Over the past few months, Henderson Elementary School grade six and seven students have been learning cribbage as part of a math unit. On Wednesday, January 25, teacher Corey Gordon’s class had a chance to test its newfound skills with seniors at Kiwanis Garden Manor.
Gordon said he has been playing the age-old game for as long as he can remember.
“It’s something I did as a kid and one of my fondest memories,” he said.
One of the manor’s youngest residents, Darlene Sundin, said she has been playing cribbage for 56 years and was looking forward to playing with the Henderson students.
“A lot of the young people in this community don’t have grandparents, or live far away from them,” said Sundin. “We’re like surrogate grandparents for some of the kids who come here.”
Sundin was joined at her table by Duane Saari, 11, a grade six student, and Jeremy Walls, 12, who is in grade seven.
“It’s nice to have someone to talk to,” said Jeremy. “It’s such a long game and playing online is boring.”
Sundin said she considers cribbage a social game.
“When you play with a machine, you forget how to be with people,” she said. “Every game is different; there’s the challenge of winning, but also the fun of playing.”
Sundin said she was excited to teach the students how to play solitaire as well.
Grade six students Brooke Mansell, 11, and Savanna Hartery, 11, played at another table. Savanna said the unit has helped with her counting and math and that it felt good to be playing cribbage with seniors.
“It’s nice to make people happy, and this just makes their day,” she said.
Brooke said she had been playing cribbage long before it became part of Gordon’s class.
“I like the math, and this is a fun opportunity,” said Brooke.
According to Gordon, the field trip to play cribbage with seniors was inspired by the province’s new education curriculum.
“In addition to English, math and other skills, teachers are required to incorporate core competencies,” said Gordon. “This is a great opportunity to build the personal and social competency aspect of the curriculum.”
Gordon said having students engage with seniors is a way to bring an awareness to their role in the community and society.
“Usually a class this size is loud and noisy,” said Gordon. “To see their behaviour change so dramatically the moment they were in the room with the seniors is a sign of success.”
Cribbage is played weekly at the manor, according to its lifestyle and leisure services coordinator Jenni Dyer.
“We’ve been open for 10 years and we have a number of these programs every year,” she said.
Dyer added that previous intergenerational events have included Family Day, an Easter egg hunt, choirs at Christmas, performances by Sheridan Dance Academy and Halloween trick-or-treating for young children.
“Last year we had a reading program with Powell River Christian School,” said Dyer. “Students brought books and seniors helped them with the reading.”
Kiwanis Garden Manor is an assisted-living facility comprised of 40 suites and associated facilities.
