Planning to have fun?

I'm an organizer and a planner so I like to be prepared as much as possible, especially if I am spending an afternoon with the grandkids and hoping to do crafts.  Kids can't always come up with ideas about what to do so if you have some fun ideas (need to keep the list updated as your grandkids grow older), and the supplies to do it, you won't be left with "nothing to do" when they were so looking forward to spending time with you!  Kids have a short attention span so if they have to sit around while you cut things so they can use them to play a game or start creating something, they will quickly lose interest.  If cutting is part of the fun though, by all means, get at it, but if the fun is doing something with the "cut outs" then I suggest cutting out in advance and reading the instructions on how to play the game or make the craft so you understand it. Sometimes it's best to come up with an idea yourself rather than give them the choice of what they want to do because firstly, they may not be the best about coming up with ideas and secondly, sometimes they only think about what "they" want to do and not about their younger or older siblings (girls vs. boys too).  Have more than one idea in your mind though; just because you think it will be fun, doesn't mean it will be!  Last time I went to visit my grandkids, we played "Roll a Snowman" and the kids loved it!; found it on Pinterest.  I had cut out all of the pieces in advance and brought them with me.  They knew I had "made" the game too vs. buying it, and they seemed equally impressed by that.  I also was sure to use their favourite colours which drew their attention right away.  Try it out!  Next time I go to visit, they likely won't want to play this game again, which is fine, but we had a blast this time around and it didn't cost me a lot of money...just some well planned time and I had fun doing that too.  Of course, sitting around and talking or reading a book is fun too, but you can plan those things too; what book will you read, what can they learn from the book, what questions you might ask them about the book to get a conversation going.  I believe this helps kids to get conversations going in other aspects of their lives, and gets them thinking more about books that they read if we have had a discussion about it. You can get really great ideas on Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/ - and almost every craft supply you need is available at a Dollar Store (vs. more expensive stores like Michael's or WalMart).  My grandkids favourite store to shop at with me is Dollarama; who would have thought! 

So, get your ideas, list of items you need, and have some quality fun-time!  They will never know that you planned it all along...  If you are having fun, that's what it's all about!

Stories About Your Grandkids

Buddy the Dragon Slayer

I have written stories about my grandkids, as I have mentioned, but the ones I truly love are the ones that they can really relate to. I wrote a story about "Buddy the Dragon Slayer" for my grandson who has cystic fibrosis, to show him how brave I think he is. He has to go through daily physio (while the others play) and has to take several pills (which he takes like a champ). He sometimes has tummy aches too, but he braves through it all. This story is to take him away from all of that even for a moment...and he knows "Buddy" is about him (I have always called him Buddy). I have written two stories about Buddy and am onto the third.

I have also written a story for my other two grandchildren. My granddaughter's book is about Vampires, when she was into that, but I made it a story about "making decisions in life" and doing what's best, and not just doing what your friends want you to do.  I also wrote one for her friend and called it "Snowgirls" (like snowmen) and I included all of the 'BFF's' in it. I also wrote one for my younger grandson about himself and how quiet he usually is, but if he was upset, everyone knew it, and could hear him (throughout the neighbourhood and even in the neighbourhood zoo ha ha). I didn't even realize it until the last time I went to visit, that he asks his mom to read that one to him all the time. 

These are the most special books for me... 

Story time

UPDATE:  I always talk to my grandkids about stories and ask them what they want a story about.  They have sometimes "quirky" ideas, but I work with it as much as I can.  My grandson once suggested I write a story about "a man who didn't have a name"...well, that was a challenge, but we did it, and we even did a play about it.  Other kids have asked me to write about things like "peacocks", "a BLOB pet" and I even had one adult ask me to write a story about Amazon animals and she suggested the pink dolphin, which I did and she loves it (she is from Brazil).  My grandkids enjoy reading the other stories too, not just the ones they  suggested or are in.  I have a special book for each of them, but now it's just about whatever we want to write about and I hope they will cherish them forever, but I know that I enjoyed writing them and that's all that matters to me.

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One of the highlights of a visit with my grandchildren is seeing the look of excitement on their faces when I read stories to them. Of course, since my granddaughter now knows how to read a few words, she would rather "read the book herself", but her younger brother isn't quite so patient as to sit and listen to her try and sound out the words and I don't want him to lose interest in reading, so sometimes I will read him a book and she will sit beside us and "read" her own story. A few times though, she has surprised me by yelling out, "Don't turn the page yet Grannie...I want to see what's happening", so although she's not always reading with us, she's definitely listening ha ha

If possible, set aside some quiet time for reading stories and make sure everyone has an age-appropriate book to enjoy. You can help to make storytime fun by being as animated and creative as possible. If everyone is not enjoying the story, or you see they are distracted, stop reading and just talk about the pictures or ask them to look for letters in their name or words that they know. Don't force storytime - it has to be fun if they are going to want to keep reading. Just come back to it another time, or maybe try another book. I find that it is also fun to ask questions while reading, ie, how they might react in the same situation as the storybook character or what they think about what's happening in the story or even what they think will happen next. Maybe you can even teach them a song that goes with the storybook or the characters in the story.

You could also try making up your own stories and asking them to help you draw the characters and write their very own story. Try to keep in mind, the interest of everyone who is listening to the story though, ie, maybe your grandson likes dragons and your granddaughter likes princesses. Use your imagination. It doesn't have to be a long story and it doesn't have to be perfect.

As your grandchildren get older, you may just be encouraging them to "read to you or by themselves" and that's okay too.

Whether you are reading to them or they are reading to you, reading is important but should also be fun, and we can do our part to help parents and teachers instill the love of reading in children.