Did you know that there is a nationally recognized holiday the first Sunday after Labor Day every year? Since 1970, and thanks to the tireless efforts of a woman named Marian McQuade, that day is known as National Grandparents Day. McQuade, a mother of 15 from West Virginia, campaigned to politicians across the nation to enact a special day for honoring, visiting and spending quality time with elderly relatives.
As a culture, we do not revere our elderly nearly as much as we should, especially in comparison to other nations around the world. This is a great day to talk to your kids about how special and important their grandparents are. Chances are they have some amazing stories to tell—stories of courage, adventure, perseverance, all qualities we hope our children develop over their lifetimes. Also, although they may be reluctant to admit it, many elderly are quite lonely. Often widowed, confined to their homes and unable to do the physical activities they once enjoyed, they would probably revel in spending a day (in their honor!) with their grandchildren. Below are some ideas on how to make this year’s Grandparents Day memorable for your children, as well as for their grandparents.
Questionnaire
Have your children create a questionnaire prior to the visit. What would they like to know about their grandfather or grandmother? A few suggestions: What was your childhood like? What was your first job? What was your favorite subject in school? What was your favorite game to play? A great addition to this activity is to find and look through old photographs. Bring them to the visit and ask who all the people are in the pictures.
Heritage Celebration
Celebrate your heritage with the grandparents! If your family lineage is Swedish, make a Swedish meal, learn Swedish words, make Swedish costumes and learn and perform a Swedish dance. You can either create and plan the festivities and surprise the grandparents or organize the activities together. If you choose the latter, the grandparents get the opportunity to teach your children about their culture throughout all of the preparations.
Bingo!
Who doesn’t love bingo? If the grandparents live in a senior center, chances are your kids can accompany them to bingo at their residence. If not, you and your children can take them to a community bingo hall or create bingo to do with them at home.
A list of bingo halls throughout Kansas: www.KansasBingo.com A list of Bingo halls throughout Missouri: StatewideBingoHallDirectory.com Website with printable bingo sheets for at-home bingo: MyFreeBingoCards.com
A Handwritten Letter
Do your children’s grandparents live far away? Have them send a handwritten letter and ask to be pen pals. Grandma and Grandpa will love receiving a real letter from your kids in the mail. (They also can do the questionnaire via snail mail.)
Grandparents Day at School
Including Grandma and Grandpa in your children’s school activities is a must! Ask the teachers and principal how you could use this opportunity to make Sept. 7 special for the students and their grandparents. Many of the ideas on this list would be perfectly appropriate for a Grandparents Day celebration at school. Beforehand, the children could write their letters and/or prepare the questionnaire. The day of, they could play bingo, conduct the interview and have a heritage celebration with Grandma and Grandpa!
A Day Out with Grandma or Grandpa
Have your children take a grandparent out for the afternoon. They could take a walk through the arboretum, Powell Gardens, the zoo or even a local park, and have a picnic lunch. This may require advance planning and transportation if a grandparent is wheelchair bound. But do not let that deter you! Knowing you and your children put forth extra effort to get Grandma or Grandpa out into the fresh air will mean a great deal to them.
Happy Grandparents Day!
Karen Johnson is a former high school English teacher turned stay-at-home mom. She lives in Olathe with her three children ages 5, 3 and 1. Follow her adventures at www.21stCenturySAHM.blogspot.com.