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
