After reflecting back on the whole process and visit to the seniors’ home, here are some things I would like to change for next time…
- make the visits a regular thing, i.e. every 2 weeks or once a month
- try and have an equal number of students and seniors (if possible!), so that they can get one-on-one attention
- have the students visit with the same elder each time so they can form a relationship
- have a variety of things that happen during the visit (i.e. they can sometimes do crafts, do crosswords/sudoku, go for a walk, etc) and allow the students to have input and take responsibility
- get students to reflect each time they visit the home (which they did this time, both individually in their journals and as a class in a conversation format) – this was provided good feedback to me and got them to think more deeply about their experiences
Overall I would 100% do this field trip again. I loved doing it, the students gave me incredibly positive feedback (they said it was the best field trip all year and they couldn’t wait to go back) and the residents adored having the students there. It was truly a win-win-win situation!
