Although they both spend a great deal of time on the same block in Forest Hills, pre-kindergarten children like Jakub Cwiekala might never have met “Grandmas” like Lizzie Roberson without an introduction through the Intergenerational Story Circle Program, a collaboration between Queens Community House’s (QCH) Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) and their Early Childhood Center.  Over the past two months seniors and pre-kindergarten children united through storytelling, singing, dancing and art in weekly sessions facilitated by a teaching assistant and a storyteller, known as a “Pearl of Wisdom”, from the nonprofit organization Elders Share the Arts (ESTA).

“I shared with the kids how we created our own fun by making up games.  Today kids have all the electronic games at their fingertips.  Where’s the imagination?” says Lizzie Roberson, a NORC participant. 

The group was representative of the many faces of Queens, providing a rich cultural landscape for storytelling.  Some of the “Grandmas” grew up in countries as far away as Egypt, Venezuela, and Ecuador while others migrated to New York from Southern states.  The native New Yorkers in the group shared memories of playing kick the can and cooling off in fire hydrants on the streets of Brooklyn and the Lower East Side.  Between joyfully reminiscing about family gatherings, games, and food, the Grandmas also provided a historic context for harsh injustices that they endured such as the Jim Crow laws in the South and the adversity that Jews living in Egypt faced.

“What motivated me to write the grant was seeing the impact and benefit of intergenerational interaction and relationship-building in my own family.  I was delighted to experiment with this on a community-wide scale with heartwarming and gratifying results,” said Evelyn Gottlieb, Director of QCH’s NORC program.  Many of the children in the Early Childhood Center are first or second-generation born Americans and don’t have the opportunity to spend time with their own grandparents.  Some were shy at first but warmed up to their “Grandmas” by the third session when they made maracas together.

"I liked to shake the maracas on my own.  I want to play with my own Grandma more," said Jakob Cwiekala, from the Early Childhood Center.  Juliette Holmes, the “Pearl of Wisdom” incorporated her experience as an Early Childhood educator for 30 years to lead the group in music and dance as well as storytelling. 

“The experience of two generations sharing a universal truth that is the need for play and joy was extraordinary for me to share.  Having a master storyteller leading the tales added a rare and magnificent flavor,” said Norma Vaross, the universal pre-kindergarten teacher who helped the children draw pictures that reflected their own experiences and related to the grandma’s stories.

In the final session on May 27th, the teaching assistant from ESTA presented a book of the stories and illustrations which were compiled from the two month exchange.  Since QCH follows in the Settlement House tradition of serving community members of all ages, participants are offered unique intergenerational opportunities such as this collaboration.

“I was able to share love with someone else’s child other than my own grandchild, by being a surrogate grandparent during the duration of the program,” says Ann Oniszko, another NORC participant.

QCH’s partnership with ESTA was made possible through a grant from the Jeannette Solomon Cultural Arts Program.  ESTA’s mission is to affirm the creative potential of older adults and role as bearers of history and culture by using the power of the arts to transmit their stories to communities in the New York metropolitan region.