A Decade of Counting, Pegging and Connecting Through Cribbage

It’s been 10 years since community volunteer Sue Schultz and Stillwater Area Public School teacher Rachel Klancher came up with the idea to invite senior citizens to play cribbage with fourth-graders. It started as a way to bring seniors into a school to interact with children, and has grown to become an engaging way for students to put into practice their emerging math skills.

“The kids are so excited when their cribbage friends come to visit,” said Stacy Maddox, Rutherford Elementary teacher. “I told them once that this will really help with their math skills and one of the kids said, ‘No way. This is too much fun to be math.’”

Each month, more than 40 volunteers from across the St. Croix Valley break into groups to visit three elementary schools – Rutherford, Afton-Lakeland and Andersen. The first few visits of the year are spent teaching the students the rules of the game – from counting points to pegging around the board - but they quickly turn into lively and competitive games.

“It’s really fun and challenging,” said Mara, a Rutherford fourth-grader.

“And they (the volunteers) are really nice and helpful,” added her classmate, Kendra.

When looking around the classroom at the groups of cribbage players, it hard to tell who is having more fun – the students or the volunteers. Smiles and laughter disguise the learning that is taking place.

“The students are just so motivated to learn,” Maddox said. “This gives all students, even those with special needs, an arena to be successful. Everyone can interact and connect with their classmates and the volunteers. They all have so much fun.”