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Aveo Springfield embraces friendship with Seedlings and Co ELC
Freya Lucas
Aug 09, 2023
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Members of the Aveo Springfield retirement village have formed strong connections with young children from Bellbird Park’s Seedlings and Co early learning centre, meeting up for a weekly intergenerational playgroup.
Four and five year olds from the service spend time with retirement village residents, taking part in an organised intergenerational playgroup that supports the children’s learning, social connection, and relationship skills.Seedlings and Co’s Early Education Teacher Moka Pulemoana spoke with local media Ipswich News Today about the mutual benefits the community program brings to both generations.
“It’s delightful watching the children form relationships with the residents,” she said.
“Both generations learn something from each other on every visit. It’s a two-way process and it definitely puts smiles on everyone’s faces.”
For some of the children in the service, grandparents are absent from their lives, or living interstate or overseas, and so making connections with older people is particularly cherished.
“Our children are so comfortable in the village’s space and they are natural social butterflies. The conversations with their special friends never stop. It’s lovely what happens here,” she added.
Aveo Springfield Administration Assistant Julie Hughes said everyone in the retirement community looks forward to the monthly visits from the pre-schoolers and the staff members, and that the success of the program has led the Aveo team to expand the program further, reaching out to make connections with local high schoolers.
For the residents, like Sue Halliday, the time spent with the little ones brings back fond memories of their own parenting and grandparenting.
“I have two grandchildren with the youngest now 13 and I think you forget the magic of the imagination of a small child,” she said.
During the playgroup sessions, children join in with gardening, residents join in with craft or play, and everyone enjoys books and songs.
For information about the Aveo Springfield, phone 13 28 36 or visit aveo.com.au. Read the original coverage of this story here.
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