Culture & Entertainment

Video chatting their way through the generation gap

Canadian Living
Culture & Entertainment

Video chatting their way through the generation gap

When I was on maternity leave, I would frequent the Ontario Early Years Learning Centre with my baby. One of my favourite programs took place at a retirement home. Our music baby class was held in the main floor dining room.  As we sat in a circle on the floor with our babies, the elderly residents sang and clapped along with us. They truly enjoyed the music and the interaction. The babies loved the extra attention from "grandma and grandpa". Such a beautifully simple idea. I absolutely loved the intergenerational component of that class. Anytime we can successfully bridge the gap between generations is a win win. A language school in Brazil is doing a brilliant job of it. Young Brazilians want to learn english and elderly Americans in retirements homes just want someone to talk to. So they brought them together. [HTML1] They connect via web chats and throughout the course of sharing a language, they begin to develop relationships that enrich both sides culturally and emotionally. The pilot project was implemented at a CNA school in Liberdale, Brazil and the Windsor Park Retirement Community in Chicago. "The beauty of this project is in CNA's belief that we develop better students when we develop better people." - Max Geraldo, FCB Brazil's executive director Intergenerational brilliance!

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Video chatting their way through the generation gap

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