Not long ago, I responded to an "Ask Jeanne" question from a grandparent who wanted to convince her son and daughter-in-law not to homeschool her twin granddaughters. She didn't have an understanding of homeschooling, and she didn't seem respectful of their decision, even though there didn't seem to be any specific red flags of concern.
This "Ask Jeanne" column got a huge response, and since then, I've been talking with other grandparents who love what is happening with the homeschooled kids in their family, and they want to know how they can be supportive. They want concrete ideas for how to help without interfering, and they want to know how they can further build their relationships with their homeschooled grandchildren.
What a wonderful blessing to have interested, supportive grandparents in any family, including homeschooling families.
How Grandparents Can Support Homeschooling
As a grandparent, what you'll do for your homeschooled grandkids is not so different than for any other kids. Grandparents are generally perceived as helpful and even downright magical when they provide:
- Time (along with its frequent grandparent corollary, patience)
- Resources
- Informed, nonjudgmental support
This trio of provisions is also known by its umbrella name, "love."
Your children and grandchildren will appreciate your sharing your love. It may lighten the load for Mom and Dad and provide what my kids called "special times" with -- or because of -- their grandparents.
The precise balance of what grandparents do and how you might do it will vary because of so many things -- including distance, your work and home responsibilities, your personality, and your own financial resources. Those differences are important because they help children learn about people's limitations and efforts to balance how they give to others and how they take care of themselves.
Your sons and daughters, though they are adults, are also learning from you how to navigate the situation of having both parents and children! So don't despair about your limitations; do the best you can to come up with your own good mix of sharing time, resources, and informed support, and you'll be homeschooling grandparents who rock!
To help you with the specific ideas you're looking for, be sure to read the following posts, which are full of straightforward suggestions for grandparents of homeschooled kids.
More from this series...
A popular speaker at homeschooling conferences, business groups, and parents’ groups, Jeanne Potts Faulconer homeschooled her three sons in North Carolina, Mississippi, and Virginia for twenty years. Holding her Master of Arts degree in Communication, Jeanne conducted portfolio evaluations for Virginia homeschoolers for evidence of progress for many years. Jeanne is a former college faculty member, former editor for several publications, news correspondent for WCVE, and former director of Brave Learner Home. She is the contributing editor for TheHomeSchoolMom newsletter and writes the popular Ask Jeanne column addressing homeschool parents' questions here at TheHomeSchoolMom.
