Personal Keepsakes Written for Grandkids

Talk and Record the Past with Kids

 “Mom, did you know that after WWII Great Grandpa saw starving little kids searching in garbage cans for food in Germany and he always shared his rations with them?  Their faces bothered him for the rest of his life.”

  “Yes, dear, he had a hard time talking about his experiences.”

  Luckily with help  Great Grandpa wrote down his thoughts and created a family keepsake. Reading the keepsake helps grandkids understand why Grandpa had a soft spot for hungry children.

  Someone must be very disciplined to keep a diary or daily journal, but book companies are making it easier to share the most important life experiences with generations of family to come.

  The journals provide prompts and fill in the blanks for people who don’t like to write.

  However, sometimes people are surprised at how much Grandpa and Grandma will write once they are given a little nudge. Life experiences and childhood memories will come tumbling out.

Retell Experiences; Make a Diary

  Many of the memory books also have space for a few very important family photos, like giving Grandma a bent over backwards smooch similar to the famous WWII photograph of a soldier and a nurse in New York City.

  These memory books pass on family traditions and holiday celebrations like hanging giant holiday balls made from clear plastic cups laced with lights.  They recount favorite stories that would rival the “Little House on the Prairie” series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

  The keepsake books reveal what life was like similar to the movie “The Christmas Story.”  Real little people actually were stuffed into itchy woolen long underwear and puffy snow suits with soggy mittens tied with too short yarn running through the sleeves from one arm to the other.  People really did touch their tongues to frozen water pumps and light poles needing rescue.

  Memory books often have guided questions for grandparents to recall their scariest moments, the biggest bully on the block who stole their lunch, or the girl with pigtails who actually did have her hair dipped in the inkwell.

  

Read Books About Journaling

They encourage grandparents to talk about education, love, marriage, family life, religion, military service and unique memories.

  The story of life, retelling experiences, and the wiliness to share hopes and dreams for grandchildren can be recorded this season.

  Here are a few of these books that also make great gifts: “For My Grandchild: A Grandparent’s Gift of Memory” by Lark Crafts; “Memories for My Grandchild” by Suzanne Zenkel; “Grandmother’s Journal: Memories and Keepsakes for My Grandchild” by Blue Streak; “For my Grandchild” by Paige Gilchrist; “Grandfather’s Journal” by Laura Westlake; and “Letters to my Grandchild” by Lea Redmond. For more keepsake ideas see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons live and podcasts, also on Pinterest and Facebook.

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

Kids Learning to Love Math

Simple Activities Done Together Counts

There are some simple math activities that families can do that are really cheap but effective. It is what families think, say, and do that counts, according to researchers. Remember the saying, “Children who are read to, read?” The same is true for math.  When you’re in the kitchen, car, restaurant, or park try these suggestions and see how easy they are to do. Math thinking becomes an enjoyable habit.

 Number Meaning

  Teach young children to make connections between numbers and sets of objects. Point to beans on their plate and ask,” How many beans to you see? Let’s count them.”  Showing children three Cheerios or toy cars when teaching the number three helps them understand what numbers mean better than reciting strings of numbers by memory. 

Make Connections Observe Patterns and Sets

 Shapes and Patterns

  Spot patterns in picture books like dots and lines on a character’s shirt. Build towers of blocks side by side and invite children to make theirs look like yours. Look for rectangles, circles and other shapes on the playground. What shapes are on houses and other buildings? What shapes can you find during a walk in the woods?  Use gestures and words to describe shapes and how they are bigger or smaller than other shapes. Use shapes to draw simple animals and other figures. 

Addition and Subtraction

  Draw a number line on the sidewalk, garage, or basement floor. Then hop on numbers, such as,” Hop to 5,” and now, “Hop to the number that is 1 more.” Piggy bank their money or use threejars.com to practice adding and subtracting when they want to use money.

Cooking with Fractions

  Use fractions to divide recipe ingredients while helping in the kitchen. “How many half cups make a whole cup? Help children cut pizzas, fruits, and vegetables into halves, fourths and thirds.

Problem Solving

Families Activities Can Teach Math

For families who want to jump into math problem solving there is There is a site that provides fun math problem from time to time to figure out.  Go to bedtimemathproblem.org. There are problems for wee ones, little kids, and big kids. Here’s a sample. Wee ones can count on fingers: If you rake up 2 bags of leaves and use a leaf blower to pile up 3 more bags of leaves, how many bags of leaves did you clean up? Then when outside raking leaves use the idea to talk about math.  “We raked up two piles of leaves. If we rake up two more, how many piles will we have to jump on?”  The same is true for making snowballs and snowmen. There is also “Bedtime Math: The Truth Comes Out” part of the Bedtime Math series by Laura Overdeck. Math conversation can be fun!

For more see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons live and podcasts; Pinterest, and Facebook.

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos