Recently, I asked several homeschool families for their feedback. What, in their opinions, are the best ways to be a good grandmother to homeschoolers (or grandfather). I am so excited to share with your a compilation of their responses! If you are the grandparent of homeschooled grandchildren, looking for ways to be involved, I know you'll find some inspiration in this practical list, homeschool created, and homeschool approved:
Things homeschoolers appreciate from their grandparents:
- Paying for membership to the zoo, botanical gardens or the aquarium.
- Curriculum as birthday presents.
- Teaching the kids history and/or genealogy (family history).
- Buying books and curriculum and school supplies.
- Teaching them about historical and world events they have lived through.
- Tutoring them on areas they know about.
- Camping with the family and helping with hands on learning.
- Taking the kids on field trips and to the zoo or museums.
- Letting the kids help out (real life experience) in their business.
- Supporting the decision to homeschool, without telling us how to do it.
- Sending subscriptions to educational magazines.
- Providing music lessons.
- Teaching them sewing and cooking, gardening, wood working (home economics and “extra” classes).
- Watching the littles while mom/dad teaches the biggers.
- Taking the kids for a few hours to give parents a date or adult time.
From a Homeschool Grandmother's Heart:
Sandi O. is a homeschool Grandmother who is really involved and has a burden for homeschool moms. She has this advice to share with other Grandparents:
“I feel blessed to be close to my daughter and son in law and I am able to have days with the girls a few times a week. I like to take them to the library, do gardening, home making, parks, bible lessons, etc. I try to be available for my daughter, to take the little one in the mornings so she can teach the older one and have it be more focused time.
“As a grand parent, all I can say is BE THERE . Spiritually and physically. Give mom an hour or two to her self once a week. There is no reason why the children can't take their school work to grandma's house once a week for a few hours so mom can actually have time to breathe, or go grocery shopping, or have coffee with a friend. We all need breaks through out the day, and that includes homeschool moms too.
“I also print out a lot of unit studies and work sheets to keep at my house, along with very inexpensive books from sales at the libraries, and full supply of school supplies. In the event my daughter is sick, or needs a break, the kids can come here and still have school. It breaks up their routine too. I also give her ten sick days that she can use for any reason at any time during the school year. Teachers get benefits, why not homeschooling parents?
“On their first day of school I bring over a gift bag full of goodies for the teacher: chocolate, Tylenol, coupons to use for her sick days, a ceramic apple and sometimes I will deliver dinner all cooked for them.
“I would like our church to have a special MOM's day for all the homeschool moms. We could get the mature ladies to work in the nursery and to watch/ play with/ mentor the children while the moms go out for a few hours. We could serve a continental breakfast and tell them to come back at noon.
“The most important way to support them: Keep the homeschool parents in prayer, lift them up daily, because they are raising the next generation.”
If you are a grandparent and don't have homeschool grandchildren around, some of this advice still applies to any grandchildren.
And if you don't have any grandchildren close at all, why not reach out to some of the children/families you do know? Many a mother is longing for mentorship, and many a child longs for meaningful interaction with an adult.
Who has God placed in your sphere of influence because they need your love, and need you teach them of God and his love?
Don't miss this post:
And if you're looking for gifts for the upcoming Grandparents Day, check out this list.
Traci Luedtke says
Thank you so much for all the wonderful advice!! I have three children, all of whom I have home schooled and now my oldest daughter is pregnant with my first grandchild!! I want to be the Grandma that my two Grandmas were to me. My Dads Mom was the one my cousin and I loved to stay overnight with. She always read a bedtime story to us and made sure we all tucked in at night when we were little, she made special salads for us that didn’t have “yucky” vegetables on them like the adult salads, made delicious tea and taught us to appreciate it, even though it was more cream and sugar than tea, gave us the love of gardening and sewing, taught us that the love of family always came first and last but not least, made sure that the candy cabinet was something to look forward to when we were getting ready to leave and not for just anytime we wanted. My Moms Mom was a snuggler when I was little and loved to hold hands all the time, even as a teenager and it was embarrassing to be seen that way, but I would endure it as I lived so far from her and didn’t get to see her everyday and knew that it would hurt her feelings to tell her how I cringed inside to be seen holding the hand of my grandma as the age of 16! As I grew older I valued her opinion of life more and more, especially when I had my own children and watched how she loved each of them in her own special way. She gave the love the of crochet, sewing and cooking to me to teach to my girls, the love of reading also came from her. She was ALWAYS there to just listen and never judge and knew we would always do the same. We were each others best friend and when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s it broke my heart to watch her lose her memory little bit by little bit, but at the same time made me love her all the more when even though she didn’t remember me, she remembered my oldest daughter. She made my babies feel special, just as she made me feel special and though she is no longer with us, she is felt in the everyday things that we do and is so very much missed. I just wanted to share this as you gave so much time with the posts about grandparents and how they can be an influence in the lives of their grandchildren. Thanks again and keep up the great work!!
Katie Hornor says
Traci, Thank so much for sharing all of those great memories! Grandparents truly do have a special place and role to play in the lives of their grandchildren.