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Activities TogetherNurturing Relationships

A Grandma and Grandchild Journal

by grammiestewart
written by grammiestewart

I hate saying good-bye to my grandchildren, even if I know I will see them in a few days. 

I have one little guy that lives a 4 hour plane flight away, and I have to wait months between our visits. Heartbreaking … though you gotta thank the heavens for Facetime! I am always looking for ways that grandmas can stay more connected to their grandkids. That is where a grandma and grandchild journal comes in!

 

As I was surfing Facebook one day (read “Facebook Junkie”) I read about a woman, Hillary Weeks, who for years has kept a journal that is just between her and each of her daughters. She has 4 daughters, which means she has 4 journals. For each child she writes a message and leaves it on her bed and the child writes a message back and leaves it on her mom’s. Those precious journals are a treasure to them.

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Being present with grandchildren
Grandma BasicsNurturing Relationships

6 Ways of Being Present With Children

by grammiestewart
written by grammiestewart

Parents are often reminded about the importance of  “being present” with their children … that phrase can also be applied to  grandparents. As grandmas we do not normally spend as much time with our grandchildren as their parents do, so we want to make sure that we are  making the most of our time together.  As gung ho grandmas, we can work on being present with grandchildren. 

 

Being present is simply about giving your full attention with what is happening right now, in the moment, without wanting it to be different. It means being aware of how you are responding to your grandchild. It is staying right here in the moment, not in the past or in the present.

 

 

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Grandma Names
Grandma Basics

Grandma Names … If You Don’t Want to Be Called Grandma

by grammiestewart
written by grammiestewart

We were having dinner with our oldest daughter and her husband when she casually announced that they were selling the queen-sized bed in their guest room. I asked her why in the world they were doing that (we had slept many nights on that comfy bed as guests). She said with a grin, “Because we are going to put a crib in there!”

It was that magical moment that I saw myself as a grandma for the first time.

One of the first things we discussed was what my husband and I would be called by this new grandchild. Grandma and grandpa? No, my son-in-law’s parents would probably be called that. My husband wanted to be called Papa J (which sounded suspiciously like a rapper), but I had no idea.

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Children making friends
Life SkillsNurturing Relationships

8 Ideas for Teaching Children About Being a Good Friend

by grammiestewart
written by grammiestewart

Today is Valentine’s Day. This is the text message I sent to my grown son who is away at university in Hawaii (I know, his life is tough) …

 

Make sure all your friends who are girls know how much you appreciate them today. Valentine’s Day isn’t just for romance … it is also for friendship.

 

Friends … those people in your life who feel like family, who make ordinary events fun, make all experiences sweeter, and if needed, are a shoulder to cry on. We treasure these people in our own adult lives and want our grandchildren to have that same blessing … to enjoy relationships with good friends.

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Thirty Million Words
Building BrainsGrandma Basics

Thirty Million Words (Part 3) Take Turns

by grammiestewart
written by grammiestewart

I have many important roles, but the ones I feel have been most significant in my life are wife, mom, teacher and grandma. Often I read something that changes my thinking and I feel makes me better in my roles. So it happened when I read the book Thirty Million Words by Dana Suskind. It was more like being hit by lightning!

 

This is the 3rd post about the exciting skills I learned from the book. It is dealing with the third T concept … Take Turns (my first post about this book was about Tune In and the second post about Talk More).

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Thirty Million Words
Building BrainsGrandma Basics

Thirty Million Words (Part 2) – Talk More

by grammiestewart
written by grammiestewart

Talk More, which goes hand in hand with Tune In, refers to a parent’s increased talking with a child, especially about what the child is focusing on, not to him or her.          – Dana Suskind

This is Part 2 of my writing about the book Thirty Million Words by Dana Suskind. It will explain the concept of “Talk More” with our young grandchildren!

 

Talk More

More than just the number of words, it’s the kind of words and how those words are said that is important. You want to use a diverse vocabulary, day after day, with a very young child (remember from the first post, that language is crucial in the years from birth to age 3). You want to increase the amount of talking you do WITH a child, especially about what the child is interested in at the moment.

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Thirty Million Words
Building BrainsGrandma Basics

Thirty Million Words (Part 1) Tune In

by grammiestewart
written by grammiestewart

Parent talk is probably the most valuable resource in our world. No matter the language, the culture, the nuances of vocabulary, or the socioeconomic status, language is the element that helps develop the brain to its optimum potential.                                                                                        – Dana Suskind

I have many important roles, but the ones I feel have been most significant in my life are mom, teacher and grandma. Often I read something that changes my thinking and I feel makes me better in my roles. So it happened when I read the book Thirty Million Words by Doctor Dana Suskind. It was more like being hit by lightening! Because it has changed how I think, I just had to share what I learned with other gung ho grandmas and parents!

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Making Valentine's Day cards
Activities TogetherSpecial Occassions

Sending Love … 12 Valentine’s Day Cards to Make With Grandchildren!

by grammiestewart
written by grammiestewart

Love is the closest thing to magic!

I am a firm believer that life is too short not to celebrate every chance you get, so of course I love celebrating all holidays … especially Valentine’s Day. I figure a holiday that focuses on love and friendship (and chocolate) is a great thing to share with grandkids.

I have very fond memories as a child of my class at school making Valentines mailboxes out of a cereal boxes, and then walking around the class and delivering the Valentines I had carefully addressed to each classmate. How exciting it was to sit down and open all the Valentines that were placed in my Valentine’s box… it made me feel very loved!

I think is is always more rewarding for a child to MAKE their own Valentine’s Day cards, than to buy them (though we have all been in a time pinch and just bought cute ones from the store). Here are 12 of my favorite valentines to make with grandchildren (or if you live long distances away, maybe send the idea to them and tell them to send you one, too, when they are completed!).

 

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Activities TogetherBuilding Brains

Animal Game to Play With Your Grandchildren

by grammiestewart
written by grammiestewart
Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no                             criticisms." 

      - George Eliot (who was really a woman)

Children and animals … it usually is a love affair.

Some of the first words that my granddaughter ever learned were names of animals … puppy dog, kitty cat, elephant, pig, monkey (all with the crazy corresponding animal sounds).

Here is an animal game you can play with your grandchild using picture cards of animals. It will help them learn animal names and reinforce their memory.

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Sing Your Heart out - Make a Singing Basket
Activities TogetherBuilding Brains

Sing Your Heart Out With Your Grandchildren! – Make a Singing Basket

by grammiestewart
written by grammiestewart

We sing them to sleep, we belt out songs as we dance together, we make up crazy songs about their toys, and we repeat nursery rhymes that we remember from our childhoods. We teach them the alphabet through song and we create wonderful, warm memories through music.  Grandma singing with grandchildren is magical.

 

I have this goofy song I made up for my grandchildren, which really is just one sentence repeated 4 times … “We’re singing, singing, singing”. I am obviously no Bruce Springsteen, but as babies, my grandkids recognized it and smiled whenever I sang it to them. It has become known as “Grammie’s Song” and my 23 year old son believes it to be the worst sounding song on the planet (thank goodness I don’t have to sing it to him!).

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