KIDS' MATTERS

GRANDMA'S SUPPORTING ROLE

  Life is a buzz, a twitter, a face in a book.  We don't measure time in seconds anymore, we measure it in realtime, DSL connection "load-time", "dial-up", and more.  The thing is, with all the computer game frenzy, the Nintendos, Leapsters, and Barbie Doll computers, the less time children spend on drawing, coloring, writing and developing their creative imagination.  What's a parent to do?  The world is changing.

So here we are.  Grandmas who are privileged to stay at home.  We have the undeniable opportunity to do what the world does not do for our grandchildren.  Create magical moments!  We can support the world of technology and gadgetry, by undergirding the fundamentals of life.  But will we?

In an article by award-winning Children's author, Dixie Phillips, a pastor's wife in Iowa, and have served the Gospel Lighthouse Church, in Floyd, Iowa, for 29 years.  Dixie gives a few pointers on keeping "writing" alive with children that were so basic for we grandma's who love to instill old fashion values, and appreciation for yesteryears.  Oddly, these are some of the things my grandchildren and I do right now.  I feel so special (can you see my head growing?).  As well as developing small-motor skills, the ideas are those which any of us can do.  Here a few she offered with a bit of my embellishments and a couple of my own ideas. 

Give your grandies flip-top notepads and pretend they are waiters/waitresses.  (My granddaughters love this game.  We had many a peanut buttter sandwich delivered to us with a glass of apple juice.) 

Give them a set of thank-you notes so they can write thank-yous for gifts (or as Dixie suggested--"o local officials who are doing something for the community).  Teach them how to address the envelope.  Let them take it to the mailbox.  (Send them notes in the mail.  They love to get mail.)

Let them add their favorite foods to your grocery list.  (To develop better reading skills, let them cross off the items on the list.)  By the way...you don't have to go to the grocery to do this.  You can let the grocery store be your cupboards, and let them go shopping there and take a few things back into a play area.  My granddaughters do this all the time.

Let them write a letter to the editor of a local paper.  Often these letters are published and give children an opportunity to see their words in print.  This could be the moment they decide they are contributors in society.

Let them have a party for a couple of friends.  Have them design their own invitations and send them in the mail.  If you're not up to partying, then let them invite their cousins to a movie.

Help them make a calendar of events.  Then you can have them post what they did on the calendar.  If they fill their calendar with things they do each day, then you can reward them with a dime a day.  It's a great way to motivate writing, but also to record memories.

Help them make a card for another family member who lives far away (or across town) and send it to them.  Let them take notes in worship and then later send a thank you to the preacher for teaching them about God.

How about you?  Got any innovative ideas you can come up with to help teach your children to use their writing skills?  Maybe you're like me.  I was inspired to write this post today when I happened across Dixie's website. Peruse my archives and see if you find anything that lights up that bulb in your life.

Creating NEW LIFE Craft

They didn't want to watch cartoons.

They didn't want to play with playdoh.

They didn't want to read books.

Puzzles, blocks, dolls...all, "boring".

Haylee suggested we make a craft.

Crafting is a favorite thing to do at grama's.  Unfortunately for me, my brain was empty.  So I went to a craft idea website and showed Haylee some things we could do.  She nixed the catepillar made of a separated egg-carton.  I turned her attention to lunch as I searched for something else I could make with items I had around the house.  An interesting butterfly wand, made of a popsicle stick, pipecleaner and a coffee filter, flitted before my eyes.  However, it called for "adult supervised hot-gluing".  I wasn't in the mood for glue-guns.  So, I waddled out to the kitchen to see what I had in my craft cupboard.

On the kitchen counter lay some push-pin style clothes pins the girls had played with the day before.  My brain raced into overdrive.  "Perfect."  I took out some coffee filters, folded one in half and pushed it between the slots with the folded edge first, then flayed edges to follow.  Then I took another filter, folded it and pushed it onto the clothespin with the folded edge going in first.  This created the sweetest little base for our butterfly.  I cut a pipe-cleaner and twisted it around the neck of the pin, then folded the tips of the pipecleaner to look like antenna nobs.  "Wella!"  A white butterfly.

I showed it to Kinsey and Haylee.  Haylee loved it--with one exception.  She wanted to color the coffee filter with markers and spray it with water to create another effect.  I'm all for creativity, so I said, "Sure, have at it."  I figured the longer she worked on her wings, the happier she'd be making the craft.  I also utitlized that time to begin writing this post.  (If you're doing this craft with a child with short attention span, simply omit the marker coloring and make it a white butterfly).

 

 
 

There's just something about creating stuff.  I use the opportunity to ask how they "feel" when they make something.  They always say, "It feels gooooood."  So then I ask them how they think God feels when He created the whole wide world with all the butterflies, and flowers, and sky, and sun, and stars, and moon.  They get all excited and say, "He musta felt reeeeally good."

I think they're right.

To accomplish within a given time-frame, such as with school children or Sunday School classes, you can use colored tissue paper cut in circles.  Or, make the circles one day (let them sit in their cocoons), and finish the project on another day.  This gives you a great opportunity to explain the process of metamorphosis.  You could put their clothespin, colored coffee filters, and the antenna inside a paper bag with their names on it.  The next day (or following Sunday), you could take them out of their cocoons and finish creating new life.

OPTIONAL IDEAS:

Hook a wire ornament hanger to the neck and hang it on their bedroom curtains.

Attach string and hang from ceiling fan to make a mobile.  Or just make a mobile with an entire classes' collection of butterflies.

Or use pushpins and push your creations into the ceiling.  Add to the art collage as you make other things with wings that God created to fly.

Attach to stiff wire and stick in a potted plant as if the butterfly is in search of nectar.

Take pictures of children making their butterflies and then holding their finished creations.  Then have the older child write a story to go along with the photos and put it in a life-journal book.  Include scripture passage with it. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

They'll really appreciate the memory book when they're grown and working with their children and grandchildren.  Ah yes, my friends.  There is a method to this blogging Grama's madness.  Someday my grandchildren will have these memories to look back on for their children.  Neat legacy building, don't you think?

Stay tuned to see what we make next at Grama's House of Creative Crafts. I've got a great idea blowing in the wind for next time.  Leave a comment and I'll be sure and send you the link when I put it up.

MORE CRAFT FUN WE'VE DONE:

MOMMY MAGNETS

HEART POCKETS

FOR SUPER IDEAS AND CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVES WITH CHILDREN VISIT:

Tony Kummer's MINISTRY to CHILDREN WEBSITE

POCKET HEARTS FILLED WITH....

Well, actually...you can fill those pockets with lovenotes, scripture, or little task-promises for mommy on Mother's Day.  So many things could go in your heart pockets.

I am signed up for Tony Kummer's newsletter with his MINISTRY TO CHILDREN blogsite.  Over a year ago I watched a video he linked to showing how to make a Heart-pocket for a Sunday School project.  Well, I don't have a children's Sunday School class to teach.  But I have two very eager project-loving granddaughters who flat-out love it when I sit and make something--anything--with them.  So....when one winter evening our electricity went out due to an ice-storm, I ended up spending Thursday with the girls.  They didn't have electricity either.  But, they did have a fireplace to keep us toasty warm.  The next day, while their mother did office-work for her hubby's construction business (and later ran errands), Haylee, Kinsey and I made heart-pockets.  They turned out really cute and we had a blast making them.  We did a few extra things with ours that the video didn't show, but to see a great step-by-step instructional presentation, just go HERE.   MORE PHOTOS OF OUR CREATIONS BELOW:

 

Kinsey learns to punch holes.  We used the cutouts to decorate her pocket.  Kinsey pats her hearts on hearts to make them stick good with the glue stick she just used.

We stuck magnetic strip to the back of the heart pockets and put them on the fridge.  Now, we will write Bible verses on hearts and stick them inside the pockets.

SUCH FUN when you don't have electricity.  Don't forget to check out Tony's site above.

ANOTHER PROJECT YOU MIGHT LIKE:

MOTHER'S DAY MAGNETS. 

MOMMY MAGNETS 4 Mother's Day in 4 Easy Steps

So I had the girls over and we made "mommy" magnets.  Below are photos of materials needed and step by step assembly by none other than Miss Haylee and Miss Kinsey.  They were very diligent in following directions and it was one of the simplest crafts I ever put together for them.

I used plastic bottle caps.  Stuck a round magnet on the back.  Filled the cap with Elmer's glue.  Then added the inside decorations.  *DRIED* rice, beans, split peas.

I had all the items laid out on the table before I brought in the girls.  Then I sat down in front of them and guided them through each step.  Have a damp washcloth handy to wipe those sticky fingers.

STEP 1) Remove the paper sticker off the self-stick magnet.

STEP 2) Push the sticky side of magnet onto the topside (outer side) of the bottle cap.

"Haylee; did you know that God makes beans, and peas and rice?"  (A time to teach about God's provision.)

STEP 3) Squeeze Elmer's glue into the center of the inside of the bottle cap about half-full.

 
STEP 4) Generously drop your beans, rice, and peas into the cap and press down.  Haylee got creative and added a few grains of rice to her beans and peas.  I always let them individualize their creations.  Whatever they choose to do within the bounds of the tiny space in front of them, I say "Go for it!"

"Why beans and rice, Grama?"

"Because we're making magnets for the kitchen.  And Mommy cooks with beans, and rice and peas."

"That's a good idea!"  Whew!  I'm sure glad it was a good idea.  If not, Haylee might have taken her magnets apart and began sticking in fresh daisies.

Hope you enjoy this little craft.  It's great for Sunday School craft.  It took all of 10 minutes for us to put these together.  These are great for Mother's Day or even Mommy's birthday.  Actually, they're good for anyone's day as a cute gift for Christmas.  Use the imagination and let your heart go crazy for others.

One bit of advice:  Have a little plastic plate beneath the space where they actually assemble their magnets.  I usually do this.  Duh, didn't this time and you can see the clean-up I had all over the table and onto the floor.  Not bad, just had to sweep.  But could be avoided with plates or trays under their bottle caps.  selahV   

[CLICK ON ANY PHOTO FOR AN ENLARGEMENT]

[Check out the rest of my KIDS' MATTERS Blog for Insights and Hindsights and a few other ideas.]

GOD IS A GENIUS (Worth Showing Kids)

BLOWING BUBBLES, The Wonder of it All

Simple pleasures.  What in the world is it about blowing bubbles that tickles our souls?  I don't comprehend the magic in the experience; but nevertheless, it exists.

Slowly, gently, easy.  Creating the perfect bubble is an art form.  It takes patience, self-control.  And the end product is so very worth the time.

  Kinsey can't hide behind her bubble.  She's so proud.  She blew it up into the air then caught it on her bubble wand.  "Look, Grama!  Look at mine!"  How precious is the joy and innocence of a child.  What fun it is to create such circles--such rainbows.  God bless these moments of sheer pleasure.  Create in them the everlasting joy that keeps them ever drawing closer to Your splendor and hope.  Oh, the wonder of it all. 

CONVERSATION ABOUT AGING

Haylee Jae and Kinsey were sitting on their grampa's lap and discussing the wrinkles around his eyes.  Three-year-old Kinsey touched the mini-valleys of joy created by Bob's laughter over the past 66 years.  "You're old," Kinsey informed him.

"What!"  Grampa replied with dismay.  "Noooo, not me."

"Yes you are.  See," she patted his wrinkles again, then she pointed to her own wrinkle-free cheeks, "I new!"

Interesting concept on young and old.  Wrinkles mean old and wrinkle-free means new.  Gotta love a child's concept of things--especially when about an hour later, Kinsey sat nestled next to me in my recliner.  She looked up at me as I read her book with her.  Then she stared, taking a second, more careful look beneath my glasses.  Then she touched my cheeks and announced, "You new, Grama."  And somehow I believed her.  selahV  

IS SANTA REAL? When we disagree agreeably.

"Grama, Is Santa real?" my 5 year-old granddaughter, Haylee, asked.

"Yes," Haylee's 8 year-old cousin, Abby, answered.  "Isn't he, Grama?"

 What to answer.  I took a deep breath and thought for a moment.  Haylee's been taught since a toddler that Santa was a storybook character.  Abby's parents taught her that Santa was real.  They've always left Santa cookies and milk on Christmas Eve.  Abby even showed me the letter she has left for Santa near her fireplace this year, and the pictures she has drawn for him.

Silence was deafening.  When I didn't answer, the girls began debating.  "My mommy said...".   What's a grandmother to do?  Haylee knew I'd tell her the truth.  "Grama, is Santa real?"

"What does your mommy say?" 

"She says he isn't real."

"Well, there you go.  Listen to mommy."

"But he is real," Abby reaffirmed.  "He leaves me presents.  He comes down my fireplace.  He comes through the door when people don't have fireplaces.  Isn't that right, Grama?"  Oh, brother.  I did not want to get into this between them.

"Well, Abby, some people believe that.  But other people don't."

"See, Haylee," Abby asserted.  "Some people believe it.  And when some people believe it, then Santa is real."

"And when people don't believe it, then Santa isn't real," Haylee returned.

Abby agreed.  And it seemed they had it all worked out.  For now, anyway.  What Abby will feel later on may create another set of questions altogether.  But for now, they'd decided to disagree agreeably.  I still feel like I'm gonna get chunks of coal in my stocking though. SelahV

SHARING GOD

Has a five-year-old or younger ever asked you "Who is God? What does He do?"

When I hear that question it makes me think about what I want to be when I grow up.  I have always wanted to be a missionary. I want to tell little kids about how Jesus died on the cross to pay for their own sins. I want them to know there is a hell and there is a heaven. That there is a God and there is a devil, but you should keep in mind Jesus is always with you even when you are doing a horrible thing.

I sometimes go to church, but I know Jesus still loves me even if I don't go to church enough. So remember if a child asks you "Who is God? "  "What does he do?", tell them he is a wonderfull person that loves everyone even when they are being bad. Don't be afraid to tell what he did and who he is to everyone, because I am 11-years old and I want to tell everyone who God is!

by Brooklyn

WHEN I WAS BAPTIZED

I went to Brother Doug and said I want to be baptized.  I was scared.  But when I went up there to talk to him, I was not scared anymore.

When I was baptized I was 7.  The month I was baptized was May 17, 2009.  When I was in the back where you get baptized, I would take my church clothes off and put a tee-shirt and shorts on and then a robe on.  The girl that was back there told me to bend my knees because if I don't then they will stick up.  I forgot to bend my knees and so my feet went up.  When I got out of the water I felt really really happy.  After I was baptized I feel like I have Jesus in my heart even more because after all this time I don't want to be rude anymore. 

by abby