Newton seniors knit for Framingham kindergartners (with video)
By Abby Jordan/Daily News staff
MetroWest Daily News
Posted Dec 18, 2009
It was hard to tell whose smiles were wider yesterday, the kindergartners who picked out the colorful hats, mittens and scarves that were knit for them, or the senior citizens who made the items.
One boy tried on a blue and yellow hat, and after a scarf was wrapped around his neck, he put the matching mittens on and ran over to his classmates waving his hands.
The winter garments are the handiwork of a group of senior citizens from the Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly's Coleman House in Newton, where on Mondays about 10 residents with little or lots of knitting experience gather to craft the sets for donation.
"The tenants really feel like it's time to give back," said Barbara Friedman, director of intergenerational programs at Coleman House. "We try to help them use their skills and talents to give back."
Yesterday, members of the knitting group were at Potter Road Elementary School, where they shared a snack with Maria Fajardo's kindergarten class in the school library, then helped the children try on the hats and choose which to keep.
It was the third year the knitters have come to Potter Road. It's an opportunity for the older and younger generations to spend time together, while the seniors get to see whose hands and heads their handiwork will keep warm this winter.
"It's just a joy to see them try on the hats and scarves and mittens," said Coleman House resident Pearl Appel, 90. "It's a pleasure."
Jean Cohen, 88, said it was her third year visiting the school with the knitting group. She knits every day, and has already begun knitting more items for next year.
"I just love it," she said. "I think it's great for the kids to see what older people are like."
Today in class, the students will be reading a book about a group of elderly people living in a community home, which Fajardo said will teach the students more about older people like the ones who made their hats.
The knitting group also donates items to hospitals and shelters. They connected with Potter Road through reading volunteers with the Greater Boston Jewish Coalition for Literacy and a local temple.
