Another Summer Grandparenting Tip

If you're vacationing this summer with your grandchildren, consider giving them the following "assignment." Take pictures for your summer vacation journal.

But one-time use cameras for your grandchildren. Give the cameras to the grandkids before the start of the vacation. Make sure they understand each camera has only 24 (or 27) pictures, so they'll have to make sure each picture counts!

Over the course of your vacation with the grandkids, make sure they capture those special Kodak moments. After the vacation, get the pictures developed and look them over with your grandchildren. Make a vacation journal, and make sure the grandkids know they can have a copy if they want one.

The great thing about the pictures is that the grandchildren will remember that they were the "go to" people in the photojournalism adventure, and at the same time, they'll develop stronger ties to their grandparents!

High School Graduation

We attended our youngest son's graduation from high school on Saturday. There's something great about the look of a high school graduate's face. It's full of hope and expectation, full of the future. (And, we're sure, glee over being through with high school.)



The graduation was on Saturday. Today, Sunday, we carted him off to college for 4 days of orientation. It's a time of transition for him. It makes us think, that's what life is all about. Transitions. If there's one thing that's a constant in this world, it's change. And in today's modern world, the transitions seem to come fast and furious. So, when you're thinking about something weighty to teach your kids, tell them about transitions, about changing surroundings, taking new paths. If your kids take transitions in stride, they'll have an advantage in life and will be better able to reach their full potentials.

Pacify the Children?

How do we as a society raise our children to reach their full potential?

Do we challenge them? Or do we coddle them?

Okay, so maybe most decisions aren't so clearcut, but we just received a report from a concerned parent regarding child care for a 4-year-old that makes us think society has swung into the realm of over pacification. It's great for babies, right? Let's take a look ...




Yes, no problem with the infants, but once they can walk and talk, it might be time to challenge to improve their skills ... and to obey the rules.

Here's what our friend had to say. Her grandson goes to day care. To help with discipline, each child had a flower cut out from construction paper taped to the wall. The child's name was printed on the flower. Each time a child misbehaved, a paper worm was taped to the flower (although it could be removed with good behavior). But this was deemed negative discipline. So, instead, each child was rewarded with a petal for good behavior. Sound good? No, no, no. The awarding of petals was deemed as discrimination (based on behavior). And therefore it was a violation of human rights.

Sheesh. It's no wonder that there's a glut on childhood obesity (pun intended). The way our society is teaching kids these days, it's not fair to call unhealthy behavior bad behavior.

Memorial Day

If you're a parent or grandparent, we think it's important to hand down your family traditions to the youngsters. Holidays are like national traditions. This Memorial Day, as your family gathers for a picnic, ball game, the Indy 500, or your own special family gathering, take a few minutes to talk about the meaning of Memorial Day to the children. It always surprises us when we talk to children and ask them what they know about holidays. Often, the answer is very little. Let's not raise a generation of wannabes on Jay Leno's Jaywalkers segments. Let's teach our children national traditions.

Books and Boats

We'll be traveling to Michigan for a booksigning event on Saturday, June 7 (1-2::30 pm). Come by and say hello if you're in the area. The event is at The Book Blues Bookstore. Great name for a bookstore!

If you check out the bookstore's website, you'll see that they support a very worthy cause, Books for Soldiers, which we wholeheartedly endorse. After sending some of our own books, we received a very nice email from Afghanistan thanking us for helping fill out their base library.



Need more tips for summer travel with the kids and grandkids? Check out our article at Houseboat magazine.

Enjoy!

A Tip for Scholarships

Ah, the scholarship season is in full gear. Actually, we've been at it for months now (and months and months ...). Having 5 kids at institutions of higher learning is certainly a challenge. But as we tell our children, there's scholarship money out there, you just have to apply for it.

And so, the paperwork begins and then never stops. Time is precious, but the time spent on applying for scholarships can be well worth it. It's just that ..., well, it's boring and repetitive and there are just so many other better things to do.

We discovered that there's a great way to save time with the multitudes of applications. Start a file, either on paper or in a computer file, and have those stock answers handy. Keep a copy of your tax return in it, as well as any other financial information they ask for. Keep copies of any scholarships applied for. Many of the questions are repetitive. You'll say, "Hey, didn't I just answer that last month?" Just look in your folder, and BINGO, there's your answer.

We hope this tip helps!

Do You Talk To Your Children About Intolerance?

I find the sign offensive.

“AMERICAN OWNED AND OPERATED!” it proclaims, in bold red and blue letters. It stands in a prominent location in front of the corner gas station, an obvious reaction to the new owner of the competing station across the street.

I’ve met the new owner in passing, and although we haven’t exchanged names or any other personal information, he seems to be as congenial and polite as any other gas station clerk. He always has a smile and a “Have a nice day” for every customer, which I believe is the main prerequisite for a successful business person. His skin is a bit darker than the local average, and there may be just a touch of an unidentifiable accent when he speaks. This apparently classifies him as UNAMERICAN for some folks in these parts.

The sign hits a nerve with me. I remember being about ten years old, listening to Grandma Annie telling stories about growing up in the early 1900s on an isolated island on the Canadian border. When she was 7 years old, the United States Government proclaimed there was to be a census taken of all the Indians (we didn’t get the Native American title until outsourcing to India became popular) of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe in Northern Michigan.

Her father dutifully loaded the family into the boat, and traveled up the St. Mary River to Sault Ste. Marie, where the census was to be taken by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The line was long for the census, going out the door and down the street and around the block. Grandma waited all day with her father, pregnant mother, and 3 siblings.

As the good American citizens of Sault Ste. Marie passed the queue, they threw garbage at the Natives, calling them “the N word”. By the time they reached the front of the line, seven‑year‑old Annie was covered in spittle and rotten tomato. They registered with the government, and returned to their island home and simple life.

Grandma always finished the story with the admonishment; “So don’t you ever tell ANYBODY that you have Indian in you!” She married a proper white man, and spent her life “passing” as white (like no one would notice her darker skin and coal black eyes–not to mention that beak of a nose!). In 1924 the United States Federal Government gave Native Americans the right to vote–and granted them Citizenship at the same time.

Being ten at the time, I missed the impact of the story, ignored her warning, and basked in the glory and envy as I immediately told all my friends of my Indian heritage. It wasn’t until decades later that the sorrow of grandma’s tale hit home.

Robin