Zeyad scrambled the letters in front of him.
The transparent red, yellow, green and orange blocks clunked against each other on a metal tray.
Now the real work began for the toddler: lining each piece in neat rows.
Blanca Ortega watched over the little boy’s shoulder, ready to help him with his alphabet. She isn’t a teacher but spends most days as a foster grandparent who plays and cares for preschoolers while providing extra hands for educators at the Linda-Kay Child Development Center in Hurst.
She’s part of the national Foster Grandparent Program offered through AmeriCorps Seniors, a volunteer effort focused on connecting adults 55 and older with kids in their communities as mentors. Fort Worth-based Child Care Associates runs the program at its Tarrant County early childhood centers.
Ortega, 70, leaned down to inspect the letters lining the sheet and grinned.
“That’s W,” she said, lightly touching the letter.
Zeyad poked around other blocks and shuffled through them.
“Where’s Z?” he asked.
They huddled together and searched for the missing letter.
Working with children comes naturally to Ortega, who moved to the United States from Mexico more than 30 years ago.
She was a teacher for nearly 20 years. She has four grandchildren, with a 15 year old as the youngest. She said she’s providing and reinforcing important lessons that aren’t always a priority in a class of 17 students.
“They need to learn care, patience and to wait their turn. You know, good manners,” Ortega said.
Across the classroom, teacher Tiffany Richard sat on the floor helping students prepare a meal inside a small wooden kitchen. Having Ortega in the class is a huge relief for Richard, she said.
“She’s a lot of help, and that’s what we need at this age group,” Richard said, looking at the 3 and 4 year olds playing around the room. “As you can see, they are very busy.”
At a table near the classroom’s entrance, Ellen fit together puzzle pieces featuring different patterns. The preschooler suddenly broke into applause.
“Yay!” Ellen exclaimed as she admired her handiwork.
Ortega, who joined the girl nearby, pointed at the puzzle and asked a student to count each of the 12 pieces with her. One. Two. Three. …
Ortega connects with the children in a way that isn’t necessarily available to many at home, said Vaschelle Johnson, the Linda-Kay campus director. In fact, foster grandparents are bridging generational divides, she added.
“Just to have that individual right here encouraging you, loving you and providing the nurturing you need makes a huge difference,” Johnson said.
Both older adults and young children benefit, research shows. For adults, volunteering with kids may help delay or even reverse declining brain function, according to a study by Johns Hopkins University. For children, their attitudes toward older people improve and the interactions benefit their own socialization and intellectual development.
Johnson sees the impact Ortega has on children every day. They’re happy — and that makes a huge difference, Johnson said.
“I’m seeing happy little people and happy people,” she said. “That’s a great thing that, in turn, will be happy, caring adults.”
Ortega embraces the joy she sees on full display when she enters the classroom.
On a recent morning, she saw one student helping another. She couldn’t help but just smile and watch them put her lessons on working together into action.
“They understand, and they’re learning,” she said as the sounds of children playing filled the classroom. “Everything was like how I did it, and that’s good.”
But Ortega had another, more important task in front of her. Finding that pesky, elusive Z with Zeyad.
Jacob Sanchez is education editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez.
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