All Seasons Preschool serves children ages 2, 3, 4, and 5, offering a developmentally appropriate, nature-based early childhood program to meet their learning needs. But we also intentionally connect the children on a daily basis with the older adults who live in the same building. It’s the main focus of our preschool’s mission.
When the Eagan, Minn., preschool was started in 2020, it was purposefully built into the lower level of a new senior housing building still under construction. That way we were able to design the space to be optimal for young children as well as perfectly situated to foster daily interactions with the residents who would be moving in upstairs.
A new All Seasons Preschool followed in the footsteps of its sister school in nearby Inver Grove Heights, which in 2008 had successfully originated our intergenerational program. Because both preschools are completely integrated into their respective senior housing sites, the elders who live there are our neighbors in every sense of the word.
Classes of preschoolers head upstairs several times a week for planned activities with residents of the three memory-care floors. Children become comfortable playing alongside the older adults, doing simple activities like jigsaw puzzles, coloring, browsing through picture books, playing board games, building with small blocks or magna-tiles, playing balloon volleyball, singing songs together or acting out stories—anything that might lead to conversation and connection. Teachers are always present to support the children as well as the older adults, to model friendliness and warmth, and to ensure things go smoothly.
‘Talking about feelings with the children is an integral part of our curriculum.’
Teachers also bring children upstairs for spontaneous visits with independent elders: to share muffins or other treats they have baked, to distribute Valentines or friendly notes or hand out stickers, to pretend to listen to a grandma’s heartbeat or give a grandpa a “shot” when they’ve been playing dress-up in their classroom “medical clinic” dramatic play area.
They knock on doors of residents who have just moved in and stop to chat with anyone they meet in the hallways, in the mail room or by the fireplace. We make a big deal out of celebrating holidays with the older adults, and plan weekly activities like sing-alongs and crafts in the Community Room with any independent residents who want to participate.
Each classroom also has adopted “grandma” and “grandpa” readers who visit the preschool weekly to read books aloud to the class. The children get to know these special older adults very well, asking them questions about their lives and sharing their excitement about the books they read together. The toddler class has a loyal, energetic grandma who comes into the classroom once a week to offer a lap, a helping hand, or a story she reads to a few children snuggled up on the couch.
As children are learning to interact with older adults, we take time to teach important social skills: making eye contact, giving a greeting—a handshake, a high-five, or a wave—to every grandma or grandpa when we meet them or say good-bye after an activity. In the classroom, teachers read aloud books about older adults and have discussions in which children are encouraged to ask questions and reflect on their experiences: “Why does that grandma use a walker?” “What’s a hearing aid?” “What was school like when the grandmas and grandpas were our age?”
Sometimes, of course, living in close relationships with older adults means we also experience the occasional loss of a beloved older adult. This, too, is a learning experience. We talk simply, openly, and directly with the children about death. The children sing “You Are My Sunshine,” one of our favorite songs, at the quarterly remembrance services held in memory of older adults who have died. Talking about feelings with the children is an integral part of our curriculum.
The connections between young children and older adults are rewarding for both groups. The children’s laughter lights up the faces of memory care residents, even those who might otherwise appear passive. The children’s consistent interactions with older adults build their confidence and social maturity and offer countless opportunities for practicing kindness.
Parents of the children at All Seasons report how much their children have grown over the course of a year because of the mutual warmth and respect they give to and receive from the older adults. Loneliness is banished when the two groups get together. When we watch that happen, we know All Seasons Preschool is fulfilling its mission.
Joanne Esser is director and art studio teacher at All Seasons Preschool in Eagan Minn.
Photo caption: An older adult participates in the reading program at All Seasons Preschool.
Photo credit: Courtesy All Seasons Preschool.
