Third Graders Carry On Tradition
By Shirley Yates
February 02, 2010
Some people say that age doesn’t matter. When you are eight or nine years old, it probably isn’t something you really stop to think about all that much. And yet, if you ask the 3rd graders at Freeman Elementary what they think of that old saying, they may disagree that age isn’t important. After all, it’s what makes their “Freeman Friends” different from any of their school-aged friends.
For more than twenty years now, eight and nine year old school kids have been making monthly visits to these very special friends at the Gold Crest Retirement Center in Adams. The program began when the Adams Elementary 3rd grade teacher at the time, Dwight Thiemann, and Gold Crest Activities Director, Janet Trout, established the Adopt-a-Grandparent Program. The program matched one student and one resident based on their similar interests. When Mr. Thiemann moved on in the fall of 1990, Mrs. Yates was hired to fill the 3rd grade teacher vacancy. She and Mrs. Trout continued working together on the program. During all these years, it was not uncommon to find students and their faux grandparents talking about anything from gardening to professional football.
Eventually, the school became Freeman, and 3rd grade teacher Aimee Parde was added. As class sizes increased, it became more difficult to match children and adults one-on-one. The program and the residents’ titles changed. The kids no longer referred to the center’s residents as grandparents—except, of course, for those students whose biological grandparents or relatives are part of the program. They are now called “Freeman Friends” in order to reinforce the budding friendships that form as a result of the intergenerational program. Students now participate in group activities with residents ranging from Christmas sing-alongs, to Hawaiian luaus, to old-fashioned baseball exhibition games—where the kids provide the teams; the adults provide the applause and concessions. In October, the kids went to the retirement center for their annual Halloween party.
The kids have become quite accustomed to being a part of the center. Some grew up there in the center’s daycare. Many of the kids serve as BINGO volunteers over the summer months, and some students go on to work at the center during high school and beyond.
The program has survived budget cuts and flu epidemics, and will likely be an integral part of the 3rd grade experience for a long time to come. The program benefits both groups—the young as well as the elderly. Students learn respect for others and gain a wealth of knowledge not available in their day-to-day friendships. Residents enjoy the energy radiating off the kids. And besides, what 3rd grader doesn’t like to be around someone who tells them what a good boy or girl they are? What senior could resist a cute kid who brings him or her cookies and juice? Their birthdates are decades apart. That’s okay, because sometimes, even to a 3rd grader, age does matter.
