St. Mary’s School’s Grade 4 students found new friends at the Estevan Regional Nursing Home (ERNH). The project developed by two entities allowed children to meet and get to know ERNH residents, who quickly became their Grand Buddies, as the title of the project suggests.
The first visit to the ERNH was to ask questions of all the staff and residents about some of the downfalls people face in such an old building.
“The very first visit, they just came around they got a tour of the facility. We got to show them how small the residents’ rooms are, how they got a curtain around their toilet, that’s their bathroom,” said ERNH recreation co-ordinator Susan Murphy.
She noted that some children were "really shocked" and “mortified” with the conditions older people have to live in at the ERNH. So after their visit, the students took back their thoughts and answers and wrote letters to the government to help with the ERNH’s plea for a new nursing home.
And further down the road, as students kept coming to visit, their friendships were growing.
“They’ve been coming since the end of March. They’ve played Bingo, they’ve done crafts, they’ve done an auction,” explained Murphy. “But the main goal for us was to match two students per resident and break the ice with Bingo-playing and things like that.”
When students first came in they were pretty overwhelmed and a bit scared.
“But a lot of them just took a shining to each other,” said Murphy.
It took some time and adjustments to build relationships. Step by step students learned bits and pieces about their older friends, while seniors got used to having their new little and full of energy friends around.
“Now they (students) come in, they know their names, they know their rooms, they can go get them and bring them to a program.”
The residents also got attached to their younger buddies.
“The residents, they do love it. Some that we’ve never expected (to get interested in participating in the project) they popped up (and got bonded with students).”
Last Friday students came to the ERNH to interview their Grand Buddies to collect more data for the final stage of the project.
“They are interviewing them to learn about where they lived, how they like it here, about their past history,” said Murphy.
Students had guide lists with questions to ask, but quite often they would get off topic and just share their own stories, as seniors would tell them a little bit more about their life paths.
“It’s interesting to listen to old people tell their stories,” said Grade 4 Chowsey Fang, whose Grand Buddy was Leona Selk. “I learned that she (Leona) has seven kids. I learned that she was born on November 2, 1924.”
Fang, who has one sister and one brother, continued her interview asking if it was hard to raise seven children and other questions. So did the rest of the students, who were talking to residents about their jobs, families and memories.
“It's been amazing the bonds and friendships the children have made with our residents,” said Murphy.
Grade 4 teacher Trina Pylychaty started a similar project last year and it worked well. So this year they proceeded with the Grand Buddy idea taking it further. After the information is collected and pictures are taken, students will make a biography book of their grand buddies.
“They are going to make a book. Kids and their grand buddies are going to take pictures together and then it goes in the book and there is a little bio the kids are going to write up.”
St. Mary’s School and the ERNH each will have a copy of the book in their libraries.
“And I think each child is getting a book too to take home to their families to show them what they’ve been doing,” said Murphy.
Some nursing home residents are coming to St. Mary’s School on May 31 on a return visit.
