Every once in a while, I realize that many of the activities and ideas that I share are more appropriate for little grandchildren.  It’s rather hard to come up with ideas to do with tweens and teens.  But, I think that this activity would be one that would be fun and challenging for your older grandchildren.  I call it the Digital Alphabet Hunt.

This is a great activity to do on a crisp fall day with a grandchild.  Grab your sweater (well, at least grandma might need a sweater . . .) and a digital camera for each participant and head outside.  The idea is to take pictures with your digital camera of things that you see that form letters of the alphabet.

For example, the crook of a branch in the tree forms the letter Y.  The rails of the monkey bars in a park playground could be your H letter.   A telephone pole could be an I or a T.  A car tire could be the letter O.  Do you get the idea?

Look at the cracks in the sidewalk, the bricks of a building, the clouds in the sky, bike racks, doorways, or vines climbing a trellis to help you find the different letters.

(By the way, can you see the letter B in the picture I’ve shared here?)

When you get back to grandma’s house, print out your pictures and compare and enjoy the creativity that was used in ‘discovering’ the alphabet letters.  You could staple the pages together into a booklet form or put in plastic sheet protectors and a binder to create an ‘alphabet’ book. If you are really technologically daring, you could post them in Facebook (you ARE on Facebook aren’t you??), to your blog, or to Flickr.

You might want to consider making (in advance) this yummy little treat to eat afterward along with a sip of apple cider.

Granola Snack
2 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup Cherry flavored Craisins
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, stir together the rice cereal and oats and Craisins. Set aside. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Combine the brown sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat just until boiling, then remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Pour over the cereal and oat mixture, and mix well. Press into the prepared pan using the back of a large spoon. Allow to cool, then cut into squares.

We’re back from Denmark. I want to thank the grandma bloggers who willingly wrote a guest post for me while I was gone.  I truly appreciate them writing a post for me.

Even though we’ve been back for several days, I can’t say that my body is fully recovered from jet lag yet. In all of our previous travels, I have never experienced jet lag.  I used to think jet lag was a bunch of hooey.  Now, I’m an avid believer!

In addition to that, it was our anniversary yesterday.  We went out to dinner at the Olive Garden (yum, yum, yum) and then went to a local mall to shop for some shoes for my husband.  Needless to say, I haven’t gotten anything written to post here.

However, celebrating my anniversary reminded me of a family holiday that I created for our family.  Since our wedding day was the ‘birthday’ of our family, I called it Lewis Day and we did all sorts of fun activities with the kids.

I wrote about Lewis Day here on this posting.  You might want to create a similar holiday that you could celebrate with your grandchildren.

Do you have any special holidays that you created that you celebrate with your grandchildren?

(Note: My husband and I will be in Denmark until Sept. 18th.  I’ve asked a couple of other spectacular grandmas to write a guest post for me.  They graciously accepted! To which I say, thank you, thank you, thank you!)

Family Traditions Rich in Holiday Cheer

by Shelly of Grandma’s Little Pearls

It is that time of year again. Time for me at least, to start thinking about the holidays. The family traditions that we have as a family are looked forward to by all four generations of us. While we have many different traditions throughout the year it is our winter holiday traditions that tend to be the most precious to our family.

Halloween is celebrated with a big block party on the dark rural road that my daughters and I share. Thanksgiving is a huge feast that we all work together to prepare. It has become a tradition that we all linger together playing games and visiting until we are all ready to feast again before we all head home.

It is the day after Thanksgiving that kicks off our families Ho…Ho…Holidays. It is a schedule of our family Christmas traditions. The planning begins now to choose the what’s, where’s, and when’s so that everyone’s calendars can save the dates that are important to our family unit.

It is also very helpful to make food and activity assignments ahead of time so that creative thoughts and resources can begin to be gathered.

The very first tradition on our schedule is generally the Grandkids’ Christmas Day Camp that my husband and I host for our ten grandchildren. The camp is twelve hours long and it is for all ages so that the parents can have a full kid free day to start their Christmas shopping. It is a day filled with Christmas crafts, games, snacks, activities, cooking, music, the true meaning of Christmas, and more for the children.

Other traditions include an adults night out, a progressive dinner so that we can be sure to see one another’s homes decorated for the holidays, an evening spent with great grandma and grandpa, Christmas Eve, Christmas day, and a few more.

Creating and keeping traditions alive in a family requires some effort and planning. In my experience any effort put forth is magnified by at least a hundred fold in blessing a family unit with strong family bonds, family unity, love, precious memories, and a real sense of belonging.

I always love hearing of the family traditions of others so please share. If you are interested in more of my ideas for holiday crafts, games, activities, and outings please visit my blog and click on the side links titled Christmas traditions, Christmas day camp, or Creating memories.

(Note: My husband and I will be in Denmark until Sept. 18th.  I’ve asked a couple of other spectacular grandmas to write a guest post for me.  They graciously accepted! To which I say, thank you, thank you, thank you!)

My nine greatest fears as a grandma

By Lisa of Grandma’s Briefs

The role of grandma is supposed to be an easy one. Mom and Dad cover all the hard work – changing dirty diapers, teaching table etiquette, instilling a sense of right and wrong – leaving Grandma to do nothing but have fun with the little ones.

That’s how it’s supposed to be, right? But that’s not how it really is. At least not when you’re a grandma with the middle name of “Worrywart.” I worried (and continue to worry) endlessly as a mother, and you can bet your sweet bippy the fretting hasn’t let up just because I’ve moved on to motherhood’s second act.

Here for your amusement – or commiseration – are my nine greatest fears as a grandma:

1. My grandson will love his other grandma more than he loves me.
2. I’ll always be a long-distance grandma, with no opportunity for my loved ones to drop in unexpectedly for dinner, to view my grandson’s sporting events or school programs, or to even be the backup plan when the little one is sick and Mom and Dad can’t wriggle out of work.
3. Something bad will befall my grandson.
4. Something bad will befall my grandson’s parents.
5. My grandson will think I’m boring.
6. My grandson will think I’m weird.
7. My grandson will think I’m the greatest thing since LEGOs and garbage trucks and run away from home to live with me.
8. The one and only grandson I have now will always and forever be my one and only grandchild.
9. My grandson will be worn down – lose his vim, vigor, enthusiasm and endless curiosity – by the realities of life as he grows.

My grandson is just two years old at this point; I’m sure my fears and worries will become more concrete, more serious, more scary as he grows. For now, though, these nine are enough to keep me on my toes during the day, keep me awake on certain nights. For now, these nine frazzle me just fine.

How about you? Is “Worrywart” your middle name, too? What are your greatest fears as a grandma?