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2008/08/30
National Grandparents Day is celebrated every year on the Sunday following Labor Day. Grandparents Day is meant to be a family day bringing the generations together enabling the younger ones to appreciate their grandparents and their accomplishments. Some families enjoy small, private gatherings while others hold family reunions and celebrate their heritage.
During the preparations for Grandparents Day and during the day itself, be sure to record all with your digital camera capturing everyone interacting. Remember, we all are grandchildren so this is a great day for everyone to get involved!
Then when it’s all over, create a stunning bound photo book for grandparents  using the free software at Picaboo.
 
For Grandparents Day, include children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren in planning activities such as storytelling, board games, scavenger hunts, and crafts. Grandparents Day also presents a great opportunity to share old family recipes, stories, songs, dances and other talents, teaching the young to carry them on to future generations. Be sure to record each activity with high quality digital photos for your Picaboo Memory Book.
Picaboo provides you with the free online software to create your family’s personalized Grandparents Day photo memory book using digital photos taken during your Grandparents Day celebration. You decide on the amount of pictures, page layouts, color scheme, backgrounds, etc. When you’re happy with the results, order your new Grandparents Day digital photo album and Picaboo does the rest. Picaboo will mail your digital photo memory books to you.
Grandparents and other family members will certainly enjoy their Picaboo Grandparents Day Photo Memory Album keepsake for a long time into the future.
2008/08/21
Grandparents, does your granddaughter love to play Mommy and is she attending school for the first time this year? Why not celebrate the occasion for your grandchild by giving your granddaughter a one of a kind, wonderful gift that can last a lifetime. Give your grandchild an adorable just-like-me baby doll from My Twinn for just $29.
Click on the banner to find links to view the baby dolls, beautiful clothing, and more baby doll fun accessories – some of which are shown below. Just like the real thing, these baby dolls are just too cute to resist!
 
My Twinn baby dolls are also great for any special occasion, holiday, or birthday. Give an adorable baby doll a home and enjoy the excitement watching your granddaughter care for her new baby doll.
My Twinn Doll: Playmate Today, Keepsake Tomorrow
Read my posts on Grandchildren’s Great Christmas Present Ideas, Part 1 and Part 1a below.
2008/08/16
I received an email this week from Dana who asked me to write a poem for a grandmother whose grandson had been killed in a car accident. She wants to include a poem that would reflect the grandmother’s and grandson’s close relationship in a framed collage of pictures for the grandmother to keep.
My response was that I didn’t feel that I could write such a special grandmother poem because I didn’t know the grandmother or grandson personally. A poem such as that should be written by someone who knew them and observed their special grandmother – grandson relationship.
I felt sad that I couldn’t fulfill her request so I searched for a grandmother poem that might come close and found the following poem. Words can be changed in any poem to create a more personalized poem for a loved one such as a grandmother, grandfather, or grandchild.
With a few changes, this poem could be turned around to be from a grandchild to a deceased grandmother.
Grandmother
I really felt quite special
That God had chosen you…
To be a person in my life
Who knew me through and through.
The time that we spent talking
I always felt you heard…
You were so good at listening
To each and every word.
Even things I didn’t share
You somehow heard them, too…
It was a special gift of care
That God had given you.
So I just want to thank you
For being there for me…
Showing me love that was so true
By loving me totally.
~ Author Unknown ~
(edited by NanasCorner, 2008)
2008/08/15
Are you searching for a poem to read at your grandparent’s funeral? There are many funeral or bereavement poems to find on websites such as this one, but the best funeral poem would be one you write for your grandparent from your heart.
Recently, our children’s grandmother, Mom Mom, passed on to heaven and one of our daughters, Kari, wanted to express her feelings by reading a poem at the funeral. She searched but didn’t find one that was meaningful, so she wrote her own. Knowing her sister and brother felt the same, she wrote the funeral poem to their Mom Mom from the three of them.
It is a lovely, personal poem…it is from the heart. Kari has given me permission to post the funeral poem to their grandmother here for you to read. Perhaps this funeral poem to her grandmother will give you inspiration to write your own.
MOM-MOM
Mom-Mom, you gave us something special no other could,
The unconditional love from a Grandmother’s heart.
You watched us grow from babies to adults,
Always protecting us, advising us, and loving us.
You gave us so many memories…
From your coffee and coleslaw to your curlers, brush, and comb,
You giving scooter pies and making us grilled cheese.
Mom-Mom you were always there to talk to,
Always there to count on,
Always there for us to play with,
Even after Kaitlin and Emily were born.
On the morning of August 5th, when we all got that phone call
Telling us you passed,
We lost more than just Mom-Mom,
A part of our hearts now gone.
We all will miss you forever Mom-Mom,
This emptiness never to be filled.
Even though we can’t believe you’re gone,
We all know you are watching from above.
We wish you were here with us now,
Though we understand you had to move on.
We may have lost our Mom-Mom on earth,
But we gained a guardian angel in Heaven.
We know you love us Mom-Mom,
And forever we will love you.
May God bless you Mom-Mom,
Because the Angel he took is You.
(Thank you, Kari)
2008/08/14
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A child will not be diagnosed with an Attention Deficit Disorder unless they exhibit 6 or more of the 18 characteristics (in two settings) associated with ADD or ADHD. With the diagnosis, your grandchild will be eligible for special modifications and accommodations to help him with his school work. |
Attention Deficit Disorders are complex neurobiological disorders and can affect both personal and academic interactions. Physicians, Child Psychologists, and Teachers are more aware of the characteristics associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) than they were when our children were in school.
Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder share some basic characteristics, yet they are also different in some ways.
Children who have ADHD tend to be:
- hyperactive
- energetic
- talkative
- outgoing
Children with ADD tend to be:
- low energy
- introverted
- less likely to talk in class
- daydreamers
Note: any given child with ADD/ADHD will have some, but probably not all, of the characteristics given below.
Similarities: Students with ADD and ADHD share these characteristics:
- impulsivity (may decrease some as child matures)
- inattention
- trouble getting started on homework or schoolwork
- poor sustained attention (persistence on tasks)
- problems with written expression and math
- poor handwriting (fine motor skills)
- short-term memory problems
- working memory problems
Differences: Students with ADHD and ADD also have very distinct differences. However, students with combined type ADHD will have symptoms from both columns:
| ADHD (hyperactive-impulsive type) |
ADD (inattentive type) |
| hyperactive |
has low energy, not hyperactive |
| out of seat |
sits in seat daydreaming |
| talkative |
quiet, less talkative |
| blurts out answers |
slow to respond in class |
| talks and acts before thinking |
slow processing speed
(seems confused at times)
slow retrieval of information
slow perceptual-motor speed
slow writing |
| class clown |
quiet, socially distant |
difficulty making and keeping friends
misses social cues |
gets along better with peers |
Less Common Characteristics: The following behaviors are not present in all students with ADD or ADHD, but when present, they are more likely to be associated with the type of attention deficit noted.
| ADHD (hyperactive-impulsive type) |
ADD (inattentive type) |
| aggression |
anxiety; may reduce impulsivity |
| oppositional |
less oppositional behavior |
| defiance; conduct disorder |
less defiance |
Source: Teaching Teens with ADD and ADHD, A quick reference guide for teachers and parents by Chris A. Zeigler Dendy, M.S.
For further information on diagnosing ADHD or ADD, read the following article in its entirety at PsychCentral.com:
Diagnosing ADHD in Children, By John M. Grohol, Psy.D.
“These symptoms must be present for at least 6 months in two or more settings, e.g., school and at home; play and at school; etc. If the symptoms have not been present for at least 6 months or the child meets the criteria only in one setting (e.g., school only), then ADHD should not be diagnosed.”
If your child does not meet the above criteria for ADD or ADHD, there may be other underlying causes for your child’s behavior such as a learning disaiblity, depression, anxiety, or difficulty with peer relationships. Keeping a daily journal may help you realize a reoccuring pattern with notable triggers. Ongoing discussions with your child’s teachers, guidance counselor, and physician may help determine the reason for the behavior.
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