It is approaching 10am on a cool spring morning. Everyone is at home. Young families congregate around the computer excitedly, with homemade cards, balloons and dress-ups. At Mercy Place in Ballarat and Blue Cross in Toorak, a group of older folk in residential care find a comfortable place to sit in their main gathering place, readily awaiting familiar faces on the screen. Here online, amid a 21st century pandemic, during another lockdown, three, sometimes four, cross-sections of society, from babies to people in their 90’s and above, come together- to share music, to share stories, to share moments and enliven their days with something so intrinsic to being human it often isn’t discussed- they come together to play.

If anyone is familiar with the ABC program Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds, intergenerational playgroups bring this concept to life, with parents and some grandparents joining in, too.

Maureen Hatcher, a playgroup facilitator, along with her colleagues at Playgroup Victoria, sought to recreate the lived playgroup experience online as Melbourne, and indeed parts of Victoria, underwent one of the longest lockdowns in the world.

Maureen describes the sessions as, “Magic”.

“We follow a schedule so young and old alike know what to expect, but we have lots of spontaneous fun along the way too.”

“Every week I consider what songs we sing. I try and mix nursery rhymes and songs from the ‘40s and ‘50s with more modern children’s songs.”

“We may sing along to Elvis, Sinatra, The Wiggles and throw in the Hokey Pokey. We always finish with You Are My Sunshine.”

This particular song captures the attention of all. For the other residents, evoking emotion, pulling old memories forward, stirring up an enthusiasm for the moment, in that unique way that music can. For the parents and children, the song holds joy and a quiet gratitude. The aged care staff join in. It is universal. It brings everyone together.

During the pandemic, the separation has been particularly trying for those most vulnerable. For many in aged care facilities, and their families, the uncertainty and outstretch of time, has been cause for concern. The online playgroup session, while only in its infancy, created a link, something to look forward to and share.

“I love the joy and challenge of bringing the generations together,” said Maureen.

“The rewarding parts are definitely seeing the smiles and connections made. I especially love Show and Tell, a time for families and residents to further get to know each other.”

On the 21st of September, it was a particularly momentous day as a local resident in Ballarat who has been part of the online playgroup, Molly, turned 100. For many of the children, it was a hard number to fathom.

Molly has lived through a century of varied experiences including wars, the Great Depression, the advent of computers and Australia developing its identity, right as Molly was developing her own.

Shanna Love, Clubs and Events Manager, has helped to orchestrate the online session from Mercy Place.

Shanna said that the staff love Molly.

“They say her experience with the playgroup has bridged a huge gap. Particularly on such an important day when she has been separated from her loved ones.”

“To have so many families from across Melbourne and regional Victoria stop their day to join us online and wish Molly a happy birthday made her feel so special. That is priceless!”

“Here at Mercy Place, we are doing everything we can to give our residents a reason to get out of bed, this group really has been invaluable,” said Shanna.

To celebrate the occasion, the children had made works of art to show Molly and took it in turns to wish her a Happy Birthday.

Gerard Mansour, Commissioner for Senior Australians, participated in the session. He said it was wonderful to have the opportunity to come and see how an intergenerational playgroup works in practice.

Gerard made a tribute to Molly.

“Of course, there is one star today. How many of us could imagine, that when we were little toddlers, when we went to our primary school, when we got to our secondary school, when we did our work, that we might actually live for 100 years. Just think of what that is like and what Molly has lived through in her lifetime. It is such an amazing, wonderful group of stories and experiences.”

“To be able to see her still with her friends, in the aged care home, my congratulations to Mercy Place.”

“One of the things that older people make clear to me is that we don’t stop living as we get older and it is so wonderful to be able to connect with people across all the generations.”

“To see younger people come together with middle aged and older adults, right through to people who are in their 90’s and 100. What a wonderful initiative. I am delighted to be able to come today and say: ‘Molly, a big congratulations to you on behalf of all Victorians for such a wonderful life that you have had a chance to live, and that we can still see you and your smiling face, as Playgroup Victoria has so wonderfully put together this online playgroup session. A big congratulations to you all.’”

The intergenerational sessions that began in October 2020 have run most weeks, on and off. Some sessions had a focus on babies while others invited all children aged zero to five to join the aged care residents. Maureen said that she is always learning new directions and has new ideas.

“There are so many possibilities with intergenerational playgroups.”

Early on, Maureen was joined by a music therapist. She said that helped her learn more skills and gave additional support as she was working out how the session would run online.

While it is not the same as the real life experience of seeing one another in person, with all of the body language and facial cues, there has been a surprising closeness online.

“One resident told me, before we started last week, she loved me,” said Maureen.

“To me, that shows that connections can be made online. How great for residents to make friends outside of their home, especially during these unpredictable times!”

Maureen said that the residents in Toorak Aged Care Facility ask her about Ballarat, where she lives and they reminisce about visiting in the past.

“The playgroup itself also benefits residents socially, mentally and physically. They sing along, they dance and they share stories. I even started introducing Auslan signing and the residents seem to enjoy learning a sign related to the theme each week.”

“The aged care staff have told me that some residents don’t attend any other activities or events except playgroup. They also say that sometimes residents will sit for 10-15 minutes afterwards and talk about the session.”

Playgroup Victoria CEO Danny Schwarz has attended many intergenerational playgroups over the years and loves that playgroup helps to connect different parts of the community.

“Playgroup by its nature is intergenerational. When grand and great grandparents participate, memories are shared and created to be lived and relived. The excitement for everyone is palpable. We are looking forward to these groups continuing to connect families and the community.”

As for the young children, evermore growing and finding new ways to make the residents smile, they have loved the excitement of trying something new and connecting with others, all from their own home.

“All the feedback from families has been incredibly positive.”

“One little girl practices saying goodbye to the residents, at home, in between playgroup sessions. On screen she repeats who I say goodbye to. The residents just love it!”

For all the hardships that this pandemic has brought, the intergenerational playgroup has been a balm, and another way for communities to connect. As Gerard said, older people don’t stop living as they age, they still want the same things, sometimes more so than times before. Just like the children who energetically wave at the camera, they want to be seen and heard. They want to be valued and talk to their friends. And today, they want to eat cake, throw around some balloons and play.

Article by Sinead Halliday