At Any Age

Teaching our students at the senior citizen's home has been quite an interesting, challenging and uplifting experience.

When preparing these lessons, we try our best to choose activities that are engaging and adaptable.

We need to consider the following:

We are teaching adults -lessons need to be clear
and repetitive, but not child-like.

English -Most of our students have never been outside of Japan.
- I am the first white person most have ever met
-The majority didn't learn English when they went to school
(for most, I am the first English teacher they have ever had)

Trouble with movement - choosing physical movement songs that allow active ones to touch their toes and the not so active ones to sit, stand or watch (often smiling and swaying to the music)
- in some cases hand over hand printing, drawing, and even colouring (It is hard to remember to ask first if they would like help)
- time to allow everyone to complete the activities

Trouble hearing- repetition, repetition, repetition.
- we often use microphones and sometimes have to speak right up close into their good ears(without the microphones of course)

Trouble seeing - big font for our printed lessons
and large printing for anything we write on the whiteboard

The sense of touch - as often as we can, we bring items that our students can touch like pussy willows or beach balls

Games - Everyone loves a little competition and prizes too!

Seeing our senior friends is the highlight of our week.

We are always tired afterwards but it's a good tired.
Our students smile, learn, and thank us many times over after every lesson.

Last week we saw our 101 year old student pushing
his friend in a wheelchair!

We certainly learn from our students too.

So why do we learn at any age?

Maybe because it's fun and because we can!