Grandparent's Day Fun in Mrs. Russell's Room

Today I'd like to talk to you about a celebration that is near and dear to my heart!

Grandparent's Day! :)

These two fine folk above are MY grands! :) Both are now, of course, with the Lord...but while they were around, they were a hoot! :) My granddad was really great with numbers and had an easy going personality.  He taught me how to play cards! :)

My grandmother had a love of cooking and everyone came by in the summers to try out what was coming from her kitchen!  She also was a green thumb and had the most beautiful rose garden!  She grew other kinds of helpful plants in the backyard and had lots of pets too! :)  They spoiled me to DEATH and it was AWESOME! :)

 The picture on the left was being taken right before we left Panama.  You can tell I wasn't all that thrilled...and neither was grandma! LOL! :/  The picture on the right might have been my first summer there.  I think I was three?  My mom will probably read this and correct me! LOL!

I loved spending time with them in the summers.  I was the only grandchild for a long time, and I really had a great opportunity to get to know them.

In my adult life, my godmother's mom has been my Gram!
She picked right up where my other grandparents left off!  They were all good friends from childhood, so it worked out! :) From her, I learned to love Jesus and to share my life with others authentically.  She's been there for all the 'big things' you need a grandparent for...and even all the little things too! :)  When I wanted to move to Florida, she let me live with her so I could get my bearings.  When the K class I interned in was having a program, she and Pajak (my gramps) came to see it!  They were so precious! :)  They are so proud of how many teachers there are in the family!
The fun of being with my grands is something I enjoy recreating for my learners in the classroom.

Each year, I do a Grandparents Day event.  I like to show the grands what their babies have learned to this point in the year, and also have them spend time working with them on things in the classroom.  I usually have them in the room with me for an hour before lunch.  Then I ask them to stay and have lunch with the kids if they are able.  Here's the schedule for what I did!

I hope you'll be encouraged to do a few of these ideas yourself with your learners! :)

I promise...it will bring such joy to your students and their grandparents, too! :)

1. First, share photos of your students in action!

I sent two of my students to the office to pick up the grandparents. :)  As soon as they sat down, I had them take a look at a few Flipogram videos I'd put together.  Flipogram is a free app that you can put on your phone.  All you need to do is put the pictures of your students in it, and then you can even add some fun music to go along with it.

2. Next up, poetry!

Each week, the students and I learn a new poem.  I have a system where we mark the text daily for different things.  Since we'd practiced two poems this year already, they were ready to be recited.  The students did a great job in sharing from their poetry journals! :)

Download these free poems on TPT by clicking HERE.

3. Follow that up with some songs!

I used the Grandparent's Day song in the pack I found on TPT written by Kindergarten Squared.  It's a cute little number to the tune of 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'.  The kids learned it quickly and the grandparents loved it! :)  We also sang some of the songs we've been learning to help with behavior.  I LOVE Heidi Songs!  Have you heard of her?  I found her on You Tube and I just recently purchased her classroom management CD.  I have no idea what I did without her for the last 18 years...but the NEXT 18 in my career will be FULL of her music!  Oh my soul!  You Tube doesn't even have some of her 'greatest hits'! :) You've got to check her out friends! :)

Go to Heidi's site by clicking HERE.

4. Next, play a game.

The roll a grandparent game in the Kindergarten Squared Pack was to DIE FOR! :) The kids loved it.  It was hilarious to listen to the dialog at the tables.  The goal is to roll a certain amount so that they can draw a picture of the grandparent.  It was so funny when they couldn't get that 'just right number' to finish up...and then to hear the cheers from the table when they finally did...or grandma just said...'it's okay honey...just go ahead and draw that part anyway'! #priceless

Looking for this product?  Pick it up HERE on TPT.

5. Take lots of pictures of them interacting.

Years later, these types of pictures will mean so much to the children!  Take as many as you can! :)

6. Show your silly side!

I had the children sing a Go Noodle song to tell the grandparents about the importance of movement and brain breaks for the children.  We sang 'A Moose-Ta-Cha'.  The kids were HILARIOUS and the grands enjoyed seeing us all cut up a bit! :)  If you're not familiar with Go Noodle, it's a free brain break website for kids!  There are such fun videos on there that get kids up and moving!  If you have elementary aged kiddos you have GOT to try it out! :)

7. Tie the activities into learning.

As much as grandparents love to make cookies and give their grandchildren milk. I have found that they really enjoy seeing that their grandkids are LEARNING things of value in the classroom too.  This week, we started reading groups and I had the grandparents work on finishing up a comprehension sheet with text coding.  The kids did fantastic, and the grandparents were so excited about how well the children could read.  There was so much affirmation going on during that part of the day! :)

All in all, we had a wonderful time together.  The grandparents had a morning to love on their grandkids and even though there were a few tears when the grandparents left, we made some wonderful memories that will be a treasure in years to come! :)  

I hope you'll try having a Grandparent's Day event in your classroom!  It truly is a special time!


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