Celebrating Grandparent's Day

Grandparent's Day is on September 9th this year.  Our school always celebrates this special occasion by inviting our grandparents and caretakers to join us in our classrooms.  My class has been hard at work on poems to let our loved ones know how we feel about them.

I start out by reading some mentor texts aloud to the class that demonstrate how other kids describe their grandparent's and the experiences they share.  One that I read this year was Grandmama's Joy by Eloise Greenfield.

This one is a little sad at points in the story because it's about a little girl who is trying to cheer her grandma up because they are losing their house.  She also lost her parents in a car wreck, so it might not be best for little guys and girls.  It does speak to many of my students who live with their grandparents for various reasons.  I share how I was mostly raised by my grandparents.

Another book I think I'll check out next year is Grandmother’s Book of Promises by Karen Hill.

After reading the mentor texts, students interview their grandparents and use that information to write a poem in their honor.  On Grandparent's Day, the students eat lunch with their grandparents and then read their poem to them.  It's really sweet.

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Do you celebrate Grandparent's Day at your school?  If so, what mentor texts do you use?  What activities do you do with the grandparents?