Throughout the year, The International Preschools hosts events for families and friends to come together and not only learn about our school, but to celebrate its supportive community.  Our Grandparents and Special Friends Day is an annual event where extended members of our students’ families and/or close friends are invited to spend some time inside of the classrooms.  This year, Grandparents and Special Friends Day will take place on Thursday, May 9th and Friday, May 10th. Read on to find out more about this special fete!

Grandparents and Special Friends Day was created as a way to include more family and friends into classroom visits.  Although it was originally called simply Grandparents Day, the occasion was expanded to include Special Friends, as many children at our school either do not have grandparents who live nearby or do not have grandparents at all.  A “special friend” can include an aunt, uncle, cousin, neighbor, family friend, caregiver, or even a sibling.  Each child is allowed to have a maximum of two guests visit on this special day, to allow for enough room in our classrooms.  Additionally, each child is required to have at least one guest attend the event, much like we do for our United Nations Day, Winter Solstice, and end-of-the-year parties.  This is so all of the children can participate in the event, and no one feels excluded.

On Grandparents and Special Friends Day, visitors are first welcomed into our school gym for coffee and baked goods.  An introduction to the school and the event is given by IPS administration. Afterwards, the visitors proceed to the children’s classrooms.  While there, the guests will participate in free play with the children; often, this includes working on a project such as a picture frame for the child to take home as a memento of the festivities.  At the end, the children and visitors may gather on the rug for a story, a song, or other closing exercise.  For half-day children, the Grandparents and Special Friends event will take place towards the end of their school day; for full-day children, the event will take place at the beginning of the day, and school will continue on as usual afterwards.

We hope that you will join us for this exciting and memorable occasion, one that the children will remember for years to come.

Interested in learning more about IPS community events?  Visit our website by clicking here.