A morning full of laughter, learning and special connections between little learners and wise friends.
To mark National Elderly Persons Day on October 1, residents from Moyola Lodge swapped real coffee and cakes for pretend ones during a special visit with children from Journey Early Learning Centre.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
With the centre having opened in August, the collaboration was warmly welcomed by staff, excited children and the residents of Moyola Lodge.
Centre manager Kylie Olver said it was a lovely opportunity to open their doors to the wider community.
“Some of the residents read to the children, and played with the puzzles and blocks, and some of the children even pretended to make the residents cakes and coffee from their home corner,” Kylie said.
“The children loved showing them around and all the things they like to play with, and they enjoyed the residents watching them as they played, while having them join in with their activities and sharing nice conversations.
“This was a great opportunity for us, opening our doors to the nursing home residents on National Elderly Persons Day, and we loved being able to showcase our wonderful new centre.”
Offering qualified and professional educators, including three early childhood teachers for their kinder program, the centre is looking forward to growing within the community and has room for more children.
Kylie said days like National Elderly Persons Day were something they wanted to make happen more regularly, offering children special and unique interaction experiences that made a lasting impact.
“We would like to have the residents of Moyola come back for more visits, hopefully regularly, and in between visits, we would like to be able to keep in contact with them via letters and photos,” she said.
“A standout moment for me was when I saw one of our children showing off his dance moves, and it put smiles on everyone’s faces.
“It was a very special morning, and we look forward to having more of them and unique interactions within the centre.”
Thankfully for the residents, the morning wrapped up with real coffee, cake and sweets, and all with full hearts.
