'Good medicine': playgroup brings generational joy
But now there's an extra reason she looks forward to these special bonding times - she attends the Marra Elders Playgroup, which started only a few weeks ago but has already won her heart.
"I call it good medicine," Lisa told AAP.
The benefits are multiple.
Her granddaughter, whose great grandparents live some distance away, instead gets to learn from the other Elders in the group but so too does Lisa love the opportunity to yarn with them.
"I didn't grow up around a lot of my own Elders because my Elders were already passed away," she said.
"This has been a great opportunity for myself to be able to learn and listen as well."
Many families don't have access to Elders for various reasons, says Ingrid Coad, manager of the Aboriginal Elders Village in Adelaide, where the playgroup is run.
But the Elders at the village relish being able to pass down stories and language to not only the littlest attendees of the playgroup but the generations between too.
"They're actually teaching the little ones in Pitjantjatjara the heads, shoulders, knees and toes song," Ms Coad said.
"They're also teaching the mums and the grandmothers and the residents who don't speak Pitjantjatjara, they're also learning those words."
Each fortnight at the playgroup, run in collaboration with Aboriginal Community Services, Playgroup SA and local cultural community centre Marra Dreaming, the Elders and the children come together for painting, cooking, storytelling, music and weaving activities.
"For our Elders, this exciting new program brings joy, purpose and connection, reducing isolation and celebrating their vital role in raising strong, culturally connected children," said Graham Aitken, chief executive of Aboriginal Community Services, which runs the village.
"This is a true community approach where young and old come together to support one another, learn from each other and build strong, inclusive communities."
The playgroup has run for about a month but Ms Coad has already noticed the difference it has made to the residents of the only First Nations aged care home in Adelaide.
"We have a lot of residents who have various stages of dementia and when they see the little ones you can see their smiles," she said.
"They laugh with them, they interact with with the little ones, they're less anxious.
"It's as if they're seeing their own grannies so that's one of the benefits, the joy of seeing the little ones playing with them.
"It's so nice."
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