The Golden Hour: Back to School

Submitted by Lorraine Lane

Golden Hour with the Library is an innovative and interactive outreach program for individuals living in assisted care facilities. The title was coined by the Outreach team as wordplay on the phrase, "The Golden Years," often used with senior citizens. Currently, our team visits six senior living facilities monthly to offer this program. 

In August, Kandy and Karina had the pleasure of going over to Villas at Canterfield assisted living to present Karina's “Back to School” program.

They were greeted by a sweet group of nine residents. The program began with a brief history about public schools in the U.S.

Immediately, one of our favorite residents shared his "back in the day" stories of school. Mr. Homer's comments brought the group to life and several other residents were inspired to also share about their good ol’ school days. Everyone really enjoyed looking through the photos, and one resident audibly gasped as they flipped to the photo of the class standing in front of the one-room school house. (It's always a great feeling when you see the residents so invested in a program that you've written!) 

One resident even talked about her mom being a lifelong teacher and how proud she was of her – it was a tender moment. We heard all about home economics classes, stage fright, cursive writing, shop class, lunchtime, and games that were played at recess. The photos really helped spark the conversation. It is always so fun and delightful to hear the resident's stories! 

We learn a lot about our residents during each program, endearing us to them. Our programs always end with an interactive portion. This month the residents had a great time with “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” trivia. One resident's face lit up each time he answered a question correctly. We enjoyed witnessing his reaction and celebrating the moment with him. 

At the end, Kandy passed out stickers to everyone and Karina thanked the residents for their great stories and awesome participation. One of the residents, Miss Doris, adorably giggled when she got her stickers – the most perfect reaction!