One of the first holidays of the new school year, Grandparents Day, is observed on second Sunday in September. With all the work to be done at the start of classes, have you had an opportunity to plan your celebration? If not, don't panic! The Web is your source for grand ideas for Grandparents Day!
Did you know that 4 million children in 3 million households are being
raised by their grandparents? Would you be surprised to learn that more
than 5 million children live in a household with a grandparent present?
It seems that grandmas and grandpas, formerly in the business of "spoiling"
grandchildren, are taking on additional responsibilities that involve
raising their children's children.
For all that those grandparents do, we celebrate the accomplishments
and contributions of our senior citizens on Grandparents Day. How will
you mark the occasion? If you haven't made your plans yet, have no fear!
The Web comes to your rescue with ten great activities for grateful kids!
Diana B. Wolan, a graduate student at Cornell University, organized
a program that brought children together with seniors through unusual
mediators. "The Pet Patrol project was a collaboration between Cornell
Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, Trumansburg Ulysses Joint Youth
Commission, and Trumansburg Central Schools," she explained. "This was
an after-school program at Trumansburg Middle School. The students received
training from an RSVP [Retired and Senior Volunteer Program] volunteer
who helped prepare them for their visit to Lakeside Nursing Home."
Much preparation was required before the students made an "official"
visit to the nursing home. "Through role-plays and activities, the students
learned about the special needs of some of the people they would be visiting,"
said Wolan. "They toured the facility and became familiar with the routines
and procedures of the building. They also received training from SPCA
[Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals] staff who bring animals
weekly to the nursing home as part of a pet therapy project. The students
learned about the kinds of animals that make good visitors, how to handle
them, and how to approach the seniors with the pets. Some of the young
people screened their own pets to see if they would be appropriate. Following
training, the students, adult volunteers, and parents -- and quite a menagerie
of pets -- visited the nursing home."
The visit was rewarding for all involved. The presence of the students
brightened the day for the residents. "Because the SPCA already has a
program at this particular nursing home, the seniors expected to see the
pets," explained Wolan. "What they didn't expect was the visit from the
children. That was a nice surprise for many of them, and the hospital
staff carefully steered the children toward rooms where the children were
able to talk to the seniors. The pets provided a nice icebreaker to start
conversations."
"The children were really pleased at how interested some of the seniors
were in talking to them about their animals and how comfortable the animals
were -- especially the cat that fell asleep on people's laps!" Wolan reported.
"One young man said, 'I think it's really sad that they [nursing home
residents] have to leave their pets when they come live here.'"
Wolan recommends activities such as this to open the eyes of students
to the contributions of senior citizens. "I think it's important for young
people to see seniors in many different roles, not just as patients in
a nursing home. In this program, youths were trained by senior volunteers
who lead very active lives. There are many seniors who have unique skills
and interests that can be brought into the classroom. Inviting seniors
in to lead an activity, share a hobby, or volunteer are ways for students
to interact with older people."
Grandparents Go Back to School. Many schools invite students
to bring their grandparents with them to school at least one day during
the year. The experience is enjoyable for students, grandparents, and
teachers! What can you do once everyone is assembled? One teacher, Cheryl
H., submitted an excellent idea for Grandparents
Day to the Teachers.Net
Lesson Bank. She suggests creating two quizzes -- one for the grandparents
and one for your students. On the students' quiz, include questions about
terminology from the past. Have your students help you make the grandparents'
quiz about terminology from today. Pass out the quizzes on the day of
the visit, and discuss the differences in language between the age groups.
The answers will keep you in stitches!
If you have students who do not have a grandparent able to attend
the activities, invite them to bring a special senior, a neighbor, a relative,
a mom, or a dad.
Another suggestion is to hold a grandparents tea. Combine the activity
with a lesson on good manners for younger students, and your class will
have a chance to show off its best behavior. Older students might enjoy
planning a "senior" prom for elderly community members with old songs
and memorabilia.
Grandparent Interview. Put your newshounds to work on a great
story -- an interview with a senior citizen! Brainstorm a list of questions
with the class, or use Education World's Interview
with a Super Senior Teaching Master. More questions can be found at
Sample
Questions for "Interviewing" Your Grandparents on the official Grandparents
Day site. If your students are too young to write the answers on paper,
have them tape their interviews. Oral history can be even more effective
than written! You will find a primary lesson plan that involves interviewing
at Grandparents
Day (scroll down to page 18). Incorporate math and science into the activity with Family
Fuel Facts Reporter. Find ideas for creating a questionnaire at Developing
Relationships with Older People.
Great Greeting Cards. Have your students send a personalized
message to their grandparents or other seniors. You will find links to
many types of cards that can be made in the classroom at Home-Made
Greeting Cards. If your students have grandparents who are on-line,
have them send e-mail messages with Blue Mountain's Animated
Electronic Greeting Cards for Grandparents Day. Another terrific way
to show appreciation for seniors is with Worry
Stones. Wrap the stones in tissue paper with a special message, and
they make adorable, thoughtful gifts! If a card is simply not enough,
take the assignment a step farther and have your students write letters
expressing their appreciation for the support of their grandparents or
other people in their lives.
Mapping Nonna and Opa. Can you say grandma and grandpa in Italian?
Use this list of words that kids use for grandparents in other
countries as a mapping activity with your class. Print out the World
Map, and have your students find the countries and label them on their
sheets. Use the outline map with older students and a regular map with
the countries labeled for younger students. To make the assignment more
complex, have your students research the words in an on-line translation
dictionary such as iTools (scroll down to Language Tools) to try to determine where they are used. These words refer to grandma and grandpa in the following countries:
- Poland -- Babcia and Dziadek,
- Germany -- Oma and Opa,
- India -- Nana-ji and Nani-ji,
- Korea -- Halmonee and Halabujee,
- Greece -- Ya-ya and Pa-pu,
- Japan -- Oba-chan and Oji-chan,
- China -- Popo and Gong-gong,
- Italy -- Nonna and Nonno,
- Israel -- Savta and Saba,
- Cuba -- Abuelita and Abuelito.
Visit a Nursing Home. Did you know that 60 percent of nursing
home residents never have a visitor? Schedule a field trip to a local
nursing home, and have your students adopt "grandparents" or "secret pals"
to cheer. As a pick-me-up, they may bring handmade Placemats
for the seniors. (See another placemat idea.) Students and residents may teach one another about hobbies
they enjoy or read books and stories together. As a part of this activity,
create a Forget-Me-Not
bulletin board for your classroom or school. Be advised that visiting
a nursing home may not be appropriate for all students. It is important
to remind students that though some seniors require care, many do not,
and they lead productive, independent lives.
Family Tree. Grandparents Day is the perfect time for students
to study their family trees. Family
Tree Chart and My
Family Tree will help your students organize their relatives to illustrate
their ancestral history. This is a great activity for students to complete
with their grandparents. Older students can go further with their research
and use sites such as Genealogy.com
and Ancestry.com
to find their long-lost roots. Post a world map in your classroom, and
have the students mark the countries in which their ancestors lived.
Graphing the Ages. Your students can illustrate the median ages
of people in regions of the United States or by state with the data found
at Estimates
of the Median Age of the Population for the U.S. Where does your state
stand in the larger national picture? Access more data from the U.S.
Census Bureau, including statistics about American households and
changes in population.
Poems for Grandma and Grandpa. Invite your students to share
their thoughts about grandparents poetically. Their work may be serious,
humorous, or fanciful. Examples from the Internet include At
Grandma's House and Sammy
Snake's Grandpa by "Grandpa" Tucker. Consider having your students
write poems or create artwork; you can find some samples to motivate them
in the contest resources at National
Grandparents Day. (Note: The contests have not been run in several
years, but the samples are available for viewing.)
Bag of Fun. Gather a few materials and put them in bags for students
to take with them and share with their grandparents or a senior friend.
You might use paper lunch bags and have your students decorate them with
crayons or markers. You might include the Hand
in Hand Activity and some of the Grandmother
or Grandfather
coloring sheets. Other possible items for the bags might be student-made
stories or books, cards, tea bags or hot chocolate mix, cookies you have
made or decorated in class, a favorite classroom song, and any other items
that encourage students to share. Mature students may create a portfolio
of their class work and take a favorite book to a scheduled visit with
their grandparents.
Vaudeville Performance. Read Song
and Dance Man, by Karen Ackerman, to your class. This is the story
of a grandpa who entertains his grandchildren with an impromptu Vaudeville
show from props stored in an old trunk. Talk about the various types of
performers -- dancers, comedians, magicians, and singers -- and have your
students separate into groups and orchestrate their own short skits. You,
or an especially outgoing student, may serve as the master of ceremonies.
Hold a dress rehearsal after a few days of practice, and invite grandparents
to attend a command performance in the classroom.
For more book resources for Grandparents Day, check out the list Books to Celebrate Grandparents Day. A popular story used by many classroom teachers is Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge, by Mem Fox. Curriculum suggestions for the book can be found at Book Bridges: A Family Literacy Program. In the young adult category, Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer is a favorite. Find out more about the author at The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books: Joan Bauer. For young children, there are few better stories about grandparents than Just Grandma and Me, by Mercer Mayer.
Growing
Older FACETS
The American Chemical Society offers the unit "Growing Older," a module
about the changes associated with aging for students in grades 6 through
8. Find out how to obtain it by mail.
National Academy
for Teaching and Learning about Aging
Fill out an on-line form to obtain a 24-page booklet on aging.
AARP
Read about the issues most important to the elderly in the United States
today.
Article by Cara Bafile
Education World®
Copyright © 2007 Education World
Originally published 09/06/1999
Links last updated 08/20/2007
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