Ya gotta have hearts: Kids send valentines to lift seniors’ spirits
Dozens of cards were created as part of a growing partnership between Thoreau Elementary students and the Council on Aging.
A pink card decorated with a lace-trimmed paper heart and stickers of flower delivery trucks and boxes of chocolates was set to arrive at the Council on Aging on Wednesday.
Inside, a Thoreau Elementary School student had printed carefully in pencil: “Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope this card brings you a happy face. I hope your day is filled with laughter and joy.” On the facing page, in slightly larger letters: “I hope your day is filled with love.” Crayon hearts in shades of red and purple framed the message.
The card was one of dozens — with messages like, “You look cool,” “I like your style,” and “Have an amazing day” — prepared ahead of Valentine’s Day as part of a growing partnership between Thoreau students and the Council on Aging.
The initiative started with the student council.
“We talked about all of the different groups we could connect with when someone suggested the seniors in town,” Thoreau Principal Justin Sparks said of how students came up with the idea last year. “Since it was February, we landed on Valentine’s Day.”
COA Director Daniel Petitt said he was excited when he got the call. “I have been wanting to do more cross-generational programming since I got here,” he said. “This felt perfect for that, and being able to continue was even better.”
For the past three weeks, Sparks has collected stacks of handmade cards in the main office from classrooms schoolwide.
Student council members assembled supply bags filled with red, pink, and white paper, lace doilies, stickers, and decorative gems so everyone from kindergarten through fifth grade could participate. In some rooms, fifth graders teamed up with kindergarten “buddies” to help the younger students cut, glue, and write their messages.
“The best part about making the cards was knowing I was doing something kind,” Thoreau student Carter Hall said.
The student council was to deliver the cards to the Council on Aging during a February 11 senior brunch.
Rachel Levesque, Thoreau’s guidance counselor, said the project aligns with the school’s focus on social-emotional learning. She said connecting students with their community helps develop their interpersonal skills.
‘Teaching the whole child’
“It’s helping students understand themselves, understand other people, and learn how to get along in the world,” she said. “It’s about teaching the whole child.”
Sparks added, “It’s teaching students how to be a good friend. We have this idea we talk about. That’s how to be an upstander rather than a bystander — how to think about what’s good not just for me but for my classmates, my school, and my community.”
To Thoreau student Mila Gupta, “Community means belonging, and we want to make sure everyone belongs and gets a card that will make them feel unique.”
And Petitt said for Acton elders, including those whose grandchildren live far away, the cards forge a bond with a younger generation.
Monthly classroom visits
Now in its second year, the relationship is becoming more than a seasonal gesture.
Inspired by seniors’ responses to the cards, Thoreau and the COA are launching a pilot senior buddy program. The initiative will match senior volunteers with a small group of classrooms for monthly visits.
Levesque said seniors will visit a small group of classrooms each month to “do an activity, read aloud, or share something from their past.”
Educators like Levesque hope that a connection rooted in a holiday about love and kindness will grow and thrive.
“I think that being around kids brings seniors joy, and seniors have things to teach our kids and expand their worldview, and it builds empathy,” she said. “There’s a lot that these two groups can do for each other.”
