Seniors thrilled to curl with Grade 1 children (8 photos)

While playing bingo and listening to live entertainment is fun, a group of Ontario Finnish Resthome’s Kotitalo assisted living building residents notch it up by playing indoor curling twice a month with Kiwedin Public School Grade 1 students.

“It’s wonderful! We’re always glad to see the kids come. It means a whole lot,” exclaimed Kay Stewart, an Ontario Finnish Resthome resident, speaking to SooToday after curling with kids Wednesday.

Stewart, who has four children, eight grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren, said “we love all these little kids. I have some great-grandchildren out of town I don’t get to see.”

“We have fun every time we have curling. We’re noisier than the kids,” Stewart laughed.

“I enjoy having snacks with our ‘grandbuddies’…and doing art with them too,” said six-year-old Reid, a Kiwedin Grade 1 student.

Krystal Sonoc, Ontario Finnish Resthome activity aide, said “we have this intergenerational program with Kiwedin Public School (next door to the Finnish Resthome), so the children walk over twice a month to our building and we do usually a book to start, their teacher Ms. (Lauri) Monto reads a story and the kids and adults listen, and then we will have crafts or games and interact.”

“It’s so the residents can see the children, who they don’t always get to see, and so that the children can get used to seeing elderly adults in a different setting, with the walkers and the wheelchairs.”

“They notice different things about each other, so it’s a good way to learn, because some of the children don’t have grandparents or great-grandparents, so it’s great for both age groups,” Sonoc said.

“When they come in their faces light up. They’re so happy to see the kids. Having about 15 kids come in, it’s great.”

The children are accompanied by Ms. Monto, a teacher’s aide, and sometimes, parent volunteers as well.

Sonoc said two or three children are usually matched up with one adult for the twice-monthly visits to interact, depending on how many seniors are able to attend (approximately 10 seniors usually attend, 16 attending Wednesday’s curling activity) 

“Many seniors think ‘I can’t, I can’t,’ so we’re showing them they can curl and do these things with the kids, even though it’s indoors and not outside on the ice…we adapt things for the residents so they can do them with kids, so no one’s left out,” Sonoc said.

“Last time we played we did an Olympic theme, Team Canada playing Team Finland. No one even asked what the score was because they had so much fun,” Sonoc said.

“We’ll do it in the summer too because the residents love it so much. This is the one that has to come every month,” Sonoc smiled, adding many of the residents are avid curling fans, gathering around the television to watch professional curling tournaments, especially those including the Sault’s own Team Jacobs.

Snacks followed Wednesday’s curling event.

This is the third school year in which Lauri Monto has brought Grade 1 students to the Ontario Finnish Resthome’s Kotitalo assisted living building. 

“One of the big reasons we started this program is one of our school board’s beliefs (Algoma District School Board) is building character in our students…there’s not a better example than building relationships with seniors and how to treat them, so they spend a lot of time learning how important relationships to seniors are because a lot of our students don’t have those relationships (many of them unfamiliar with grandparent roles in their own families).”