Nothing in the whole world is quite like the laughter of a child. It lights up a room, it makes a bad day better and perhaps it should make us all pause and consider that we take life too seriously! A child’s laughter is often based in an innocence of the moment; taking advantage of whatever is happening right in front of them…not worrying about what’s going to happen tomorrow or fretting about something that happened last week. A child’s laughter is totally contagious; rippling throughout a room like a stone dropped into a clear pool. It infects everyone it touches and it’s a ‘virus’ you dare not be vaccinated against.

Bringing the pleasures of life into our residents’ lives is a value we hold dear. We openly encourage families to visit and spend time with their loved one while discussing the everyday happenings at ‘home’. Part of this normalcy is the intertwining of the generations as we bring children in to interact with our residents. We have created a relationship with both Goodnoe Elementary and Holland Elementary to do just that. In collaboration with the amazing teachers at both schools, their students have become a wonderful and highly anticipated part of our Activity calendar! The Goodnoe 4 ^th graders presented a production of ‘The State Fair’ followed by a rousing game of ‘U.S. State Bingo’ and the 5 ^th and 6 ^th graders performed the Alice in Wonderland musical! Another group of 1 ^st and 6 ^th graders completed a Spring Gardening project and made marigold seed pods with the residents while recognizing the importance of nature and Arbor Day! Some of our residents have traveled to Holland Elementary to participate with their students in a program about leadership. Each one of these interactions resulted in an understanding that youth and age are the perfect combination; learning and giving so much to one another.

So this month as we celebrate Fathers, it only seems appropriate to remember the relationship we had with our own dad or those men in our lives who were ‘second’ fathers to so many. The hands they held, the bruises they bandaged, the cheers they yelled…the men who rejoiced in the laughter of that child. It continues at Pickering Manor!!

Michelle

Michelle Knobloch

Executive Director

www.PickeringManor.org