News

Pen pals and penmanship bring
young writers and seniors together

April 24th, 2019

Residents at Points West Living Red Deer have become pen pals with Grade 2 students from two different area schools. So far there are 19 pen pals within the PWL community, each partnered with a young student with whom they will be corresponding. When the pen pals met in person recently, “it was magical.”

Pal prep

Before meeting their senior pen pals, the Grade 2 class from Destiny Christian School in Red Deer, prepared well. In addition to getting their own photos and writing ready, they learned about aging, senior care, and dementia from PWL Red Deer’s Recreation Therapist Delray Dempsey. During her visit to the school, the children learned some communication techniques and were encouraged to ask questions.

It was magical!

When the students arrived at PWL Red Deer on April 10, they settled right in. “It was magical!” says recreation coordinator Alyssa Seifried. “The students didn’t want to leave. We made lemonade together, read the students’ letters, and played a variety of games including shuffleboard and Crokinole. Their teacher, Ms. Trenerry said it was really exciting for the students to play games they haven’t been exposed to before.”

"What's a Bugatti?"

This program not only lets the students work on their handwriting, it allows for a relationship between people of all ages and abilities. “We have experienced some beautiful moments already, with both partners learning about a different era,” says Alyssa. “When Laine (a student in the Grade 2 class from the K-12 public school in nearby Caroline) wrote to his pen pal Irvine here at PWL Red Deer, he asked about his favorite game. Laine said, ‘Mine is Hungry Hippos. I wonder if you like that game too?’ Irvine wrote back, ‘Hungry Hippos! I don’t know any of those!!’ Laine also told Irvine his favorite car is a Bugatti, and Irvine stated ‘What’s a Bugatti? I like a good ole Chrysler.’”

Excited to continue

Laine and Irvine are slated to meet in person for the first time in June when the Caroline class plans to visit PWL Red Deer. “This program has been a blast,” says Alyssa. “We are so excited to continue it on into next year.”

Photo: Resident Dale Ferguson and his pen pal visit over fresh squeezed lemonade at PWL Stettler.

More photos at Flickr: Pen pals and penmanship bring little writers and seniors together