Kindergartners deliver handmade Valentine's Day cards to senior citizens
<p>From left to right, Noah's Ark Learning Center kindergartners Aspen Wood, Henry Jacobson, Wyatt Vandenbark and Lauren Aitken get ready to deliver handmade Valentine cards on Thursday to residents at Bestland Retirement Apartments in Coeur d'Alene.</p>
<p>Noah's Ark Learning Center kindergartner Aspen Wood gives Jean Rey a handmade Valentine card on Thursday afternoon at Bestland Retirement Apartments in Coeur d'Alene. Eleven kindergartners passed out more than 80 cards to Bestland residents.</p>
The day got a little brighter Thursday at Bestland Retirement Apartments in Coeur d'Alene when seniors living there received a Valentine's Day surprise from 11 kindergartners.
The students from Noah's Ark Learning Center worked for two weeks to create about 90 handmade Valentine's Day cards, all of which they gave away to the Bestland residents as they gathered in the dining room for lunch.
The kids walked from school to the apartments on Best Avenue accompanied by their teacher, Laurie Petroni, and her assistant, Chris Mann.
Petroni said she got the idea last year to have the kids make cards for the seniors on Valentine's Day.
"I wanted to do some outreach where the kids get a chance to give back in whatever way they can," Petroni said. "So many of the places like this get kids at Christmas time and they get inundated with kids coming, singing and making things. The rest of the year gets kind of forgotten."
Most of the kids were a little shy, but all were smiling as they would quickly hand a Valentine to a senior and then run away to get another card from their teacher.
"It's wonderful," Mann said. "It means a lot to (the seniors) and the kids worked really hard."
Bestland resident Lynn Schatz was all smiles watching the children run around the dining room.
"This is so nice," Schatz said. "They are so cute. Mine are all grown up."
Bailey Andrews, 5, received a hug from one of the seniors and then ran, smiling, over to Mann.
"That lady just gave me a hug," she said excitedly as she grabbed Mann's arm and then ran off again to give away more of the cards they had made.
As they were getting ready to leave, the kids stood to one side of the dining room and yelled "Happy Valentine's Day," which generated more smiles and applause from the Bestland residents.