Story originally printed in the Coulee News or online at www.couleenews.com
Published - Friday, May 16, 2008
Bridging the generations: West Salem fifth-graders share songs, memories with seniors
 Fifth-grader Katlynne Kneifl and 102-year-old Edith Koch enjoy a laugh together during the fifth-graders’ recent trip to the Mulder Health Care Facility. Photo by Michael Martin |
For the second time this year, the fifth-grade choir from West Salem Elementary School visited the Mulder Health Care Facility last Tuesday for a little intergenerational fun.
The trip to the nursing home on Leonard Street in West Salem was the result of coordination between music teacher Lisa Jones and Mulder activity director Joyce Schultz.
“Lisa came up the idea herself, but I hope we can do it again — I’d do it again next year in a heartbeat,” Schultz said.
“The initial idea came to me after attending a U2 concert,” Jones said. “During the concert I was in awe of thousands of people singing along together to the music — thousands of people who may have had very little in common, but we were all connected through the music.
“It inspired me to search for ways that the students could connect to other cultures and other generations through music,” Jones continued. “Music has the unique capability to connect people around the world. The choir does this on a smaller scale. They are connecting with another generation through music.”
Besides sharing music with the seniors, the students correspond with some of them as pen pals throughout the school year. Jones said she thought being a pen pal was crucial to making a personal connection.
“The kids look forward to going to see their pen pals. After our last visit for the year, the students were asking why we couldn’t go back again,” Jones said. “There were also some students wondering if they could go back and visit on their own. I’ve been amazed by how excited the students are to see their friends at Mulders.”
One of the activities the students did with their pen pals was to interview them about their goals and dreams, and how they’ve changed as they grew older. Then students wrote an essay based on their interview that was put into a book that was given to the seniors who participated.
The residents at Mulders look forward to the children’s visits. “I do enjoy talking to them,” said Kathryn Huntington, who is originally from Rockford, Ill. “You’d be surprised what you can learn from youngsters. They’re so much smarter nowadays.”
“This brings back memories for (the residents),” Schultz said. “They love the singing and how good the kids are. Some of them have no grandchildren of their own so it’s a connection with youth, plus just soaking up all that energy. It’s a nice circle of life.”
Jean Johnson’s failing eyesight means that someone has to read the students’ letters to her. Still, she likes seeing and hearing the youngsters. “They’re very nice — and I love the music,” she said.
Schultz said the nursing home helps with both ends of the pen-pal correspondence. “We write (the letters) for them, but they supply all the life experiences. Kids are always amazed by stories of things like outhouses,” she said.
Jones agreed. “The kids can’t believe they didn’t have Nintendo or Xbox,” she said.
The visits have settled into a pattern. They begin with the choir singing a few songs before they do some sort of craft project with their pen pals. Then they play games together and just talk.
“The kids love it — they’d come more often if they could,” Jones said.
Originally, both the students and Jones donated their time, meeting 20 minutes before school to practice the songs they would sing. Recently, however, the fifth-grade choir became an approved extracurricular activity, meaning that some monetary compensation will be available for Jones’ time.
But money was never much of a consideration. “I started this choir because I really felt like the students could use music as a way to get out into the community. They get to share their talents, and they learn so much from the residents through the pen pal program and their activities they do together,” Jones said. “I believe that being in choir not only helps the students grow as musicians, but as a person as a whole. They’ve learned that age doesn’t make someone all that different from yourself.”
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