Intergenerational fun

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/06/2015 (3862 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new partnership is painting an all-inclusive picture for playtime.

The St. James-Assiniboia Parent Child Coalition recently partnered with the St. James-Assiniboia 55+ Centre to launch a new initiative called Together in the Community: Generations at Play.

“We launched an intergenerational initiative to bring together different generations just to have fun and play together because I think we can really learn from each other and it’s a great
opportunity for children to build confidence in relating to others,” Sandra Doell, Family Resource Coordinator for the St. James-Assiniboia Parent Child Coalition, said.

The inaugural event, held May 20 at Deer Lodge Community Centre, saw dozens of children, parents and seniors from around the community participate in building more than 15 colourful wooden birdhouses.

“This was a really good idea for us,” Jimi Charbonneau, a father at the event, said. “My wife, who is on maternity leave at the moment, has been looking for activities for the girls to get them out and about with more children, a little bit more social activity, and so these St. James playgroups have been a great source of entertainment for the girls.”

He mentioned how his two-year-old daughter Sophie used a hammer for the first time and especially enjoyed the painting part of the activity. His wife, Jessica, says she was thankful the 55+ members were present as she wouldn’t have been able to build the birdhouse without their help.

Four-year-old participant Logan Korzeniowski left the drop-in event excited to hang his birdhouse from the big oak tree in his backyard, telling his mom he wants it right beside where the bird feeder is.

At the event, the older generations strategized where the wooden pieces should go as the small children aged one to six, held up mini hammers and pounded them into place. The moment the birdhouses were fully constructed, the children hurried over to the paint table to colour-coordinate their creations.

While five members from the St. James Assiniboia 55+ Centre attended the “Build a Birdhouse” event , many more helped out behind the scenes. According to St. James 55+ Centre executive director Sean Sagert, the centre’s men’s group took on the task of preparing, cutting and prepping all the pieces before the event inside their workshop, located at 3172 Portage Ave.

“It gives the guys an opportunity to get together and work on a project together but they also know they are contributing to something bigger than themselves and they were more than excited to do so,” Sagert said.

Mike Tumber, a member of the St. James-Assiniboia 55+ Centre who attended, says he had fun working with the kids and thinks it’s important they see all the different opportunities there are in life.

“I think it’s great, especially, some of us seniors have a lot of spare time on our hands,” Tumber said.

Sagert said working on something as simple as a birdhouse reminds us of how much we need each other and what we can learn from each other. While older individuals  have plenty of wisdom and knowledge to share, Doell says there is something magical about bringing children in the room.

This event is the first of many planned as part of the new goal to connect the different generations in the community. Doell listed off a few exciting things already on the horizon including: a summer barbecue, celebrating grandparent’s day together along with baking and storytelling events.

“We have lots of upcoming events and we are going to try to keep building those relationships because not everyone has grandparents here, either in the city or not,” Doell said. “I think there is a natural link between us and the senior centre, in which we can both benefit.”