Musical Bridges: Building a Bridge Between Generations

Every month, we take a field trip to the VA hospital to visit with our Grandfriends. The VA hospital is about 20 minutes away from our school by car, so we get to ride the bus. This is always great fun!

Each session is planned and facilitated by a certified music therapist as part of the Musical Bridges program. Ms. Sheri, our Musical Bridges facilitator plans each session. One of the caregivers, Mr. Harold, usually greets us at the bus and walks us safely into the building. As we arrive, we march around the circle, greeting the Grandfriends. 

We sing, dance and play a game or two, then have a little snack of juice and cookies.  Mr. Harold draws a big face on the trash bag and calls it "Mr. Trashy" and comes around to collect the trash from our snack. "Mr. Trashy" has become one of the treasured parts of our visits---the kids can't wait for Mr. Harold to bring him out!

The children really enjoy the trip. Because most of the Grandfriends are wheelchair bound, they are seated throughout the sessions. The children may interact as much or as little as they like. Usually, we shake hands at the beginning and ending. We are working on practicing "random acts of kindness" this year, so we often make a picture or a card for the Grandfriends.  Some of the children are a little shy on the first visit of the year, but by the end of each year, we are all old friends. 

Ms. Sheri usually has a game of some sort planned. The parachute is one of the things we frequently use since when the Grandfriends are seated, they can manipulate the parachute as easily and at the same level as most of the kids. 

We've played indoor baseball, had stick pony races and played balloon volleyball during our visits.

Ms. Sheri is quite talented and often plays the guitar while teaching us all new songs. It really brings a smile to my face when the children are on the playground or while playing, and I hear the kids singing some of the songs we've learned at the VA. 

This intergenerational experience is priceless for the children and the Grandfriends. The children are learning about the differences in people and abilities and the Grandfriends are so happy to have visitors to interact with.

There is not much information on the internet available about this great program, but there is a book by Joan Shaw and Carna Manthey titled "Musical Bridges: Intergenerational  Music Programs".

If you'd like some more info on intergenerational music programs, be sure to stop by "Music Sparks". Joann Jordan is a certified music therapist and offers some great ways to get older folks and children engaged with music! 



Thanks for visiting!  Be sure to leave a little "comment love"---I'd love for you to share your thoughts! 

Check out the little illuminations facebook fan page and see what we're sharing today!

Christmas in a Pre-K Classroom

Here are a smattering of activities we did this week to prepare for the holiday season. Look for a post coming soon about some fun holiday related children's books.

A New Tradition
This year, I started a new tradition in my classroom, the "Elf On A Shelf". I tried to get one last year, but wasn't able to acquire one until the week after Christmas. Many families seem to be doing the "Elf On A Shelf" thing, and I thought it would be fun to carry it over to the classroom. This new tradition was great for our class, since we are practicing making good choices, the kids would remind each other that "Bells" was watching.

In case you're not familiar with this tradition, I'll give you a quick run down. The elf is sent by Santa to watch over the children and report the "naughty or nice" behavior every night to Santa at the North Pole. He returns to the home every morning to a new spot. (It's great fun for the kids to "find" the elf every morning!) You may talk to the elf, but he is not allowed to talk back to you. Also, naming the elf is encouraged. Our class voted and decided on the name "Bells".

Our "Elf", "Bells", liked to hide in our curtains! 

The set comes with a cute book with rhyming text that tells about the elf and the rules.

A Visit To The Grand Friends
Every other month, we visit the VA hospital to take part in a music therapy program called "Musical Bridges". We visit some of the veterans in the nursing home area and sing a few songs, do an activity and have juice and cookies. 

Our center has been taking part in this program for several years, and it is so beneficial for both the children and the veterans.  Our November visit had been rescheduled, so we made holiday cards to take to the "Grandfriends". 

 We rang bells while we sang. 

After our snack, The "Grandfriends" took turns reading "The Night Before Christmas". It was really great to see the elderly folks connecting with our little ones.

 
Some of these guys are far away from families and don't get any other visitors, so they really enjoy the little smiles.


Classroom Activities: Santa Paper Plates
One of our open ended projects was to give some of the kids paper plates and ask them to make a Santa. I provide items they might use, but any materials are open and students are free to use whatever they wish to make them. I put out the paper plates, some red paper, cotton balls and packing peanuts.

Classroom Activities: Pattern Blocks
We use pattern blocks quite a bit in our classroom and have quite a few picture mats, but I didn't have any seasonal mats. PreKinders posted these cute holiday pattern mats and it seemed to breathe new life into an activity the kids thought they were tired of. I love it when kids "re-discover" classroom materials that have been right in front of them all year!

Classroom Activities: Making Reindeer Chow
The best part of Christmas is the magic involved--reindeer fly, a jolly old fat man slides down a very narrow, dirty passage over and over again, all the while eating a snack at every stop. Our class made a snack for Santa's reindeer. (If Santa gets hungry, don't you think the reindeer might need a snack, too?) 

We scooped oatmeal into a brown paper lunch sack. This activity was great measuring and scooping practice! We added a handful of hay leftover from our fall activities.

 We sprinkled some "magic dust" to help the reindeer see the lawn by moonlight.

 We sealed the bag with string 

and glued this poem to the front of the bag:

 Sprinkle on the lawn at night
The moon will make it sparkle bright
As Santa's reindeer fly and roam
This will guide them to your home.

 As I stated earlier, this is only a handful of some of the fun things we've done recently. Honestly, we've stayed so busy that I never got around to taking pictures of many of our activities. 

Now, time to regroup and summon up enough magic to go back in January revived and refreshed!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!