Generations
art

JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER

PHOTOS BY GLENN TR IEST

A nursery
school hosts
an afternoon
of interaction
between young
and old.

fter music, the children at the Workmen's
Circle Nursery School led their guests to
some of the different centers in their class-
room.
Some of the visitors, residents of Jewish
Family Service Group Apartments for the
Elderly (GAPE), joined their hosts paint-
ing at the easel. A few were in the
"kitchen," preparing and then eating an
imaginary meal. Others played games and
built structures with Legos.
An intergenerational program brought
these two unlikely groups together for
an afternoon last week.
The 4- and 5-year-olds, who just fin-
ished a unit on the family and generations,
spent an afternoon interacting with the seniors.
"I haven't seen our group smile this much in
a long time," said Jan Bayer, GAPE program
manager. "It gave the older adults the oppor-
tunity to be with children, especially since some
don't have grandchildren or have grandchil-
dren who live out of state."
Hanna Wheeler, a GAPE resident,
does not have any children or grand-
Lilly Noga and
children, and she enjoyed being with Fannie Hayman
the nursery school group. She spent
build a tower.
much of the after-
noon watching
them play and mar-
veling at "how busy
and happy they
were."
When it was
time for Ms. Wheel-
er and the other
GAPE residents to
leave, the children
asked if they could
return soon.
`The children in-
teracted beautiful-
ly with the seniors,"
said Rena Amit, di-
rector of the Work-
men's Circle
Nursery School.
"You can talk about
caring for others
with young chil-
dren but you have
to actually do it be-
fore they under- Tatyana Bass helps Ross Minter on the computer.
stand," Ms. Amit
said.

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An afternoon of

play at Workmen's Circle.

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