Posts from — June 2008

Grandparents can play an important role in the lives of their grandchildren whether they live near or far. Fun and memorable activities don’t have to cost a lot of money; it’s the time shared together that is valuable. There are many things you can do to create and nurture the grandparent-grandchild bond. You can share something as simple as reading together. A feeling of closeness develops when your grandchild is sitting on your lap or next to you sharing a special book. Write a special letter to your grandchildren with a favorite memory of time spent together. Share your feelings about the day they were born. For an older grandchild that may be struggling with a challenge, share something that you struggled with and how you handled it. And of course there’s always the three words that no child tires of hearing: I love you.

The novelist Walker Percy once observed, “Some people get all A’s but flunk life,” Succeeding in life takes character. I recently read the book Character Matters by Dr. Thomas Lickona. It gave me great insight into how important it is to help our children and grandchildren build good character. Lickona, a developmental psychologist , maintains there are 10 essential qualities needed to build good character: wisdom, justice, fortitude, love, self-control, a positive attitude, hard work, integrity, gratitude, and humility. As grandparents we have the opportunity to help in this building process with our grandchildren. Think about activities that you have done with your grandchildren that help build character and share them on my blog. To find more information on this topic and other work that Dr. Lickona has done go to www.cortland.edu/character/.

Because I love to read, I enjoy giving books to my grandchildren that we can read together. It’s always magical to share a story for the first time.  When I’m spending the day with them we sometimes go to the library and gather lots of books to take home. We throw pillows and blankets on the floor and just enjoy reading the books together. Often we don’t finish one book before we go onto the next. Sometimes we read the same book many times. Reading with your grandchildren not only helps them develop a love for reading but sharing a book together brings a closeness and creates a memory.

Download Three Bears
Read or tell the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears then using the free patterns, have your grandchild write their own version of the three bears story.

Ideas for making excursions to museums or historical sites more engaging for your grandchildren:

1. Realize that you may need to spend just a short time in each area. If your child seems interested stay longer, if not move on quickly.

2. Before you go, make a list of things for the children to look for (number of steps, the colors in a specific painting, number of clocks, etc.). Then they will be challenged to find all the answers.

3. Talk about the time period of the place you’re visiting and have them think about what the children were like, what they wore, and what toys they played with.

4. Choose places to visit that have a child’s room and have them compare it to their room.

5. Be sure to get a brochure of the site or museum you visit and when you get home, make a game similar to Monopoly. Create a simple game board by cutting out pictures and gluing them in a circle on paper. You could also play a guessing game like “I’m thinking of….” If you have two brochures you can cut out duplicate pictures and make a matching game.

6. When you arrive home have you child write about their favorite thing and draw a picture.

7. Take a photo of you and your child, glue on a paper and each of you write about the visit. You could put it in an inexpensive frame as a keepsake.

8. If your child is not with you when you visit a special place, send then a photo of you by something that you found interesting . Write them a note telling them why you found it interesting.

This book includes ideas on acid rain, air pollution, disappearing animals, too much garbage, water pollution, and more.

As five children travel through the Florida Everglades by canoe, their guide tells them about the change in the landscape around them. They learn that it is now an endangered ecosystem, one that will only survive with their help.