Grandparents’ Involvement in Homeschooling
A grandparent’s involvement in homeschooling a child can be such a wonderful thing!
Grandparents often hold so much knowledge, experience and wisdom! They can pass some of this down to their grandchildren in a way of extra homeschooling.
Sometimes children are homeschooled by people other than their parents, such as grandparents, aunts/uncles, neighbors, and even older siblings! This article focuses on ways that grandparents can be involved in homeschooling the children when they are not the primary teacher.
Many of these suggestions my kids’ grandparents actually do to help with teaching my children, while some of these are things that friends’ parents do to help out.
Of course the things on this list are subject to the grandparents interests and expertise. If none of these suit what they’d like to teach then I would simply suggest teaching something that interests them! Something they are good at or passionate about!
Really, what this list comes down to is – spend time with them. Whether you have a planned out topic you want to teach them about or not, teaching them through experiences and conversation is likely to be the best course of action.
Okay, I’ll quit rambling, let’s get to the list!
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Grandparents Involvement in Homeschooling
Teach life skills!
This is my favorite thing that grandparents can teach their grandchildren! No doubt that my parents know so much more about this world than I do, so who better to teach my children life skills than they.
This could be anything from cooking/baking to how to use power tools to how to garden!
Check out this article for more ideas on specific things grandparents can teach kids!
Do unit studies!
Unit studies are a great way for grandparents to really roll their sleeves up and teach the kiddos in depth about something interesting!
Unit studies are usually done in science, history, and sometimes art.
What are unit studies? Unit studies are overviews of a specific topic or theme that incorporate multiple subject areas into the study plan.
For example: If you do a science unit study on birds you may talk about the anatomy of the birds, their lifecycle, their habitats, their behaviors, and how they impact the earth. Don’t forget to include a craft or art project to make it extra fun!
You can create your own unit study, or you can use premade curriculum. Our favorite science unit studies to use are from The Good and The Beautiful. I’ve also found tons of great unit studies on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Play with them!
One of the biggest ways that children learn is simply though conversation and play! A child can learn so much through role play and various short conversations with someone as wise and knowledgable as a grandparent. Allow them to ask questions, and do your best to answer them honestly and thoroughly.
Help them get some extra socialization!
A big part of homeschooling is socialization and experiences. The kids aren’t sitting in a classroom with tons of other kids so as homeschoolers we also have to find ways to socialize our kiddos.
Taking the kids to the park, library or other area is a great way to help the child socialize and experience new things. Bring along some sidewalk chalk or bubbles as they are always a hit at the park!
Quick thought: If you live in a place with many different parks then maybe visiting a new park each week could be something fun and exciting for a child to experience.
Pack a picnic for an extra special touch!
Here are some ideas on ways to socialize your homeschooler.
Go for walks or hikes!
Taking a child on walks or on hikes is a great way to help them get their exercise in and spend quality time conversing with their grandparents. Along the walk you can talk about and teach things such as: safety, nature, economics, transportation, architecture, art, etc!
Do a special activity!
Taking the kids to do some sort of activity would be such a wonderful experience for them. Bonus points if it is educational. This could be done at random, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.
Here are a few activity Ideas:
- Roller skate
- Go swimming
- Visit museums
- Go bowling
- Eat at a restaurant
- Volunteer in the community
- See a play
- Visit an artshow
- Take a cooking class
- Visit the zoo
- Visit an aquarium
- Take a train ride
- Play a board game
- Go to a sports event
Start a project with them
Starting a project with the kids is a great way to spend lots of quality time with them while holding meaningful conversations and teaching them a new skill all at once!
These projects will depend on the child’s age and interests as well as the grandparents interest and knowledge, but here are just a few ideas:
- Mechanics – rebuild an engine
- Do a complex puzzle
- Make a quilt or garment
- Teach an instrument
- Wood Working
- Teach them a sport
- Landscaping
- Gardening
Final Note
I hope that something in this article has sparked some inspiration for what a grandparent’s involvement in homeschooling could potentially look like! If ever in doubt, ask the homeschooler how you can help out and be more involved!
Other Articles you may enjoy:
Things Grandparents Can Teach Kids
5 Reasons Why to Not Homeschool
Homeschooling Myths and Misconceptions
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