Grandparent's Day

Activities   Links   Songs and Poems   Interviews


Online Activities

Grandparent's Day Crossword Puzzle
http://www.sunniebunniezz.com/puzzles/grandpkcr.htm

Grandparent's Day Word Search
http://www.sunniebunniezz.com/puzzles/grandpkws.htm

Grandparent's Day Deluxe Word Search
http://www.sunniebunniezz.com/puzzles/grandpdws.htm

Print and Send a Grandparent's Day Card
http://navyman15.tripod.com/

Send an Online Card to Your Grandparents
http://www.billybear4kids.com/post/grandparents/cards.html


Links

Websites for Grandparents and Grandchildren to Look At Together
http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/oz/Grand.html

The National Grandparents Council
http://www.grandparents-day.com/

ChildFun Ideas
http://childfun.com/themes/grand.shtml

Grandparent's Day Links
http://www.sunniebunniezz.com/holiday/grandpdylinks.htm

Annie's Grandparent's Day Links
http://www.annieshomepage.com/grandparentsdaylinks.html

Children's Books to Celebrate Grandparent's Day
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Forest/5675/grambooks.html

Grandparent's Day (projects and send a cyber greeting)
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Forest/5675/gram.html

Grandparent's Webring
http://www.cyberparent.com/gran/


Songs and Fingerplays

Grandma's Spectacles - Fingerplay

These are grandma's spectacles,
   (make circles around eyes with fingers)
This is grandma's hat. (use both hands and cup on head)
This is the way she folds her hands, (fold hands)
And puts them on her lap. (put hands in lap)
These are Grandpa's spectacles
This is Grandpa's hat
And this is the way he folds his arms
And THAT IS THAT!

*****

Do It For Grandma Song
Tune of Did You Ever See a Lassie

Let's clap our hands for Grandma,
for Grandma, for Grandma,
Let's clap our hands for grandma,
Let's clap them this way.

Clap this way and that way,
Clap this way and that way,
Let's clap our hands for Grandma
Let's clap them this way.

Have the children do the proper actions.
Use these other actions also: Let's stomp our feet, Let's nod our heads, etc.

*****

Let's Go See Our Grandparents
Tune: Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Let's go see our grandparents,
Take us there for a while.
Mommy and Daddy both need a break.
We'll play games and we'll stay up real late!

Oh, we want to thank our grandparents
For all the things that they do,
So it's time..to..say you're the best
And that we love you!

More Grandparent Songs
http://mrsjonesroom.com/songs/grandparents.html


Interviews

Ask students to bring in pictures of their grandparents as children. Create a bulletin board with these photos. See if the class can match the grandparents' photos to the correct classmate. It may help to have pictures of the students as well. This promotes an understanding of growing up and the aging process.

Have students take home a short list for grandparents to complete. Ask prices of candy bar, movies, etc. from their childhood days. Compare costs then and now. Use real money to demonstrate differences.

Sample Questions for 'Interviewing' Your Grandparents

1. Where were you born? What year?
2. What are the names and birthdates of your brothers and sisters?
3. Did you have a pet when you were growing up?
4. Did you get an allowance?
5. Who was more strict, your mom or dad?
6. What were your favorite games and activities?
7. What chores were assigned to you?
8. What did your house look like? Is it still the same?
9. Did your house have electricity when you were young?
10. What traditions did your family have?
11. Did your family have big reunions?
12. Did you like school? What kinds of grades did you get?
13. What were your favorite subjects?
14. When you were a teenager, what time did you have to be home at night?
15. How old were you when you met grandma/grandpa?
16. How old were you when you got married?
17. What was your first job?
18. Tell me about my mom/dad when he/she was growing up.
19. What makes you proud of my mom/dad?
20. Have you accomplished what you wanted in life?
21. What do you think the President should do for the country now?
22. What advice would you like to give me?

Another Interview

Have school age children interview their grandparents. Should include the following in their interview questions:

-Birth date
-Where did they grow up as children/teenagers/adults?
-Did they have both parents raising them?
-How many siblings?
-Did they have any pets?
-Who was their best friend as a youth/adult?
-Who was their favorite teacher?
-What is their favorite food?
-What did they do for fun as children/teenagers/adults?
-What scared them as a child/teenager/adult?
-What was their most embarrassing moment as a child?
-What was their funniest moment?
-What was their happiest moment?
-What was their saddest moment?
-What was their favorite music/group/band?
-What things do we have today that were not in existence when they were young?
-What was their first job?
-If they found a magic lamp w/a Genie granting 3 wishes what would they wish for?

Once the interview is over child(ren) can post the Q & A on poster boards with a picture of their grandparent(s) and themselves. Or the questions can be put into a story form.

Questions

1. Who makes up a family?

*Discuss terms such as grandfather, grandmother, sister, brother, father, mother, uncle… to help the children develop an understanding of their meanings.

*Discuss the meaning of family and how a family is made up. Be aware that this will have to be approached with some sensitivity as the stereotyped view of mum and dad with two children is unlikely to match the experiences of many children. This leads to the understanding that there are many different types of families.

2. What can a baby do and not do?

*Ask the children to bring something from home that they used to have when they were a baby such as, a bottle, picture, toy clothing etc. Have the children explain the purposes of each article and how they felt about them.

*Make a class chart of tasks and activities a baby can do and can not do. Illustrate the chart with pictures painted by the children and add captions such as 'When I was a baby I could …' 'When I was a baby I could not …'

3. Who helped us then and now?

*"When you were a baby, what did you need help with?" List the answers from the children.

*"Who helped you and how did they help? "List the answers. "When you were a little older and could walk, what did you still need help with? Who helped you?" "What do you still need help with now? Who helps you?" From the discussion have the children make and illustrate a Helping Chart.

*Make a list of ways the children can help other classmates.

4. What names do we call our family?

*Read some family books to the children eg Nana's in the Plum Tree, Helpers, Grandpa-Grandpa-Nana. Make this a shared reading experience and build up a list of names for grandparents and older members of the family. Many children will call relations by different names. Ask the children to take home a simple family tree to fill in, starting if possible with grandparents and ending up with themselves. Display the family trees and discuss. Have the children paint portraits of their grandparents and older friends and then write simple captions to go with the portraits.

5. Songs then and now

*Have the children ask their grandparents/older friends and parent what songs they used to sing at school. Learn and sing some of these songs, such as, Knees up Mother Brown, You Are My Sunshine

*If possible invite grandparents, extended family to come to school and teach the children one of their old favorite songs. Learn some modern songs to sing on Grandparents/Older Friends Day.

6. School today and yesterday

*Ask the children to find out where their grandparents/aunties/parents … went to school. Help the children locate these places on a large map. Invite several grandparents/older friends to school and have ready a list of questions that the children can ask to find out how school was different in those days.

*Find out if children who went to school in those times used electronic keyboards, tape recorders, big books, overhead projectors, the Internet?

*Find out how they traveled to school find out what clothes they wore. If possible have the children bring photographs to school to help them discuss the differences then and now. Find old school photographs.

*Make a big class wall picture/mural showing how school was different in our grandparents' days.

7. Grandparents/Older Friends Day

*Plan a major grandparent/older friends day for the class/school. Have the children write and illustrate exciting invitations to grandparents and extended family. Send out the invitations well in advance. Decide on how you will welcome the grandparents/older friends. Discuss the importance of manners and act these out in the classroom.

8. Draw and display concluding statements that reinforce attitudes, understandings, feelings, knowledge, and values developed by this unit. These could take the form of captions on a mural or display made with all the art work produced during the unit, eg 'Life is easier in families when we help and care for one another'. 'We can help each other by … ."


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