Orcas Christian students share stories, laughter with seniors in reading program

||| FROM KALLIE for ORCAS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL |||

Students at Orcas Christian School recently partnered with the Orcas Senior Center for a reading 
program that brought together generations. The project, part of the Monday “Partners in Care” Lions Club program, paired students with seniors to read books and enjoy shared activities.

Students looked forward to the event. “I hope they want to tell jokes,” said a fifth-grader from Mrs. Kallie Shelton’s class, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Before the visit, students selected books from several genres to bring along. Once at the Senior Center, they were paired with a participant, and for about 20 minutes, the room buzzed with laughter, questions, and focused reading. “It was like a honeybee hive of reading activity,” one observer noted.

The experience left an impression on the students. Third-grader Brooklynn Bolster said it taught her “that you can be friends with any age.” Olivia Parker added, “Be kind even if someone doesn’t look the same as you or act the same as you.”