Preschool is the perfect age to plan lots of arts and crafts for your students’ grandparents. But as you plan your Grandparents’ Day lesson, you might be wondering…
How can I explain Grandparents’ Day to my preschoolers?
The answer is, you can tell them a story (with visuals!) that will answer the core 6 questions: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How?
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What is Grandparents’ Day?
Grandparents’ Day is a special day to celebrate grandparents and grand friends.
Celebrating grand friends (which can include grandparents) is a great way to make all of your students feel included in this holiday.
Why Do We Celebrate Grandparents’ Day?
To celebrate the connections between generations.
We can learn a lot from our Grans!
Specifically, the statute states the purpose of Grandparents’ Day:
“…to honor grandparents, to give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children’s children, and to help children become aware of strength, information, and guidance older people can offer”.
When Is Grandparents’ Day?
In The USA
In the United States, National Grandparents’ Day is celebrated on the Sunday after Labor Day. (Labor Day is the first Monday in September.)
- September 12, 2021
- September 22, 2022
- September 10, 2023
- September 8, 2024
In The UK
In the United Kingdom, National Grandparents’ Day has been celebrated on the first Sunday in October since 2008.
- October 3, 2021
- October 2, 2022
- October 1, 2023
- October 6, 2024
In Australia
In Australia, National Grandparents’ Day is celebrated on the last Sunday in October.
- October 25, 2021
- October 30, 2022
- October 29, 2023
- October 27, 2024
In Mexico
In Mexico, National Grandparents’ Day (or Día del Abuelo in Spanish) is always celebrated on August 28th.
Who Started Grandparents’ Day?
Marian McQuade was a leader! She started the very first Grandparents’ Day in 1973.
*If you have your grandparents and grand friends present at the school, you might encourage your students to ask them: How old were your grandparents in 1973?
Where Did Grandparents’ Day Start?
West Virginia was the first state to celebrate Grandparents’ Day.
*You might ask your students here: In what state was your grandparent or grand friend born?
But Marian McQuade wanted ALL 50 states to celebrate Grandparents’ Day. She wanted to make it a national holiday,
She worked hard for SIX whole years to have Grandparents Day celebrated in all 50 states!
In 1978, President Jimmy Carter announced National Grandparents Day, which means that now we celebrate grandparents all over the USA.
How Do Preschoolers Celebrate Grandparents’ Day?
Marian McQuade didn’t JUST want to celebrate grandparents. She also wanted to celebrate grand friends.
Marian McQuade asked kids to “adopt” a grandparent. She didn’t want grandparents or kids to be lonely.
The most important thing to do on Grandparents’ Day is to spend time together.
Marian McQuade wanted us to learn from our grandparents and grand friends.
Grandparents’ Day Traditions
The best activities for Grandparents’ Day are things that make grandparents and grand friends feel special.
How can we make them feel special?
Here are some ideas for spending quality time with our grandparents and friends.
- Ask To Hear Stories
- Tell Them Stories
- Tell Them You Love Them
- Start A Tradition
- Make Crafts
- Let Them Teach You Something (like how to fish or how to bake cookies)
- Read Books Together
- Play Games (like Marbles or Hide-and-Seek)
- Make Them A Gift
- Tell Them Thank You For Being Your Gran!
*Can your class think of anything they enjoy doing with their Gran?
Official Flower
The official flower for Grandparents’ Day in the USA is the Forget-Me-Not flower.
Why is the forget-me-not a special flower for Grandparents’ Day?
Because they represent love and respect.
Let’s think about the name, forget… me… not. It means, “Don’t forget me.”
You can give this flower to someone you love as a way to tell them, “I will never forget you!”
Let’s color a bouquet of Forget-Me-Not flowers for your special Gran!
Type in your email below and download this coloring page for your classroom:
You might even want to ask your students to think of their FAVORITE memory with their grandparent or grand friend.
Write it on the picture as a promise never to forget the great time they had together.
Official Song for Grandparents’ Day
The official song for Grandparents’ Day is called, “A Song for Grandma and Grandpa,” by Johnny Prill.
Here is a kid-friendly version of the song if you’d like to play it for your class:
The following is the chorus of “A Song for Grandma and Grandpa,” so you can teach it to your preschoolers.
How cute would it be to sing this song to the Grandparents when they visit school?!
It also makes a great poem if you’re making a Grandparents’ Day gift:
Oh Grandma, Grandpa,
You know that I love you.
I love all those little things,
That you say and do.
A Song for Grandma and Grandpa by Johnny Prill
How To Teach Your Preschoolers
Tell it like a story. This story actually has a great leadership theme!
Use Visuals
Use visuals during circle time to get your students involved.
To help you tell the story to your class, download these printable visual cards. Start with the question card, then flip to the answer photo as you move through this story!
Download the story flashcards here:
Pull up the “Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How?” flashcards and ask your class to repeat you.
Then, flip to the photo flashcard and give a brief description for each card.
Keeping the story moving quickly will hold interest. You’ll be able to move on to the arts and crafts you have planned with a better understanding of WHAT you’re celebrating!
Make It Interactive
You might want to role play!
For example, hand the Marian McQuade flashcard to a student and have them visually spread Grandparents’ Day across all 50 states on the map.
If you have grandparents present, have your students ask them questions throughout the story to stay engaged.
Conclusion
Grandparents’ Day is SUCH a special day for both preschoolers and their Grans.
It’s always nice to make grandparents and grand friends feel special, but it’s even nicer for kids to understand why this day is important and what we can do to connect with the older generation.
To help make the day special, you’ve got a song, a coloring page, story flashcards, and a little history lesson (with a pretty cool heroine in it).
The grandparents will thank you for this lesson!
As always, have fun with the kiddos and let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. 🙂
↓ Save the pin below to your Preschool Pinterest Board so you can revisit this post next year too! ↓
