Today, we ventured to the Lutheran Home in Moorestown. Some students spent some time interacting with residents suffering from dementia, while other students interacted with the other residents at the home. To get the most information, we (Nicholas & Charlie) split up. From game playing to storytelling and piano playing, both us and the residents enjoyed ourselves.
Nicholas wrote about how unforgettable this visit was:
I was with some residents and played a couple of card games with them. I have a personal connection with the Lutheran home myself because my grandmother spent some time there, and I had not been in nine years. When I met with two residents I had to teach one how to play a certain card game. I wasn’t very good at explaining, but I think both residents enjoyed their time playing. In between games, one of the two residents asked me what my nationality was. I replied that I was Italian, and she said that she was too. We talked a little about that, and it was an experience I wouldn’t forget.
“We all bonded with the people. We shared similar interests. We had a lot of fun!” said the juniors in our group.
After returning to campus and eating our lunches, we aided some of the Lower School teachers. Many of the kids were fun-loving balls of energy. We started the afternoon with us split between a second-grade class and a fourth-grade class, and once again, we bloggers split up. In the second grade class, we started with a generic icebreaker of stating our name and interestingly, a color that we felt. A wide variety of colors were shared. The most common theme was blue representing ironic boredom. Since we were split up, only five of us were present. Each of us got assigned to a table of second graders, where we did some reading and writing. In the fourth grade classroom, students played a variety of games after their icebreaker activities. At the end of the day, all of us combined for the first time today to aid another second-grade classroom. There, we played an icebreaker game titled “The Cool Wind Blows.” In this game, someone stands in the middle of a circle and says something that applies to them. Anyone else who this statement applies to moves around the circle. The last person to find a spot in the circle goes into the middle. This cycle repeats for as long as you want. We then proceeded to allow the second graders to read to us for the rest of our school day.
Nicholas wrote about how this setting was very familiar:
For my group, we all visited a class of fourth-graders for about an hour. I have been here at MFS since preschool, and I was brought back to the time from when I was in fourth grade. We all got to know the class by doing some icebreakers, and we played a tic-tac-toe tournament. I really enjoyed playing Heads Up, Seven Up with the group. Some of the kids that I got to talk to had been at MFS since preschool like I had, and we even shared having the same teachers. I then got to know a class of second graders and we all played a game called The Cool Wind Blows outside. We were then all assigned a second grader to talk to and get to know. I was a little intimidated at first because I was thinking about what I had in common with a second-grader. As I was talking to another group they said there was a second-grader interested in NASCAR. I got to talk to him for a little bit and remembered how I was the only kid in my second-grade class interested in auto racing. After our outside get-to-know-you activity the second graders pick out books to read to us. My second grader picked out a book from the Mercy the Pig collection, a book I had not read probably since I was in the second grade. I enjoyed reading and getting to know the second and fourth graders and hope I will see them again in the hallways in MFS.
Charlie wrote:
I had a fun time meeting the Lower School students. They made this day to be the best day of Intensive Learning yet for me. I met a second-grader named Evan. In the midst of reading time, he gave me a leaf. He told me that, similar to dandelions, I can tell it a wish, and it might just come true. So I wished. I still have the leaf with me as a good luck charm sort-of-thing. In the end, Evan told me that his wish, a rare exception to the “no wish sharing” rule, is one that he hopes we could make true, rather than just leave it up to the magic of the leaf. He hoped that by telling me, we could all make it happen. He told me that his wish was for us to come together once again. Although extremely unlikely, his wish may come true if our outdoor plans later this week get canceled by rain.
Thanks for reading,
Charlie B & Nicholas C C