How to Celebrate Grandparents Day in the Classroom

Grandparents and grandchildren have a special relationship, one full of love and without censor or sometimes, discipline. Grandparents love to spend time with their grandchildren, and getting to attend school with them, and experience that part of their life, is a special treat. Set aside a day in your classroom to celebrate the unique and meaningful relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren by using the ideas below.

Things You'll Need

• Materials to make invitations
• Extra chairs

Instructions

1. Create invitations. Have the students make special invitations or cards, inviting the grandparents to spend the day or half a day, with them. If you have younger students, consider typing up the important part of the invitation and gluing it inside of the card. Decorate with stickers, markers, or both.

2. Plan a special lunch. If you can fit it into your schedule, plan a longer lunch so that the grandparents can sit and enjoy some leisurely lunchtime conversation with their grandchildren. If the weather outside is nice, consider a picnic, but be sure to provide some chairs for those grandparents who may be uncomfortable sitting on the ground. A potluck lunch is always great, because most grandmas love to cook for their grandchildren.

3. Plan a special program. Have small groups of students read poems about grandparents, or read a story aloud about their grandparents that they have written. Sing a few songs for the guests as well. The grandparents will be thrilled, even if you have a classroom full of tone-deaf children.

4. Show off their work and school. Set aside a little bit of time for the students to share their schoolwork with their grandparents. Save some worksheets the week before in a folder for each child, and let the students show them to their grandparents along with their textbooks. Then, take the grandparents on a tour of the school.

5. Let the grandparents share. Ask if any of the grandparents would like to share what school was like for them when they were children. The students will be amazed at the differences and the similarities as well.

Tips & Warnings

• See if you can get a parent volunteer to help organize the day. Also, check to see if the school has extra chairs you can borrow. If not, have the students sit on the floor.

• Some students may not have grandparents who can attend. You may want to make it a day when they can bring a grandparent or special guest instead of just grandparents.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Poems about grandparents written by children
• A list of read-aloud books about grandparents