What could Sawtooth Elementary third graders teach people at the Cook County Senior Center that they don’t already know? In what kinds of sports could the two groups fairly (and safely) compete against one another? The answers to those questions will be known at the end of a fundraiser this month that calls for reading – lots of reading.
It all starts with Heather Kemp, parent of a student in Lorelei Livingston’s third grade class. Kemp is spending this school year serving with Minnesota Reading Corps, a program of AmeriCorps, which is known as the “domestic Peace Corps.” For a small stipend and some college tuition funding, Reading Corps members help implement researchbased literacy programs that help struggling readers from preschool through third grade.
“As part of my service with the Minnesota Reading Corps,” Kemp wrote in a description of this part of her work, “I need to do a service learning project with a group of students. …A community need is identified and the students will work towards meeting that need while also learning about the need.”
That’s where the kids teaching the seniors and the sports competitions come in. Upon talking with Senior Center Director Bev Greene, Kemp learned that the center would like funding for Nintendo Wii (pronounced Wee)
– an electronic game hooked up to a TV that “reads” the motions of the player and displays them on the TV screen. Someone playing a bowling game, for example, would simulate the motion of throwing a bowling ball and see a computer-generated person on the screen making the same motion. If the ball is “thrown” well, the player gets a strike. Many different Wii applications have been created, from bowling to golf to tennis to yoga.
“The Wii would not only serve as a way for seniors to get exercise through golfing, tennis, and bowling but also provide a tool for socialization and more intergenerational interactions at the Grand Marais Senior Center,” wrote Kemp.
Kemp and Livingston came up with a plan in which the third graders would hold a readathon, soliciting pledges to raise money for the Senior Center to purchase a Wii. Their goal is 10,000 minutes read by the students outside of class during the month of February – a total of 166 hours and 40 minutes, or nine hours and 48 minutes per student. In addition, Livingston challenged her students to read 1,000 minutes each – that’s 16 hours and 40 minutes.
If the students surpass their goal of raising $400 to pay for the Wii and related attachments, the extra money may go toward the purchase of larger TVs at the Senior Center, allowing a better viewing experience for those with poor eyesight.
The project kicked off with the Senior Center hosting lunch for the kids Wednesday, February 3. Numerous grandparents sat with their grandkids, and Senior Center board members interacted with the students. Bev Green talked about what people do at or through the Senior Center: play cards, exercise, drink coffee, visit with others, go on trips, take classes, work on puzzles that take weeks to complete, and have fun. “Everybody is welcome down here,” Green said. “We love kids!”
Green also talked about how the Center helps connect seniors to services throughout the community: health care, social services, transportation, tax prep, emergency phone devices. Many of their services are offered free or at very low cost, she said.
Why would the seniors need a Wii? Green asked the students. Their answers included for exercising, to help them stay active, to avoid the ice outside, and to play their favorite sports. Green said she envisions bowling, golf, and tennis tournaments at the Senior Center. She was surprised to learn that a lot of adults have Wiis and enjoy them.
At the end of the project, the students will return to the Center, where they will teach the seniors how to play the Wii games and perhaps challenge them to a tournament. “It’s great to intermix the adults with the kids,” Green said. “We’re looking forward to it!”
Information on the program can be found by accessing the Cook County Schools website, www.cookcountyschools. org, and following these links: Academics, Sawtooth Elementary, Grade 3, and Ms. Livingston.
Checks can be written out to Sawtooth Mountain Elementary School and sent to Heather Kemp, MRC SOS Project, Sawtooth Mountain Elementary School, 101 W. 5th Street, Grand Marais, MN 55604.
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