With the year drawing to a close and the Graduation Concert done and dusted, the graduating Kindergarten 2 children in some of our Centres had one more exciting event to look forward to before they each embark on their new journeys in Primary School next year. It was the K2 Camp! We had wanted to give the children one last memorable experience with their peers – we wanted to celebrate them. This camp, however, we wanted to celebrate life too. What better way to do it than to bring seniors alongside us?
Held at Carmel Presbyterian Church, it was a day filled with activities, games and food. Most importantly, it was also a day of meaningful connections between the children and the seniors from Evergreen Active Ageing Centre.
There were many activities designed with the goal to encourage interactions between the children and the seniors. These include station games, storytelling and time for creative projects. However, there were two main highlights of the day for the children: playing traditional games with the seniors from Evergreen AAC and an evening barbecue!
Games that Connect
During this segment, some traditional "old-time games" were introduced. Children had the chance to try their hands at games like Five Stones, Pick-Up Sticks, Cup Stacking, Snake and Ladders, Eraser Game, and Zero Point. These are games that our children who grow up in an urban environment with many different play and entertainment options usually do not end up playing anymore. However, during the camp, these games afforded a great opportunity for both learning and nostalgia, as it was an opportunity also for the seniors to share their childhood experiences with the younger generation.
Jimmy Tan who works with the seniors at Evergreen AAC shared that it was heart-warming to see the connections between the children and seniors; seniors holding the children’s hands and watching them play together. John Chew, who also works the seniors, felt that the camp seemed like a big family gathering. There were many conversations and laughter heard throughout the day as camp was happening.
Bonding Over Food
Later in the afternoon, the next highlight took place – barbecue time! The set up was such that the children could learn how to barbecue their own food (with adult supervision and guidance, of course!) It was a sight watching the children prepare their food, cook it, eat it and also serve it to the seniors who were with them too.
For many of our children, this was their first experience barbecuing their own food. You can see the lightbulbs in their head go off as they observe the food change in colour before their eyes. Joanna Yong, who works in HQ, shared that it was particularly rewarding when she successfully taught a child how to identify when the food is cooked and watching the child beam all the way back to their seat with their “prize”.
Amelie Lee, the Vice Principal of Little Olive Tree Hougang and also one of the camp organisers, felt that the barbecue experience was novel even for her because in all her years as a preschool educator, guiding the children to skewer and barbecue their own food is something that she has never tried. However, having done so at camp, it has opened up new possibilities of what children are capable of with guidance and planning.
Amelie also shared that there was a moment of mild panic during the barbecue as there was one child that she noticed that was not sitting with her classmates and no one seemed to have seen her. However, she soon found that the child was nestled happily and safely in the group of some seniors, eating and chatting happily with them.
This sight also reminded her of a story in the Bible of Jesus wandering off from his parents and being with the other adults in the temple – comfortable and safe. Observing this sight of this particular child being comfortable in interacting with the seniors helped her realised that we achieved our objectives through this camp – that is, for the children to have a chance to really get to know the seniors. The pace of the camp proved to be comfortable and the children had time and space to get to know and build rapport with them.
Bridging the Generations: A Tapestry and Celebration of Life
By 6:00 PM, everyone started making their way back to school and the AAC, tired but happy from a full day of fun, learning, and connection. Even though the camp has drawn to a close, it is our hope that this meaningful camp would continue to bring warmth and smiles when they recall of the camp.
Eileen Lua, Cluster Principal, who supported the camp meal planning with volunteers from her community, expressed that there was initially some awkwardness between the children and seniors when the day first started. However, as the day progressed, the awkwardness was overcome and everyone learnt to step out of their comfort zones and accommodate the needs of one another. This is a brief but apt reminder that in life, we cannot operate in silos and throughout each season, we take turns to depend on others or support others who depend on us.
As for the staff and volunteers who made time to help create this memorable experience for the campers, we hope that they are encouraged the role they played in this beautiful tapestry of different generations coming together to share and celebrate life. *This camp was organised for the children from the following Little Olive Tree Centres (Hougang, Pasir Ris 21, Pasir Ris 51, Rochor (Life Childcare), Tampines and Yishun.
Check out the rest of the photos here:
Comments