Knowledge Bank

Champion Intergenerational Center is a combined Early Learning Center and Adult Day Care Center in Columbus, Ohio. Only one hour of each preschooler's week is dedicated towards meaningful interaction with the older adults. Stress and turnover among staff make it difficult to plan and facilitate new activities. Join is a tool designed with Champion to bolster their mission of intergenerational care; Join blocks encourage calm and autonomous play after intergenerational lunches. The blocks are easy to slide together for those with limited dexterity, and its illustrations include a variety of ages, races, and abilities. Three themes—nature, neighborhood, and friends and family—mix over time, creating new communities for kids and older adults to explore together. The blocks promote linguistic, social-emotional, and cognitive development in preschoolers and help facilitate meaningful social interaction and for the older adults at Champion.