Welcome to a place where we can share ideas about grandparenting, especially ways to pass spiritual values and family stories to the next generation.

Mary is the co-author of The Grandparent Connection: 365 Ways to Connect With Your Grandchild's Heart.
Visit www.legacyconnection.org
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Co-author of The Grandparent Connection: 365 Ways to Connect With Your Grandchild's Heart

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Little Grandmama



Tuesday's Grand Connection Thought

by Mary May Larmoyeux

Jay Grelen, who writes the Sweet Tea column for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, once told his readers about Little Grandmama. He had found her Bible and it had only one line of handwriting: Tribulation worketh patience. Romans 5:3.

Jay said he wondered what Little Grandmama was thinking as she penned those words. "Her inscription is a word from beyond," he said, "a pebble she dropped exactly at the spot on my trail where I needed guidance."

As grandparents, doesn't that just give you chills wondering if perhaps something we write to our grandchildren today will be used by God tomorrow at just the right moment. Perhaps in generations to come, a great-great grandchild's finger will trace over our words in a worn Bible or yellowed letter. Perhaps our legacy will silently thank us for giving them hope ... for reminding them that God has a plan ... that things do work out.

"Little Grandmama knew," Jay said. "And one day she took pen in gentle hand and put it to paper, knowing that up the trail aways, we, too, would need to know."

He is able,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/

© 2009 by Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.
Photo © Betty McPherson (photo is Betty's grandmother)

Friday, September 24, 2010

Puzzles Anyone?


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Friday's Grand Connection Fun

Do you work puzzles with your grandkids?

When two of the grands were at our house not too long ago, they had a great time putting a package of School Zone puzzle cards together to make three-letter words. For example: the entire picture of a dog was on three 4x6 cards (the ears and head were on one card: D; his stomach on another: O; and the third card had his tail: G).

From a stack of cards, the kids had to find the three cards that formed the picture of the dog and put them together. Then the older grandchild spelled the word by looking at the letters.

It would be so easy to make our own sets of puzzle cards. We could do this by printing pictures on cardstock and cutting each picture into pieces. If we wanted to make easy three-word puzzles for the young crowd, we could print a picture (example, family dog) on cardstock, cut it in thirds, and put the individual letters of a word on the separate pieces.

We could also make larger printed pictures (on cardstock) for the older crowd, and cut them into many pieces.

Here are some more puzzle ideas. The website Discovery Education has a neat puzzle-making program! In a few minutes we can make a maze, word search, hidden message puzzle, and more. Wouldn't it be great to mail special, custom-designed puzzles to the long-distance grandkids!

Of course, puzzles can be great to work as a family. Do you have special childhood memories of putting puzzles together?

Have a great weekend,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/.

© 2009 by Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.
Photo Credit: © Anatoly Tiplyashin / Dreamstime.com

Friday, September 10, 2010

Grandparent's Day


Friday's Grand Connection Fun

Grandparent's Day is this Sunday (September 12, 2010). I hope that it is celebrated where you live and that you'll be able to spend some special time with your grandchildren!

This weekend may be a perfect opportunity for us to go through the old scrapbooks, looking for pictures of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers. We might want to scan the pictures and make a "grandmother collage" that we could give to our grandchildren. And if grandchildren live nearby, it would be such fun to do this together!

Now is also a good time for us to thank God for the gift of grandchildren. The older I get the more I appreciate the meaning of Proverbs 17:6: "Children's children are a crown to the aged" and understand why poet Nora Hetrick says that grandparents "sprinkle stardust."

Now, if you don't mind a tear coming to your eye, click on this video from grandparents.com. I just watched it and it is wonderful: http://www.grandparents.com/gpday2009/index.html

Happy Grandparents Day,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/

© 2010 by Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.
Photo ©  by Designpicsub / Dreamstime.com

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Where's my picture?



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Tuesday's  Grand Connection Thought

by Mary May Larmoyeux

A few weeks ago I wrote about having an indoor picnic with the grandkids. It was just too hot for an outdoor picnic! So, we spread a plastic tablecloth on the floor and had a picnic in the den.

I asked the grandkids to draw pictures of the sky, sun, flowers, etc., and we taped them around the room to give us an outdoor feel. They had fun and it was a really easy way to entertain them.

Well, this weekend the grands came over. When our three-year-old grandson walked into the den he looked around the room and said, "Where are the pictures?" I didn't know what he meant at first and then he added, "from our picnic."

Well ... those particular pictures went into File 13. I just said, "Why don't you draw some new pictures," and he and his sister did.

After our grands left I decided to get a three-ring notebook and put their artwork in it. Next time when our three-year-old grand asks about his pictures, I'll have them.

How do you save your grandkids' artwork? Any tips for us?

Have a great week,
Mary

http://www.marymaywrites.com/
https://grandconnection.blogspot.com/


© by Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.
Picture © Cienpies Design / Illustrations / Dreamstime.com