hoopla was another fun activity which the older adults and children could play together however we were not prepared for how competitive everyone was! Our dolls were also a hit. The adults enjoyed giving them cuddles and changing nappies. One of the children drew a list of things we would need for next week. This included bottles, dummies and nappies to keep our dolls happy.

Monday 2nd June

This week we visited our older friends at the care village. The children got busy immediately engaging in stories, drawing, building and threading. In the afternoon, we all engaged in a yoga session which everyone enjoyed. The children and adults really enjoy listening to the calming music as they completed their yoga moves.

Wednesday 28th May

The children were as enthusiastic as ever to arrive at the care village. We raced into the lounge to meet our friends… to our disappointment the residents didn’t know we were coming to play! It was time to take matters into our own hands and venture off into the corridors and knock on all our friends’ doors. We were greeted with smiles, cuddles and reassurance that everyone was eager to join our exploration. Once united in our communal space, one of the children were keen to show off her mask which she had brought all the way from Venice.

 The children and residents were excited to create their own masks. Using our craft resources we worked with our friends to decorate the most extravagant masquerade masks. After a spot of lunch, the residents joined us in a yoga session. To finish off the day the children and residents performed some action songs with one another. To our surprise one of the residents brought his harmonica to play each song. It was really a magical experience for all the staff, residents, nursery grown-ups and children. 

Wednesday 21st May

This week, the children were so excited to visit their older friends and we had a lot of things to get through. This week we focused on food activities and the plan was to make our own smoothies. We took strawberries and bananas which everyone worked together to chop into small pieces. We then added milk and a blender and voila, yummy smoothies all round. All of the children (and their older friends) had a try and it was delicious!

 As it was World Meditation Day, we decided to try our hand at yoga. We were amazed by everyone’s yoga skills. One of the residents is a yoga expert and showed us some extra moves. We are hoping to continue our yoga sessions each week so watch this space! After yoga, everyone had a healthy snack of melon. What a very healthy and productive day!

Monday 12th May

This week the children visited their older friends as usual and they were keen to explore some new equipment and activities. One of the areas we would like to focus on more is ICT so this week we took our large laminator with us. The children and adults were each provided with a laminating pouch and asked if they could fill the pouch with some coloured cellophane. They were then supported by the adults to place it through the laminator before punching a hole through and tying with string. The children and adults then held these up to the light and watched in amazement as the light peered through the cellophane, creating beautiful, coloured light around the room.

The children and adults were also provided with large Duplo blocks which they worked with together to create a whole host of different creations. Duplo has become a firm favourite of the children and residents as it provides endless open-ended opportunities.

Wednesday 7th May

Today the children were very excited about visiting their older friends at the care village. We chatted on the minibus about who we would spend our time with and what sort of activities we would like to engage in. On arrival, we quickly took off our shoes and jumpers, collected our resources and headed into the communal lounge. Some of the children immediately greeted their older friends whilst others began to play.

 One of the children had brought some family photos to share with their special friend. Their friend loves to hear about the child’s life and will often ask how his Mum, Dad and brother are. The two share a wonderful bond. As the child enters the room, his older friend beams and they chat together, read together and engage in drawing and jigsaws together. This bond becomes stronger every visit!

The children have established firm friendships with the residents and are becoming more and more confident in the space. The children love nothing more than teaching their friends new skills which is often reciprocated by the adults. On this occasion, the child asked the resident if she would like to play a game. The resident replied, “yes, but I don’t know how to play". The child then said “I’ll show you the game. You can have the red ones and I’ll have the green ones. You need to put yours on the white squares and I’ll put mine on the blue squares”. She continued to explain the rules of her game and the two played happily together. The older adult praised and encouraged the child, telling her she had really enjoyed her game! The huge smiles of achievement were clear to see.

Wednesday 23rd April

This week we continued the Easter celebrations with our friends. Festivals bring everyone together and as usual our Wednesday group were feeling rather creative! The children worked with their friends to create some Easter bonnets, engage in Easter egg decorating, Easter crown making and even made some Chocolate Crispy cakes. Several groups worked on the crispies but one group ate more crispies than went into the cupcake cases! We spotted you!

Since beginning our trips in September, we have observed children developing strong bonds with their older friends. Their friends are always waiting for them to arrive and eager to engage in activities. One child and resident who have recently become friends, have enjoyed spending the day together creating some amazingly creative things. Not only have they made a huge cardboard aeroplane together but this week worked on an Easter bonnet. The child is happy to ask his friend for support and chat about what he is doing. His friend listens intently, offering words of wisdom about how to get the hat to stick together. They have begun to learn about each other’s lives and as practitioners we observe these wonderful interactions and what we hope is the start of a beautiful friendship.

 After lunch the children decided they all wanted to become animals of different sorts. This required a tail for each child. Some children enjoyed making their own tail whilst others asked for a little adult support. Before we knew it, we had lots of different animals prowling the area. We even had one of our oldest residents decide she would like to join in and a tail was made and attached to her walking aide. Imaginative play isn’t just for children! A dragon was eventually thrown into the mix and hey presto, a creative, imaginative group of children and adults enjoying their time together.

Monday 14th April

This week the children were excited as always to see their friends and were thrilled to see them waiting in the lounge. There was a vast selection of craft resources available, and the children began making different types of hats and crowns. Craft materials is a favourite activity for all, and we see the children and older friends working together to create things. It allows for wonderful discussions where they share their experiences together.

It did not take long for the grown-ups to join in and together they created some amazing designs! The older grown-ups enjoyed colouring, and the foam egg shapes were really popular. One of our friends said to one of the children “you have taught us how to colour in again, I forgot how much fun it is!”

The highlight of the day was making our easter crispy cakes! This was a special moment as several of our older friends talked about their memories of making chocolate crispy cakes with their children and how exciting it was. We saved the cakes until after lunch and all enjoyed them together. We had some very messy faces!