BLOOMINGTON -- A pilot program at a Bloomington nursing home is trying to build connections in the brain and among generations one note as a time.

"The combination of music and babies stimulates the seniors like nothing I've ever seen," said Katie Henderson, who runs the program.

"It's very good," said Mary Lou Swailes, a resident of Heritage Manor in Bloomington. "Music is good for all ages."

Called Kindermusik Village with Seniors, the weekly program brought infants and their moms or dads to Heritage for 45 minutes of waving, smiling, clapping, stomping and sometimes even singing with residents.

The four-week pilot ended Wednesday, but Henderson hopes its success results in a longer-term program this fall.

One mother who participated was Cathy Stalinski of McLean, who came to Heritage once a week with her 11-month-old son, Joseph.

"Music helps with language and brain development and encourages motor development," Stalinski said.

"All the little brain connections that he's (Joseph's) getting, they're getting as well," she said of the residents. "Instead of sitting in their rooms, they're keeping their brain working."

Stalinski has witnessed a social advantage of the program also.

"I think they (the residents) feel like they have new friends," she said.

The pilot was offered by Music Connections Foundation Inc., which offers early childhood music and movement programs to children through age 7 by using Kindermusik, said Henderson, Music Connection's founder and director. Kindermusik is an international curriculum that uses music to enhance the development of young children.

For example, using fine motor skills by grasping and shaking rattles, bells, egg shakers and other simple musical instruments helps to develop fine motor skills, said Henderson, who has done Kindermusik programs in Central Illinois since 1994.

Learning to keep a steady beat provides the foundation for future music and may help with balance, coordination and self-confidence, she said.

Music Connections wanted to reach older adults, figuring the music and movement would have the same advantages for them as for young children.

"I think it wakes up the brain," Henderson said of the program. "Music provides the stimulation and once you have the stimulation, you're more likely to move your limbs."

Moving your limbs gets blood circulating to all parts of your body - including your brain.

Henderson has a personal reason for developing the program.

"My grandmother (Ethna Hudson) gave me music as a child," Henderson recalled. "She sang to me, she paid for my piano lessons, she would sit with me as I played and she sang the songs of her ancestors. I saw how important those songs were to her in a nursing home and how I could connect with her through song.

"This (program) is a way for me to give back."

Kindermusik Village with Seniors basically takes an infant Kindermusik program and involves older adults.

The four pilot program sessions - conducted in the Heritage living room - involved about a dozen children up to 18 months old and their parents surrounded by about a dozen Heritage residents in chairs. For 45 minutes, Henderson led the group in a variety of songs designed to get everyone moving.

Some children and seniors stood and walked around - in some cases, with assistance. Others remained seated but moved their feet and some infants crawled around. Some sang. Others didn't. Some shook a musical instrument. Others just listened and watched. Younger infants did much of their moving with their parents' help.

But everyone was engaged at some level, Henderson said.

During the first class, one Heritage resident appeared not to notice what was going on until she heard a familiar song, Henderson recalled. She sang the entire song and even held one of the children for awhile.

"For a lot of the seniors, the songs (such as polkas, patriotic tunes and music based on nursery rhymes) trigger memories," Henderson said.

"Those elderly people know 'em by heart," Swailes, 61, said of the older residents and their love of classics, such as "You Are My Sunshine."

"They really enjoy these little kids," she continued. "They smile and hold out their hands and make comments. And the kids really react too. Some of 'em let me hold 'em for a few seconds but they're watching their moms, too."

Stalinski - who studied psychology in college - participated with her son because she knows how much music helps with development of children and older adults, she wants Joseph to socialize with other children and she wants him to grow up being comfortable in a nursing home.

"I volunteered at a nursing home in high school and college," she said, "and I want Joseph to hear the stories (of the residents)."

Benefits

Ashley Wall, activity director at Heritage Manor in Bloomington and a certified therapeutic recreational specialist, believes the pilot program, Kindermusik Village with Seniors, has resulted in several benefits to the seniors who participated:

Memory stimulation

Listening to and singing old songs and playing with infants brings back memories of happy times.

Physical activity

Seniors who clapped their hands, stomped their feet or moved around were getting some exercise and circulating blood to all parts of the body, including the brain.

Social connection

Some nursing home residents tend to isolate themselves. Participating in the class resulted in social interaction with fellow residents, the children and their parents.

"It helps the seniors to feel more connected to the community," she said.

Improved mood

Feeling connected with other people improves seniors' spirits.

"It means a lot when people want to hang out with them" - especially young people, Wall said.

"They love when young people come in, especially infants. It makes them happy. I think it's their energy. The babies generally are smiling and giggling."

Improved health

"When you're happier, you're going to be healthier."