We've had some very successful Grandparents/Grand Friends Days, too. We're a religious school so, of course, we start with chapel from about 8:30-9:15. Then the students exit and the grandparents can visit the classrooms (be sure you have lots of "guides" posted around the school because grandparents are bound to get lost). So the grandparents circulate to the classrooms...then we offer refreshments in our lunch room (and the grandchildren can go with them--although it gets complicated here because the grandparents had to "sign them out" of their classroom). THEN, we had the book fair going on in the gym and they could all go to the book fair together. We also had a professional photographer (REALLY congested and long line for that) and that was a big hit. We had to rent a shuttle bus and have grandparents park a block away because there was not enough room for the huge turnout. You better think on parking really hard because the first year it was a NIGHTMARE. They had to park and walk for blocks. Last year was wonderful. We had parking "directors" out in the lot and we motioned them down a block(to a church parking lot) and had the shuttle waiting on them. It worked great, was $$ though I seem to remember--$275 maybe? But worth it.
Really, most grandparents were done by 10:30 or 11.
Grandparents love to talk about their history and stories when they were young. So, compile some questions for them to answer on a sheet and then post them on a bulletin board for everyone to read and enjoy. For instance, what year were you born? How many U.S. Presidents have you voted for? How much was school lunch in elementary school? What was your favorite musical group? How much did you pay for a loaf of bread? What was the most popular mode of transportation? What life lesson would you want to share with your grandchild? etc.
You'll have grandparents in their 50 or so and up at your event, so you will get a great range of answers. At the end of the event, as you are posting the comments, you'll see bunches of the grandparents gathered around to read them, as well as parents, teachers, staff and the children. A great way to let them share their stories and history.
We have a Family Day at our school, also on a half day. It starts at 9am-1pm. We have a bake sale and a silent auction on that day. The families get to see what a typical school day is all about. The teacher try to hold closely to their schedules. They get to eat lunch with their families. We also offer a shuttle for parking assistance by providing two golf carts. That has really taken off and people love it. Especially the older folks who can't walk that far. The parking lot gets full fast. The day goes by really quickly. Between recess and lunch and classroom introductions. The most commented subject is what we serve for lunch. Our high school National Honor Society students serve lunch. Good luck on your Grandparent Day!!!
I hope this is where this goes.
This is my first year doing our Grandparents Day and was looking for ideas. We have ours on a half day and the Grandparents come in the morning with the students. There is about 300 students in our school and we always have a BIG turnout. We were thinking of maybe passing out carnations. We also have a professional photographer come in. If any one has some suggestions on how to keep them entertained or anything else you might have done I would appreciate it. Thank you!!!
