What you can do to give your grandchildren a head start in school
Grandparents have a wealth of knowledge to pass down to the next generation of bring young minds. It puts you in the unique position to help grandkids early on develop the skills and abilities they’ll need for life. Here are four fun activities that will not only show kids the fun and rewards of learning but give them that head start in school.
A trip to the supermarket
Get the grandkids to help you grocery shop and turn it into a fun and educational outing. Start with letting them write down the shopping list and then checking the spelling. At the shops, there’s many different opportunities for counting and maths practice. It can be simply getting kids to count all the items on this list (five oranges, two soup cans). For older kids, set more complicated tasks such as: if we need to make pasta for eight people, how many jars of pasta that feed two do we need? You can also get grandkids to read logos, packaging and ingredients to you. At the end of your trip, let them count the change or add up the receipt.
Play words games
Words games like I spy, twenty questions and the alphabet game help develop speech skills, imagination and curiosity. It’s a game you can play in the car, on a walk or even at home on a rainy day.
Kitchen helper
Next time the grandkids are over, get them to help you cook. Not only will kid’s feel ‘grown-up’ helping adults in the kitchen but it’s a great learning opportunity for them – and they won’t even notice. Walk them through concepts of weight and volume by getting them to measure ingredients in jugs or scales. Brush up on literacy skills by asking kids to read the recipe to you and help find ingredients in the pantry. It could also be a good time to teach children about healthy eating and nutrition.
Bedtime stories
Research has proven what many had suspected all along – reading to children from an early age has a positive influence on their reading, thinking and cognitive skills. A study from the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research has for the first time measured the benefits of reading to children. The results indicated that children aged four who are read to three to five times a week have the same reading ability as children six months older. Not only is reading to your grandkids a positive shared bonding experience but will help with speech, communication and language skills.