'It takes a village,' and that includes grandparents at Topeka USD 501 elementary schools
Piper Porter proudly knows the letter A, thank you very much, and she was going to make sure her grandmother Loretta Chester knew that.
The 5-year-old, along with her kindergarten classmate Geovanna Rodriguez, could hardly contain themselves as the pair read books with Chester as part of the Grandparents Day celebration Monday morning at Whitson Elementary.
For years, elementary schools in Topeka USD 501 have hosted Grandparents Day, which fell on a Sunday this year, as an opportunity to show the elder family members what school is like. But as COVID-19 kept visitors out of schools, the yearly celebration had been put on pause since fall 2019.
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Young students look forward to Grandparents Day
As nearly 200 grandparents filled Whitson Elementary on Monday, though, the school hallways buzzed with excitement from the older visitors and the small children alike.
"It means everything to the kids," said principal Keelin Pierce. "They look forward to this day, and they love the activity their teachers plan for them. They get to show their grandparents what they learn, what they eat at lunch, where we go — just how school goes for them."
Younger students got to read alongside their grandparents, while the older students did activities like art projects or interviews with their older relatives, to figure out how school has changed in the decades since they were their age.
In Shawn Allen's kindergarten class, the students got to enjoy some amazing weather as they read books with their grandparents on the school's front lawn. Allen said it was exciting to see some of the grandparents reinforce literacy skills, such as looking for sight words like "the."
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All of that reinforces a love of reading that gives students the foundation they need for a successful school career.
"In raising a child, and in learning, it takes a village," said Allen, who is in her 14th year of teaching. "It’s the grandparents, the parents, the teachers, the volunteers — all of us working collectively has a great impact on the success of each child."
Piper and her grandmother Chester even invited Geovanna to read alongside them, as they got through snippets of "The Little Red Hen" and "Breakfast at the Zoo."
Chester, who has previously participated in Grandparents Day activities, said it was refreshing to see a school engage children's entire families.
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"It’s just such a wonderful school, and they take such great care of our kids," she said. "I’ve been so pleased with them."
Rafael Garcia is an education reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at rgarcia@cjonline.com or by phone at 785-289-5325. Follow him on Twitter at @byRafaelGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka USD 501 elementary schools host Grandparents Day activities
