News
Advice for Stettler seniors from
local school kids: “Never do a back flip!”
June 12th, 2019
Points West Living Stettler held lots of meaningful small-scale activities for Seniors Week, June 2-9. They included thoughtful decorations, parties, music, gardening, entertainment… and some pint-sized wisdom. Everyone enjoyed hearing from Grade 3 students about what they think of being a senior and what they think seniors need to know.
What makes Seniors special?
Recreation Therapist Lisa Smith contacted a local elementary school, and had classes fill out a ‘Questionnaire About Seniors’. HCA Recreation Aide Elaine Partsch collected responses to the question ‘What Makes Seniors Special’ from care partners and family members around PWL Stettler. “All of the hard work paid off as responses were collected and compiled,” says Lisa. She used the student comments to make ‘Happy Senior’s Week’ cards for each resident, and Elaine made a poster using the quotes from care partners and family members to post in the main dining room.
Cookies every day
Along with ‘Never do a back flip’ comment, some of the other bits of kid-advice included: ‘Keep having fun’, ‘Give kids cookies every day’, and ‘Don’t go through a hole that is little; You might get stuck’. They also weighed in on what they like about seniors, with gems like, ‘They give cuddles and hugs’, ‘They knit good sweaters and stuff’, and ‘They like seeing kids and are really nice; they always give me candy’.
Local town and county councillors kicked off Seniors Week at PWL Stettler, bringing trays of fresh fruit and visiting with Independent residents. “It was important for all of the residents to be recognized,” says Lisa, “so we held mini-parties at each of the cottages. This made for a little more work, but each resident was able to be present, and each received a small gift.” Beltone hearing aide practitioner, Kirk Pavlick donated Timbits and bottled water for the parties and joined in the fun.
“The whole week was a wonderful fun-filled time including a music group, a gardening adventure, the special event hosting the Red Skeleton impersonator and then these special cottage parties,” says Lisa. “Many residents felt like they had been treated royally and had lots of fun.”
Photo: PWL Stettler residents - (from left) Pauline Spiece, Min Nibourg, Dorothy Fix, Francis Chatrin, Juanita Genialle, and Beryl Finch - get a chuckle out of reading the Seniors’ Week cards with observations and advice from 8-9 year-old children.
More photos at Flickr: Advice for Stettler seniors from local school kids: “Never do a back flip!”
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