April Showers BRING May Flowers! On this beautiful, bright and sunny day, our first Intergenerational Community Music Therapy program included the older adults in the Innovative Senior Champions Program (ISCP) and the children in the Family Focus Pre-school Program in Williamsburg, VA. Our intergenerational session included “shaking up a storm” with egg shakers, making a rain storm with percussion and drums, and discussing/singing how rain showers water the flowers to help them grow (as illustrated with a Lily flower).
During our program, we were privileged to have over 8 guests from US Department of Agriculture, Virginia Tech Inter generational programs, James City County Cooperative, Virginia Gazette, and Colonial Heritage to meet, participate, observe and provide feedback on how the newly established inter-generational program was implemented in Williamsburg, VA. Colonial Heritage Community Foundation (CHCF) and the Virginia Tech through James City County Cooperative Extension Family Focus have partnered together to provide an inter-generational program called TRIP (Transforming Relationships through Inter-generational Programs).
After the children went back to their school. the senior champions transitioned into
discussing the characteristics of the Easter Lily (color, smell, where is it grown, when do we see them, etc). Then we wrote a new song to the tune “Beautiful Dreamer” and re-titled it “The Easter Lily.” Then the seniors played “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” on the tone chimes…which was absolutely gorgeous! Reflective comments from the groups included: “lively, loved seeing the children, awesome, made me feel young again, great, creative.”
— with Joan Bender and 3 others in Williamsburg, Virginia.
