Word and Story Fun

Friday’s Grand Connection Fun  
by Mary May Larmoyeux
 
I was looking at some online articles and read one by Doris Schuchard in the Home Education Magazine ; it had some great ideas. If you’d like to provide hours of fun for the grands with newspapers and magazines, read on. I’ll share a couple of Doris’ tips: 

ABCs—Give each child a page from a newspaper or magazine. Assign them an alphabet letter and see how many words they can circle starting with that letter within a minute. Variation: Can you find a word for each letter of the alphabet?

Pops and I can use this idea with our grands who are just 3 and 4. Although they really don’t know how to spell, they could circle individual letters or highlight each letter of the alphabet.

Okay, here’s one more of Doris’ ideas:

End It – Give your child a short newspaper or magazine story, but cut off the ending. Have her write her own ending and then compare it to the real one. Variations: Give her endings from three different stories; can she choose the correct one? Or, match headlines with the correct stories.

Although our small grandkids won’t be able to write endings to articles and stories, Pops or I could read them an article about something that would interest them (such as a story about an animal) and let them tell us the ending.

I don’t know about you, but I need to get a few newspapers and magazines out of the recycling bin—for the grandkids.

Do you have any other ideas about how we can help our grandkids of all ages not only tell creative stories, but also increase their vocabularies?

Have a great weekend,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
Co-author of The Grand Connection: 365 Ways to Connect with Your Grandchild's Heart

© 2008 by Mary May Larmoyeux.

What will our grandchildren do with Jesus Christ?

Tuesday's  Grand Connection Thought 

by Mary May Larmoyeux

At church on Sunday, our pastor reminded us that God's presence makes our life powerful. He read 1 Thessalonians 1:8 and said that God wants to echo His life through us. Then he asked "How's your echo?"

Have you ever called into a canyon or cave and heard your voice reverberate—over and over and over again? As our pastor explained, an echo allows our voices to go farther and expands the reach of what we're saying.

As a grandparent, I'm very aware that I have only so many years of life left on this earth. I want my echo to draw my grandchildren to Jesus Christ. I want them to know that I'm a weak person who cannot love the unlovable, cannot serve the needy, cannot care more for others than myself. Yet, when I trust Christ to love through me, He can do those very things ... and more.

And I want my grandchildren to know that the most important decision they will make in their lives is: "What will I decide about Jesus Christ?" Ron Hutchcraft has a great video that explains why deciding this is so important. You may want to watch the short video with an older grandchild.

Also, Dennis and Barbara Rainey share a list of 40 ways that parents can focus on biblical priorities when raising children. I think that these ways apply to grandparents, too.

Have you discovered any online resources that can help children learn more about Christ?

Have a great week,

Mary

Mary May Larmoyeux

co-author of The Grand Connection: 365 Ways to Connect with Your Grandchild's Heart

© 2011 by Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.
Photo © Darko Veselinovic / Dreamstime.com

Make a Blessing Book

 
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Friday's Grand Connection Fun

by Mary May Larmoyeux

When our three-year-old granddaughter was attempting to go to sleep during a visit, she said that she was afraid. I remembered her words as I read Psalm 4:8 yesterday morning: “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD make me dwell in safety.”

When she came over for her weekly visit last night, I shared this verse with her. We did our best to memorize it together, and I could tell that the words gave her a sense of comfort. As I tucked her into bed, we talked about how God would give her peace and how He would watch over her.

Then she said that she couldn’t sleep (yep … she could have been stalling for more time). We started counting blessings. I left the room as she was remembering all of the ways that God has blessed her.

You know, I think I’m going to start a little blessing book with the grands with pictures of people and things they're grateful for. And I think it would be good to include some Scriptures—ones like Psalm 4:8 that remind them of God’s unending care.

Were your children or grandchildren ever afraid to go to sleep at night? How did you comfort them? Also, do you have any ideas about making a blessing book for older children?

Have a great weekend,
Mary
Mary May Larmoyeux
http://www.marymaywrites.com/

© 2009 by Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.
© Dan Talson / Dreamstime.com

Four dimensional love

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Tuesday's Grand Connection Thought

by Mary May Larmoyeux

As I mentioned in last Tuesday's post, I recently sponsored a poetry contest in memory of my father. Entries were to include a reference to a grandparent or grandchild.

Catherine Moran's beautiful poem below won second place. I just love her poem! Does it bring back any memories for you?

Four dimensional love
by Catherine Moran

My grandchildren and I share
in every dimension of our lives.
As they grow up,
I realize how love crosses all boundaries
and secures all relationships.

I love the length of our visits that stretch
all the sharing to the limit.
Monopoly and Clue
keep them counting and figuring and conniving
to match my years of learning.
We pull out the whole length of train tracks
to construct the village
and whistle our way around the room.

I love the width of our encounters
that encompasses all stores in the mall.
We girls never hesitate to expand our shopping,
giving each one a chance to experiment with money.
Teaching values is one way
to show how much I care about their future.

I love the depth of our talks that touch
upon the real meaning of actions and their consequences.
Their insights give me a fresh angle
to consider.
How surprising that they eventually open up
with some deep thoughts
that can be shared by the young and old.

Time is the biggest dimension I love to share.
There is such a space between our years,
and I relish our minutes and hours
that cross all those lines with ease.
Somehow I feel the love for my grandchildren
flows through them back
to my own children once more
in all those various dimensions.

Thank God for grandchildren,
Mary

Mary May Larmoyeux

co-author of The Grand Connection: 365 Ways to Connect with Your Grandchild's Heart

Four Dimensional Love © 2011 by Catherine Moran. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Photo © by Designpicsub / Dreamstime.com

© 2011 by Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.

We found diamonds!



The boys' "snake house"

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Friday's Grand Connection Thought

by Mary May Larmoyeux

Pops and I are building a house in the country, and we had our "kids" and grandkids over for a cookout last Saturday. We ate on the deck of what will soon be our new home.

After our five grandchildren left, Pops remarked that kids sure don't need much to be happy. That's because we had no toys for the children to enjoy, no books for them to read, and no balls for them to throw—but they had a blast!

The evening began with the smaller grandkids playing inside a huge cardboard box that's now sitting in what will be our family room. Then all of the girls made a "girls' club" and sat on some huge rocks.

The boys? Why they played with scraps of lumber and made a "snake house," certain that some unsuspecting snake would crawl up the stairs to the deck and enter their contraption.

While the kids were having fun, we adults sat on the deck and soaked in life until ...

"Diamonds, diamonds!" a granddaughter screamed as she dashed around the corner of the house. "Beautiful diamonds ... and there are lots of them!"

Her dad went to see what all of the excitement was about. He identified her discovery: broken glass.

I found a pad of paper, after everyone had left. Our oldest grandchild had apparently decided to make a list of the day's treasures:

• 3 crstals
• 2 strawberys
• 1 old coin
• 1 old string
• 1 dung beetle
• 1 plastic bag underground
• 2 pieces of old metle
• 2 hooks
• broken glass
• rock shaped like bager (I have no idea what this is)

Like Pops said, it doesn't take much to take kids happy!

Sometime when your grandkids come to visit, you may want to give them a pad of paper and ask them to jot down the treasurers they discover in your yard or house. Why, they might even find "diamonds"!

Have a great weekend,

Mary

Mary May Larmoyeux

co-author of The Grand Connection: 365 Ways to Connect with Your Grandchild's Heart

© 2011 by Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.

Photo ©  Mary Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.