Does Your Grandchild Have Nature-Deficit Disorder?

       In today's fast moving pace it's easy for grandparents to feel peripheral in the lives of their grandchildren. What do I possibly have to offer these children who have everything at their fingertips? Kids are busy these days running to this lesson, back to sports practice, then home for some schoolwork. And then there are the electronic time eaters, games and social media. Finding time to hang out with a grandparent is often difficult to squeeze in. I would argue that the idea that everything can be experienced through a keyboard or smart screen could be seriously limiting the next generation. 

       This is where I think a grandparent has a distinct advantage. We have the time and the appreciation of the natural world to share it meaningfully with our grandchildren. To help you realize the importance of this nature connection, I've compiled several great links to blogposts, videos and slideshows. 

Grandparents affect on the future.

     1. Slide Show: Roles of Grandparents and How They Affect The Future

         Grandparents have had a timeless role in all cultures. As the baby boomers head into their twilight years, the importance of their influence can't be overemphasized. This slideshow not only offers statistical information, but ways that grandparents can share a love for nature.

Roles of grandparents and how they could from mikelink45

The importance of outside play.

1. How can I encourage my grandchildren to enjoy nature.

  Did you know that only one child in 10 regularly plays out in nature. I remember when I was a kid, if the weather was nice, outside was the place to be. In this article from The Guardian the importance of children being outdoors is explained. 

2. The New Nature Movement

    Richard Louv is Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Children and Nature Network. This is an international movement to connect children, their families and their communities to the natural world. In this article Louv outlines 21 awesome activities that grandparents can do with their grandchildren. In addition, here is an entertaining video on wonder.

3. 6 Outdoor Activities to do with Your Grandchildren

  This is an incredible article with some wonderful ways to spend quality time with your grandchildren while at the same time gifting them a love of the natural world.

4. Grandkids Into Nature

    Barbara Joyce Frank is a geologist, educator/trainer, speaker and author and has spent her career "helping people to connect deep with Planet Earth." Here you will find programs and links to resources.  

  

5. Natural Wildlife Federation

    Using available resources to bring enrichment to your nature experiences creates a great opportunity to learn with your grandchild. Understanding the natural world is key to caring about what happens to our world.  

Fun Nature Links

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center  

Postcrest.com
Grand Ideas

How do you feel about nature-deficit disorder? Real concern or exaggerated?

If you care about the future of our planet, share this post with others. 

Rockin' With Grams Pick of the Month: Young Chefs by Christina Dymock

        When I'm planning to spend time with a grandchild there's often a "no electronics" rule.  When my own children lived at home we had a summer "10-2" rule. They couldn't use any type of electronic device during that time. 
     Lest you believe I'm a technophobe luddite, I actually have strong feelings about the importance of technology and my responsibility as an older adult to learn it, and share it. I also believe technology is not only awesome, but an important thing for our children to learn to be successful. 

That said, it's often a challenge to keep those busy hands and feet out of mischief. When the screens are down, I find that their energy erupts and they are ready to get busy. 

Cooking is one of the best ways to engage the grandkids, have fun and learn something. 

The holidays are a great time to take advantage of fun cooking projects, but being in the kitchen anytime with your grandkids can be just as fun. Here is a list of fun things we've done in the kitchen:

1-  Cookies
2-  Sidewalk chalk
3-  Gingerbread houses
4-  Bird seed hangers
5-  Play Dough

Gift List Alert!

6-  Handmade gifts
7-  Pudding finger paint 
8-  Scones
9-  Lollipops or cake pops 
10- Cooking school 

Now for Gram's pick of the month: 



About The Book: Hey kids! It's time to take charge in the kitchen. Become a young chef as you make your favorite foods and explore new recipes with everything from Game Day Hot Dogs to Lemon Shark Bars.

About The Author:
Christina Dymok
Website
Blog
Facebook
 
Who:  Christina Dymock was once at a dinner party where her husband was teasing her about the frosting-to-cupcake ratio on her dessert. The woman sitting across from them sniffed her delicate nose and said, "If my husband gave me a hard time about my frosting I'd quit baking. That'd show him." To which Christina's husband replied while pointing at his speechless wife, "Try to stop her!"

Christina divides her time between the kitchen and her computer and books and her family of six. (Naturally, the family gets the biggest share.) Because she reads everything, she also feels compelled to write in several genres. —Amazon

PLANTING MEMORIES: Ten Ways To Connect With Your Grandchildren

Spring is a wonderful time to make a meaningful connection with your grandchildren. Below you'll find ideas, links and resources for activities that will create memories and give you plenty to talk about. 

Ten Ways to Use Spring to Connect

1. Plant Vegetable Garden Together- What better way to spend time with your grandchild than planting something and watching it grow.

KC EDventures- Offers a resource page with huge list of ideas, links, books. Nourish Interactive- Offers free color sheets for journaling, gardening color sheets, etc. 
Parenting With A Purpose- Planting a sensory garden full of tasting a smelling opportunities. 

2. Read Gardening Books Together-There are many wonderful picture books about gardening, planting, seeds and how things grow. 
The Best Children's Books- provides a great list of picture books. 
Polliwog On Safari- Another great list of books. 

3. Plant A Container Garden- There are many ways you can grow something even if you don't have any outdoor space. 

Coffee With Us3- Shows some easy 
ways you can plant in ziplock bag, jars, etc. 
What We Do All Day?- Has an interesting way to grow a rood vegetable in a container and actually see it grow. 

4. Plant A Flower Garden- Flowers are a great way to watch the different stages of growth together. 

The Golden Gleam- Great way to grow sunflowers with kids. 
Putti's World- Great idea about planting seeds in the shape of the first letter of their name. 

5. Micro-Gardens Perfect For Limited Space- Using containers you already have around the house or apartment. 

Sun Hats & Wellie Boots- Some creative containers using things you have around the house. 

Reading Confetti- Cute handprint garden markers. 

3 Boys=Blessed- Using those plastic strawberry containers.

The Full Circle Gardner- Check out this gardening in a glove idea!

Rockin' With Gramps!

6. Make Elf and Fairy Houses and Gardens- This is a fun activity anytime of year and can use existing materials or you can plant some. 

Growing Green Fingered Kids -Idea for a fairy home. 
Flicker Miniature Backyard Fairy Gardens- A whole group that is dedicated to pictures of Fairy gardens. 
The Magic Onions - I love this fairy garden in barrel! This blog also has several links to great ideas. 

7. Plant A Garden For Imaginative Play- This is a cool idea for creating a world for Lego figurines, dinosaur, bug, animal and other small action toys. Frugal Fun For Boys- Check out the great ideas and then make your own.
Child Central Station- Dirt not your thing, here are some fun art projects for outdoors.
8. Butterflies, Bugs and Beetles- This is great for those that love watching nature and a great way to teach respect for living animals. 

The Kids Garden- Watching a catapillar change into a butterfly is a fascinating activity. 
The Flight Of The Butterflies- A 3-D IMAX movie. A must for anyone that likes butterflies. Check your community for where it's showing. 

9. Do Some Outdoor Science- Learning together about the world is a great way to convey how important our world is.
Housing A Forest- An article about regrowing celery. 
Nature Science- Amazon has a great selection of projects about nature. 

For The Children- Bugs, Worms and Slugs
10. Long-Distance Gardening Ideas- When miles separate you from your grandchildren, it's often difficult to think any of these activities could work. With photo cell phones and Skype many of the activities above could shared. Each week a picture or Skype visit could show each other how the gardens are doing. If they know your doing it too, there's a connection!

You can always send a small package full of activities, pictures, seeds, that you can then talk about over the phone, Skype or email. The Kids Garden- Free printable puzzles about gardening. 
The Best Children's Books- Choose the perfect Spring book to send. 
Live Butterfly Garden- Order your grandchild live caterpillars that will cocoon and become butterflies. You can keep track of the progress long distance. 
Cozy Seaside Homestead- How to grow a garden in baseball card sleeves, light weight and easy to send! They just have to add the dirt.



When thinking about what to do with your grandchildren, keep in mind their age and attention span. Short and fun is far better than long and laborious. It's about making happy and fun memories. Parents teach, grandparents play!

What ideas are you going to try? If you've already done something fun, share it with us? 

Seven Easy Ways To Inspire Your Grandchildren To Read

"If you read to a child 20 minutes a day That child will learn 1 million additional words a year And will gain 1,000 additional vocabulary words a year.    -Delaine Easton, California State Superintendent of Schools

       I have six grandchildren and love each one dearly. I loved my children too, but it was a different. I was more concerned with their everyday behavior and physical health. While I care about my grandchildren's wellbeing, I also know that their parents are there. I'm very aware of how time can slip away and how valuable each moment I spend with them is. So, what can I do with them, for them or give to them? What will my children and grandchildren remember when I'm gone. I'm more interested in giving them something they can carry with them, a legacy. I believe reading is one way to connect and create an intergenerational bond that will stay with them through out their lives.

Educators and authors Colin Greer and Herbert Kohl said:

"Stories can be transformative for children and [grand]parents alike. And the experience of reading is enriched when people share a text. When we read together we can directly connect our own lives to those of others and test our visions of right and wrong through different eyes and experiences. Literature helps us learn what we can expect from life and what we can give to it." (Quoted on the Legacy Project*)

There are many ways that grandparents can pass this gift on to their grandchildren. Here are ten suggestions and links to more useful ideas.

1. Take your grandchild to the library and help them get their own library card. Check out International Book Giving Day http://bookgivingday.com/on February, 14th.

2. Gift books to them for birthdays, holidays and important milestones.

3. Read to your grandchild. Long distance? No problem. Read to them over Skype. Create a video or sound recording of yourself reading a book. Or read a book together and then discuss it over the phone. (I haven't done this yet, you have to make the time. I need to work on that!)

4. Research something together. If he's interested in bugs, get some books about them. Go to a science museum. Go hunting for bugs.

5. Write a story together. Long distance? No problem. Email or send letters. You could even send a small journal back and forth relating stories from you lives.

6. Start a hobby together and read about it. Rocks, bugs, spoons, shells, stamps...

7. Give a gift subscription to a children's literary or science magazine. I have a list of several on my website, So I'm Fifty.  http://soimfifty.blogspot.com/p/grandmas-bag-of-tricks.html

Here are several links with great inspiration!!

http://www.grandparents.com/grandkids/activities-games-and-crafts/get-your-grandchild-psyched-to-read

The Essential Grandparent

http://www.essentialgrandparent.com/readingcircle.html

Carolina Parent

http://www.carolinaparent.com/articlemain.php?Create-Strong-Connections-with-Grandparents-2553

Life 1 2 3.Com

http://www.life123.com/parenting/toddlers/childcare/how-grandparents-can-get-kids-reading.shtml

Grandparents.Com (Great article on reading aloud.)

http://www.grandparents.com/grandkids/education-and-school/read-aloud-cricket-magazine

KSL.Com

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=1009&sid=18485018

Legacy Project (Free PDF with great ideas!)

http://www.legacyproject.org/grandparentsdaykit/part2/readingwithyourgrandchild.pdf

"Generations connect us to time in a way that goes beyond the clock. It's the experience of life in a multigenerational, interdependent, richly complex community that, more than anything else, teaches us how to be human," writes Susan V. Bozak Founder of the Legacy Project. 

      As grandparents we have a wonderful opportunity to connect with our grandchildren through reading. This connection is vital to our grandchildren. 

What kind of connection do you have with your grandchildren?

How connected are your children to their grandparents?

Share any ideas you have for strengthening this connection.

Granny's Corner: Long Distance Connections

          When my last child (#6) left the nest, I already had several grandchildren. My experience balancing the last few years of high school for my sons and those little babies was a strange dichotomy, requiring a shift in gears from parent to grandparent. At this point you may say, what's the difference? Anyone who is a grandparent knows what I'm talking about. 

       Each time I've been called upon to babysit, I'm always amazed how forgetful my children are. Although I raised them, all six of them, somehow, either due to my menopausal fog, shift in the universe or just plain ignorance, they think I haven't a clue about what to do when a baby cries. Funny, how that doesn't change when the children get older, as the parent painstakingly explains how to take care of their child. 

      My goal as a mother-in-law, grandparent and mother is to offer advice only when it's requested and even then, deliver it sparingly. This is their time to learn about themselves as parents and spouses and the last thing they need is an overbearing parent/in-law. They'll make mistakes (I did) and sometimes it's better that way. (Not to mention the may-you-have-a-child-just-like-you redemption.)

    I've been at this for ten years and I think I have some knowledge to impart, humor to share and ideas for making those connections with your grandchildren lasting. 

   One of the challenges that today's grandparents face is  distance. The good news is there are great tools we can utilize to stay in touch. Here's a list of ways I'm trying to stay in touch.

1. Snail Mail- Children still love getting mail, cards, letters, gifts, anything that arrives magically at their door or delivered by the people in blue,brown or purple.

           Postcards- These are cheap and easy to find and kids love pictures, you can even make your own postcards on the computer, if you're tech saavy.

           Photos-Thirteen cents for a 4x6 photo (Costco) is darn good and kids love photos.

           Letters- Old fashioned letters are almost a lost art. I once had a grandmother that would write picture story letters where certain words were represented as a simple drawing. Another fun thing is to write in code so the grandchild has to decifer the code to see what you said. 

jc-schools.net

2. Email- Many children and teens have their own computers now and email accounts. The thing about email is it's quick and you can carry on a conversation, daily or weekly. (I hope you're picking up the necessity for you to learn to use a computer. Nothing's better than a tech, saavy granny!) Try this: Start a story and take turns writing it over the internet. I've even done that over the phone together, when it's finished I send it to them.

3. Chat- There are multiple companies that offer chat over the internet, Facebook, Yahoo, Google, etc. Take advantage of these free ways to communicate, even a quick,"Hey, how are you?" or "What's up?" keeps the line of communication open. 

4. Skype-This one is new for me. How cool is it that you can speak to someone miles away and see them in real time? Unbelievable. It's almost as good as being there. The challenge sometimes is timezone differences and setting up a time. Those that are successful with this seem to have regular times scheduled each week or every two weeks.

freestockphotos.biz

5. Text- I learned a while ago, and believe me I fought it, that the best way to get in touch with my kids is through text. At this point I really wish my parents and some of my siblings would get on board because this is instant. A quick,"Hi, I'm thinking about you, hope your having a great day." Goes a long way to let them know you care. None of my grandkids are old enough for phones but when they are you can bet they will be getting texts from their Grams. (Not when I'm driving!)

6. Facetime- This currently is an Apple only product, but those that have it say the realtime conversations are awesome. It requires a wireless connection. It won't work through the 3,4 or 5G internet access. 

With all of these suggestions it is important to stay focused on why you are doing it: To keep the line of communication open and let them know you are there for them. If your purpose to get kudos from their parents or consistent responses from your grandchildren than you're missing the point. Remember, they need us, we aren't children anymore, it's important to remember that. I don't know how many parents and grandparents I've heard say, "Well, they never call me...why should I call them." That's just sad. 

Three of my grandsons!

Often these efforts to stay in touch get lost in the shuffle because we're hoping for that chunk of time to appear. It won't. Even a short howdy is better than nothing at all. Don't get hung up on always having a meaningful exchange. The important thing is to stay in touch which sends the message, I care about you and what your doing. Gifting that message is the best thing you can send a child.

How do you stay in touch with your grandchildren that are miles away?