In January 2027, a group of toddlers in Fort Smith will spend part of their school day learning from people old enough to be their great-grandparents. They’ll read stories together, make art side by side, and share laughter across generations that rarely cross paths in everyday life. The Village Early Learning Center, whose motto is “Rooted in Care, Growing in Knowledge,” is a new endeavor by local nonprofit Methodist Village Senior Living, designed to intentionally connect some of the community’s youngest residents with some of its oldest.
The learning center will have a staff of nineteen, with space for 134 children ranging from infants to age five. Along with traditional lessons such as colors, numbers, and letters, the children will spend time outdoors discovering the names of birds and trees, creating art and music, and building confidence through age-appropriate play. An indoor climbing wall and slide leading to the gym will encourage movement, while daily interactions with Methodist Village residents will introduce something far more rare: relationships that span generations.
Melissa Curry, MVSL CEO, says the idea of intentionally linking a senior living community with an early education center is rare, especially in this part of the country. In researching similar programs, she found very few models to follow – which, instead of limiting, became an opportunity to build something entirely new. The curriculum for The Village will draw from several faith-based frameworks, with a strong emphasis on nature, teamwork, and learning through shared experiences.
For Melissa, the vision behind The Village is also deeply personal. Dementia has touched her family twice, first with her grandmother, and now with her father, shaping the way she sees aging, memory, and the importance of meaningful connection. As both a mother and a grandmother herself, she understands what it means to stand on both sides of the generational divide, and believes few things are more powerful than creating space for those worlds to meet.
A $1 million anonymous gift helped turn the long-held idea into a real possibility, jump-starting what would become a $2.2 million project supported by hundreds of additional community donors. The concept itself dates back to 2018, when MVSL board member Charlie Wohlford suggested using land owned by the organization to build an early learning center near the senior living campus, close enough to feel like part of everyday life, not a separate destination. The site sits just steps from Carol Ann Cross Park, in a part of town already shaped by care and community.
For several years, the plan remained just that: a hopeful idea waiting for the right moment. Then in 2024, Bost closed its South Seventy-fourth Street location, reopening a door that had once seemed firmly shut. Because Methodist Village had originally donated the land to the city decades earlier, Melissa reached out to ask if the property could be returned for use as a community resource.
“The City Board was so supportive of having the daycare for the community,” she says. “There are not enough high-quality, affordable daycares in Arkansas — or really, across the United States.” With the land secured, the vision shifted from building something entirely new to breathing life into existing structures, allowing The Village to move forward sooner than anyone had imagined.
With each new hurdle crossed, enthusiasm grew, not just within the organization, but across the community. Again and again, research shows that meaningful connections between older adults and children lead to greater emotional well-being for both groups. Seniors often rediscover a sense of purpose and belonging and are less lonely, while children benefit from patient mentorship, deeper communication skills, and the kind of steady, compassionate relationships that quietly shape who they become.
Plus, there’s the happiness factor, the simple, everyday joy that comes from shared moments. “The kids will come and visit with our residents,” Melissa says. “They have so much wisdom they can instill. And our assisted living residents can go visit the kids and have story time. It’s so healthy for both age groups.”
The renderings show light-filled rooms designed to balance energy and calm, cozy spaces for children who want quiet time with books or art projects, alongside open areas where they can move freely, explore, and simply be kids.
“We’ll have two sections for classrooms, and then we’ll have a building that’s a huge gym with one large room specifically for art and music,” Melissa says. “We have many residents who are artists and others who are musicians.”
Melissa smiles as she describes the scene. Seasoned professionals sit beside the children, paintbrushes or musical instruments in hand, sharing skills that once defined their own lives. The Village will offer a full-circle experience, with children in the spring of their lives learning from adults in the autumn of theirs.
But for Melissa, the mission of The Village goes even deeper than intergenerational connection. She hopes the children will also grow in their faith, learning how to navigate life’s challenges with resilience, compassion, and a sense of purpose.
“We want to teach children how to cope,” she says. “When they’re struggling, we want them to know they can look to God for strength. I’ve seen firsthand how hard it can be when people feel disconnected, especially after COVID, and I believe faith plays an important role in helping people move through life with hope.”
Alongside spiritual growth, Melissa also values practical life lessons, from responsibility to simple daily routines. She believes small habits, like learning to help and contribute at a young age, can quietly shape confident, capable adults.
Melissa is encouraged by the community’s response. She’s already taking calls from people who want to get involved and from families eager to learn more about The Village. While not all the details have been finalized, she says the goal is to keep rates affordable, with a ten-percent discount offered to military and healthcare families, as well as to children of Methodist Village Senior Living employees.
The Village plans to operate from six in the morning until seven-thirty at night, with hopes of eventually expanding hours to better serve families who work night shifts. A summer program for certain school-aged children is also being discussed, along with long-term goals of offering scholarships for families who may not qualify for government assistance but still need financial support.
One of Melissa’s current priorities is building a highly trained team who will nurture and guide the children at The Village. She’s also paying close attention to the evolving needs of Fort Smith, including early education options for families of the additional personnel expected at Ebbing Air National Guard Base as training expands for F-35s and F-16s.
March 2026 marks the sixty-fifth year Methodist Village Senior Living has served the community. Today, the campus is home to 196 residents and supported by a team of 236 employees. Melissa speaks with deep appreciation for her staff, noting that few things bring them more joy than sharing good news with the residents. When they announced that The Village was officially in the works, she says, it might as well have been Christmas.
In less than a year, the residents of Methodist Village will grow accustomed to the laughter of children, their curious questions, and their abundant hugs. It’s certainly not the norm for a senior living community, but it couldn’t be a more welcome surprise.
To learn more about The Village Early Learning Center or to support the project, visit methodistvillage.com.
