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What to Do, What to Say, What to Ask
There is a lot to consider as we virtually celebrate the end of this school year with our grandkids.
It’s June, the time of year our grandkids have class parties, field trips, 8th grade graduations and high school graduations. But not this year. Well, not in the usual manner. You may have heard the expression going around during Covid that ‘We are all in this together, but we are all in different boats’.
They have been through a lot, and have had quite the loss of their personal school experience.
They are also experiencing the loss of expected societal celebrations. They’ve lost in person contact with friends, playing on sports teams, singing in choirs, playing a musical instrument in the spring concert, field days, proms and graduation ceremonies.
This school year is ending in a way that no one could have imagined.
Some of our grandkids will be ready to celebrate, and others will be sad. Some will have had enough of the ’virtual celebrations’ and others would love to keep the parties going.
So today we’re sharing some tips to navigate the end of a school year and the beginning of summer!
Check In With Your Grown Kids First
As grandparents it would be wise to check in with our grown kids, and ask how we can celebrate appropriately. If they are ready to celebrate, here are some options! If they aren’t quite ready to celebrate, let them know you are available to do something at a later time if they would like to.
Set a Time For a Light Celebration
Set a time to enjoy a treat together. You can enjoy what you’ve got to snack on around the house, or send them a gift card to their favorite restraunt. Have some conversation starters ready to go! We’ve got you covered with a few ideas at the end of this post.
Create and send them an award certificate for their perseverance in their schoolwork this year. You could also celebrate an attribute that they displayed during the school year.
We’ve got a great fill in certificate you can download right here too!
Mindfully Ask About Summer Plans
Make plans for summer. Find out what your grandkids are interested in trying, or have scheduled this summer. When they share their plans, commit to learning about the subject yourself.
They’ll be thrilled by your interest, and your mindfulness will pave the way for future connections. After talking with them, make a list of the possibilities, such as reading books, helping them with supplies, or writing down further questions to ask them later.
For the Grandparents of Graduating Seniors
For those of you with grandkids graduating from high school, I know this is so hard all the way around. We have a niece who is graduating this week. We had hoped we would be able to be there to see her walk in wearing her cap and gown, listen to her speech, and celebrate as a family afterward.
I can only imagine how sad she is, as well as her parents and grandparents. When we came across this resource from Parent Cue, To the Parents of theClass of 2020, we sent it their way. While it is written with parents in mind, there is a lot we all can gain from it as grandparents. I hope you will find it helpful as well.
Toast to Your Grandkids Parents
Celebrate your grown kids! They have likely been working at home, and home schooling for many weeks. And before that, they were busy shuttling kids to and from school, and extracurricular activites. They deserve a toast! Raise a glass of whatever you have, and celebrate their efforts.
My hope is that our grandkids will have a sense of accomplishment for all that they have done this year. I hope that their feelings of success don’t exist only in the celebrations that would have been. I hope that from youngest to oldest they will understand that they have achieved something no other class of students before them has. Their understanding of that will take them far in life!
End of School Year Conversation Starters
End of School Year Conversation Starters
What is something you are really proud of from this school year?
Name one new skill you learned.
What did you miss the most about being away from school?
Was there something you enjoyed about participating in school from home?
What do you hope to do this summer?
In what way did you help someone during this last school year? How did someone help you?
Be ready to share a story or two of when you were their age. How did you celebrate the end of the school year. What did you look forward to during the summer?