Early learning centre embedded in retirement village for ultimate intergenerational experience

Untitled design - 2023-11-16T112438.025
Retirement village resident Jeannette Porritt with Montessori director Tina Yiannicou and young students. [Source: The Advertiser]

This Adelaide childcare centre is built inside a retirement village, creating a real-life version of the hit show Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds!

As a partnership between not-for-profit aged care provider, ECH and SA Montessori, Echoes Montessori Early Learning Centre is believed to be the only one of its kind in Australia, purposefully built as an “intergenerational village” inside the ECH retirement facility.

Barbara Langford and her daughter Jessica operate the learning facility and said since it’s establishment in early 2022, the benefits have been huge.

“Things are happening every day […] children will daily wave and call out to residents on their balconies or meet them in the garden,” Ms Langford told The Advertiser.

Watch more about the intergenerational initiative!

Echoes Montessori is partnering with Torrens University on a research project to investigate how the concept could be broadened and incorporated in future community planning.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Dementia Can Affect Anyone – Even Santa

In the UK, a creative Christmas promotion is calling for donations for dementia research. The main star of the dementia short film – Santa Claus. This comes in light of new statistics that show that dementia overtook heart disease this month to become the number one cause of death in the UK. The award-winning short,... Read More

“We found more than 54,000 viruses in people’s poo – and 92% were previously unknown to science”

Everybody poos (but not all poo is the same). It’s fair to say the human gut is now the most well-studied microbial ecosystem on the planet. Yet more than 70% of the microbial species that live there have yet to be grown in the laboratory. Read More

Everyday Australians And Their Four-Legged Friends Make The Best Volunteers

While there is certainly no shortage of weird and wonderful pets these days, there is a reason that dogs have earned the nickname ‘man’s best friend.’ Dogs can provide a sense of both joy and companionship to older people who are lonely, and it has been proven that interacting with animals, in general, can also... Read More
Advertisement