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If you can imagine excited second graders, beaming seniors, sticky, doughnut fingers and lots of hugs, you will have just a small idea of what visiting The Villages was like for Kristen Thomas' second grade students from Sunrise River School. Thomas' class, accompanied by classroom volunteers, made their final trip to the senior living complex as part of the Generations Through the Eyes of Kids project, funded through a grant from the Minnesota Reading Association.

From October to February the students made three visits to The Villages of North Branch. They interviewed senior citizens about their lives; their likes and dislikes for a writing project. Between visits students followed the writing process and wrote draft stories about the information they collected from their particular senior. They revised, edited, and sketched illustrations before beginning final book copies. In the end, students wrote three duplicate stories and gave one to their seniors on the final trip to The Villages.

The students two other copies were taken home and selected to be donated to a local dentist, doctors office or the North Branch library, all of whom accepted the childrens writing with enthusiasm. Distributing books to various spots in North Branch was just one component of the grant in which Mrs. Thomas hoped to allow her students to see their writing utilized in purposeful ways throughout their community.

The project was a huge success as students formed friendships with seniors living at The Villages and they learned valuable information about those who have been part of the community.

The second graders also had a focused writing project that they could put their full effort into. The seniors enjoyed the second graders energy and with each visit a youthful spirit could be felt in the air. The project could not have been so successful without the hard work of Pam Dolin (activities director) and staff at The Villages of North Branch.

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