Congratulations to Jim Conrady of Dardenne Prairie, Missouri! Jim is the winner of the Art Kit door prize, awarded by Rich and Barb Heki, founders of Grandparents of Homeschoolers, at the CHEF/Family Economics Conference in St. Louis.

Jim already has been actively engaged in teaching his grandchildren through filming a movie with them — Sons of Georgia! We hope he enjoys learning a new art form with his grandchildren — colored pencil sketching with this set of sketch pads and a family-size colored pencil kit.

Grandparents of Homeschoolers prepared this door prize to illustrate how easy it is for grandparents to be involved in their children’s education. You don’t have to re-learn trigonometry! (Although, if you already know it, you could teach it to your grandchildren.)

Something as simple as sitting in the back yard sketching squirrels with your grandchildren is educational. You can sketch the critters, compare artwork and share ideas for improvement, talk about the habits of the animals, how God has designed them perfectly to survive and flourish in their environment. You can talk about their colors: Squirrels are not just “brown” or “gray.” They are a mixture of colors and many of those colors in the pencil set need to be combined to get the proper hues. Is it sunny outside as you are drawing? Where do those birds and squirrels go at night, or in the winter? How do they get food when snow and ice cover the ground?

By the time the drawing session is over, and the grandparents and grandchildren head into the house for cookies and refreshments, a revelation hits: The grandparents have just taught their grandchildren a science, art, Bible and weather lesson without even knowing it! And they’ve strengthened their relationships as a family. That’s what makes education so FUN!