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February 04, 2007
Grandparent Help
I was at a workshop last week talking about how to become involved in your child’s learning. It’s something I talk a lot about. This particular workshop had about 50 people speaking two different languages, but we still managed to communicate our interest in kids and their learning.
After the workshop a lady came up to talk with me. She explained that she was a grandmother taking care of her daughter’s little girl. She said, “I haven’t done this in a while, and I’m not sure what I can do to help her in school.”
We talked for a bit and I encourage her to look around for opportunities. I gave her a couple of quick ideas, and she and the little girl left.
A couple days later I received a phone call from a teacher in a school nearby where we’d held the workshop. She said she’d been talking to her great aunt. Her great aunt had talked to me at a workshop and gotten several ideas for her granddaughter. She was trying them out and thrilled at how well they worked. She was asking the little girl to read signs as they drove in the car and playing learning games at home. She was so excited to have some direction about what to do.
There’s some research out about parent involvement. What the study showed was that it didn’t matter the grade level the parent passed in school or the socio-economic status or the ethnicity of the parent or in this case grandparent. Children’s achievement improves when a parent gets involved in the learning.
This grandparent has definitely gotten involved. What a treat for both the grandparent and the child!
Posted by Dr Joni at February 4, 2007 07:21 PM