Some 90 third-graders from Saratoga's Argonaut Elementary School spent part of their morning singing to local seniors on Feb. 8 as part of their curriculum on Saratoga's history. As they have for the past eight years, the students visited the Saratoga Senior Center to learn about who makes up their neighborhood.

"Part of the third grade is learning about the community and the things that make a community work," said third-grade teacher Gail McCauley, whose idea it was several years ago to take students to visit seniors. "They learn that everyone within the community is someone important."

McCauley said she uses activity hubs such as the senior center, as well as the post office and downtown, to teach her students about places where residents go for services.

"We study why we live here," she said.

McCauley and the three other third-grade teachers at the school have been using the trip to the senior center to kick off a unit on Saratoga's history. Students learn about where Saratoga is located, about the city's Ohlone past and about how Saratoga and the Santa Clara Valley have transformed their agricultural roots to their high-tech face. Trips to the Saratoga Historical Museum and the Fallon House in downtown San Jose, which illustrates life at the turn of the 20th century, will also teach about local history.

Because the timing of the unit coincided with Valentine's Day, the children made valentine cards and performed songs for the seniors. While their teachers had curriculum and local history on their minds, the children were mostly concerned with making sure they hit their notes just right.

"I was a little nervous," Arathi Sabada said. "I was scared we were going to mess up."

Teachers said some students were nervous about visiting the seniors and what they would look like. Are they in wheelchairs? Do they have tubes attached to them? McCauley said she eased their nerves by informing them they are no different from their grandparents.

"We tell them it's like singing for someone else's grandma," McCauley said.

With the seniors already seated for lunch, the students filed into the room, forming a sea of red and pink around them. With their songbooks in hand, they belted out songs of love and friendship, and on cue, they pulled out their artwork--cards with cutout hearts and doilies--to give to the seniors.

The students seemed to be a hit with the seniors, who commended them on their enthusiasm as singers.

"They were excellent, and it was refreshing because they're young and we're old," said longtime Saratoga resident Teri Hornig.

Roy Cook, who has lived in Saratoga for 40 years, said the performance made him reflect.

"It makes us think of the past. This makes me think back to when I was their age," Cook said.

Cook showed off the card he received to those sitting around him at the lunch table and couldn't stop laughing about it. "Kiss me. Love me," the front of the card read. In the corner was a second note: "Don't do it really." Cook flipped to the inside of the card. "Happy Valentine's Day. P.S. You look younger."

"Younger than what?" said Cook, with a slap to his knee. "I got the best card."