GRANDMOTHER CENTRAL: INSTALLMENT #1

As a teacher who worked mostly with primary students and their parents, I wore many hats….educator, instructor, nurse, referee, counselor, lesson plan builder, mentor, role model, surrogate parent, event planner, therapist, etc., etc., etc.  Although I loved being a teacher with so many different roles to play, my most fun gig in life has been…..a GRANDMOTHER. 

I am blessed with only two grands, R. is 16 and M. is 13, but they both sure are grand.

They are my son’s children, and they live only about two blocks from us.  Although they both were in daycare for awhile when they were very young, most of their after-school afternoons, summers, and school holidays have been spent with me.  (So add to my other long list of hats:  sitter, playmate, chauffeur, entertainer-extraordinaire, cleaner-upper of messes, and expert child spoiler….I’m really good at that last one!)

When I was a small child since my mother worked I spent a lot of time at my grandmother’s house, but sadly it was not one bit of fun.  My grandmother had very bad arthritis (and perhaps tended to be a little bit of a hypochondriac) and was a shut-in who never left her house except to go to the doctor.  There was absolutely nothing for me to do there once morning cartoons and Captain Kangaroo were off the air, and so I was very lonely and bored.  I remember deciding during that time that if I ever had grandchildren, they would NEVER be bored when they came to visit me….and I think I have pretty much stuck to that!

I believe that when R & M grow up, they will look back and have fond memories of the many things that we did together.  We played games, cooked, went on scavenger hunts, built forts, and much, much more.  Sooooo…I have decided that I am going to share some of the fun things we did together in hopes it might give some other grandmothers (or mothers of young children) some ideas of how they can make their own special memories with their kids.  I have shared many of these ideas with grandmother friends and some have suggested I even write a book about them….hmmm, maybe one day???  I can’t take credit for most of this stuff though because I searched and searched online and in books to keep the fun going.

I am going to post one or two activities from time to time and have decided to call them GRANDMOTHER CENTRAL.  For those of you whose kids or grandkids have gotten passed these days, maybe you can share the ideas with friends or family….or just overlook these posts and find something more interesting to read😊

And away we go….   (from 2013)

I don’t know a kid who doesn’t love blowing bubbles and there are all sorts of recipes to make your own bubbles and ideas for making various types of wands, but this was a new way for us and so much fun.  In fact, my granddaughter had a friend over recently and she decided she wanted to do this again!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

          *a plastic water or soda bottle with bottom cut off (for each child)

          *an old sock (for each child)

          *rubber band

          *bubble solution (homemade or store-bought)

          *small dish or bowl to hold the solution

Simply pull the sock onto the bottom of the bottle; be sure to pull it up until a portion of the sock is flush against the bottle’s bottom…you can see that in this picture.  

Then have your child dip this bottom end into the solution and blow on the opposite/mouth end of the bottle.  If the child is small, BE SURE to explain to them to BLOW OUT, not BREATHE IN!!!!!! 

As you can see, the bubbles come out in a stream of connected bubbles.  My two (always being competitive with each other) would see who could make the longest stream.  And, of course, if you leave the kids to it, they will come up with their own ideas.

This really was a lot of fun, so easy to prep, cost little to no money, and also taught my kiddos that you can reuse/recycle things that would be trash into something useful and/or fun!  That’s always a good lesson to be learned!!!

Yep, this grandmother CHERI (that’s what they call me) was a sure-fire hit that day!  Lots of fun and good memories made…also great for a photo-op!!!

Of all the things that babies love

To help them in their troubles

There’s nothing in the world, they think,

So nice as blowing bubbles.

To dip the pipe among the suds

And then to gravely blow

To watch the lovely colors change,

As fast the bubbles grow.

To throw them softly in the air

And see them sail away,

Is fun enough, for girl or boy,

To fill the longest day.

Sweet children of our tender love,

May all life’s bubbles be

As bright with tints of rosy hope

As these which now we see.

---Author Unknown