If  1Q + 1Q = 2Q   and 3Q + 3Q = 6Q.  What does 5Q +5Q =?    . [When they say] "10Q",    [you say]   "your welcome!"......  [get it?   10Q,  i.e. "thank you"]

WOW!!  This new program.  "From Seniors to Kids and Back Again",  I have piloted twice now has been deeply moving and joyful.   Below is the 3 minute  Arlington MA Public TV video. 

How does it work?
*  I go into a classroom and help kids to see that every day they live they are creating stories of their lives AND they are the hero's of their own lives.  
*  kids tell one or two of their own stories
* . We explore how many years of stories the kids have (10 in this case), their teacher has (42 in this case),  I have (59 in this case),  the seniors at the senior center (80 on average).
*  I elicit prompts from the kids to help seniors remember the kind of stories the kids would like to hear.
*   I  facilitate a life stories "playshop"  for the seniors using the kids prompts as the base.
*  A few days later the kids visit the senior center and  are treated to an hour of stories form the senior's lives.  Stories based on their interest.
*  We celebrate by sharing food and or snacks and talking about the stories we have heard.

Hard to describe how simple,  yet powerful this has been.  Making the space between kids and senior small.  Celebrating our common humanity and this journey of life we all share.re to edit.