National Bullying Prevention Month: Resources for grandparents

National Bullying Prevention Month: Resources for grandparents

In recognition of October being National Bullying Prevention Month, my fellow GRANDparent Network members Leslie and Kay at Grandparents Link interviewed a couple kids on bullying. 

Take a look at their exclusive Frankly Kids: Bullying video (which they gave me permission to share):

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Hearts, comments, new blog briefs! Plus GRAND Social No. 273 link party

Hearts, comments, new blog briefs! Plus GRAND Social No. 273 link party

Hearts, comments, new blog briefs!

On Mondays, Grandma's Briefs gets the most visitors of the week. I credit the GRAND Social link party and the grand grandparent bloggers who participate by linking and reading. Because today is Monday, there are likely more than a few folks reading this who are seeing the new and improved Grandma's Briefs for the first time since I announced a face lift in the works.

When I did the big reveal of the completed makeover last Friday, I shared some of the new and functional features. Today I'd like to point out some of the new features that will be of particular interest to bloggers, as many of today's visitors are such. 

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Books, Brightly, and Grandparents of Children's Literature

In celebration of Grandparents Day — which is this Sunday, Sept. 10 — I'd like to share with you a grand resource for grandparents that I just recently learned of.

Brightly is a resource for parents, grandparents, and other folks dedicated to raising lifelong readers. The award-winning website, a partnership with Penguin Random House, launched in 2014 and features, as the Brightly site states, "book recommendations from all publishers for every age and stage, reading tips and insights, seasonal inspirations, author essays, contests, gift guides, and more."

Brightly has some pretty great content specifically for grandparents, including the following piece, which I've received permission to share with you in part. Enjoy! And be sure to click for the complete article as well as others, all celebrating grandparents. For Grandparents Day and every day!

AREN'T THEY GRAND? OUR FAVORITE GRANDPARENTS FROM CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
By Tom Burns

Grandparents aren’t just solid sources of extra dollars, hearty hugs, and embarrassing...

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Watching the solar eclipse?

Watching the solar eclipse?

Watching the solar eclipse?

1921 solar eclipse in Paris
Three Parisian women watching the solar eclipse of 8 April 1921 on the Cour du Havre, next to the gare Saint-Lazare. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Are you watching today's solar eclipse? How are you watching? From where and with whom? Depending on when you read this it may all be past tense, but either way, I'd love to hear your view on the phenomenon.

I will be watching... from my backyard with only my dog, Mickey, as my companion to ooh and aah over the event. And I'll be sporting my mandatory eclipse spectacles for a direct view of the show.

My eclipse glasses became nearly a no-go for me (and mine) at the last minute, despite my having ordered several pair for my entire family a month or so ago. The glasses...

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Practicing what I preach

Practicing what I preach

Practicing what I preach

I do my best to practice what I preach here on Grandma's Briefs. Last week I preached all about ways grandparents can help school-bound grandkiddos. One of the suggestions in the post is to give grandkids a BTS care package of sorts (with an outfit or pajamas) before school begins.

It just so happens that the day that post was published, I received a text message from Megan with a picture of my grandsons thanking me for the BTS care package i had sent them, which included a few school supplies plus an outfit for each boy. (Shorts and tees that I thought were cute as can be for school but would work just fine as jammies if the boys considered my selections not cool for school.) Declan — who's only three and spends his days with Mommy, not at school — got a package just like his brothers, too, because, well, how could the cutie not?

grandson heading back to school
Declan, Camden, and Brayden grinning big for Gramma!

The package arrived just in time! Today Camden starts...

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BTS tradition: 10 ways to support school-bound grandchildren (plus a few extra)

Ah, back-to-school time. The past few years at this time, I've shared the following post from my archives. It's always gotten a great response — because grandparents are awesome and want to be involved in the education of their grandkiddos — so I hereby pronounce this post an annual BTS tradition.

This time around I've updated it in a few ways, including adding suggestions from other grandmas who shared tips in comments on the post in the past. (Thank you, ladies!)

10 WAYS TO SUPPORT SCHOOL-BOUND GRANDCHILDREN
Originally published August 6, 2013

My daughter Megan is not only the mother of my awesome grandsons, she was also an elementary school teacher for several years before MOM became her full-time job. Here are a few suggestions she and I came up with for supporting school-bound grandchildren in ways that will garner an A+ not only from the kids, but from their parents and teachers, too.

back to school ideas for grandparents

1. Send a care package to be opened the night before school starts. Consider adding new cozy jammies to help ease...

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Sunday morning texts

Sunday morning texts

There's nothing quite like Sunday morning texts from beloved kids who have grown and flown.

To wit, the following texts I received Sunday morning from my middle daughter, Megan, mama to my desert-dwelling grandsons:

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Summer's simple pleasures: When did you last...

summer simple pleasures

Summer is the season of simple pleasures. A time for sweet, spontaneous — often spectacularly serendipitous — silliness such as those moments we remember from childhood. Our own childhood, possibly the childhoods of our children.

Simple pleasures we've set aside — perhaps even forgotten — in our ongoing pursuit of grand adventures, grand outings, grand activities to share with our grand kids. Simple stuff we've likely not done in far too long.

When did you last...

• jump rope?

• skip down the sidewalk?

• play freeze tag?

• sip root beer floats from a frosty mug?

• run through the sprinkler?

• have a water fight — with the garden hose, buckets...

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Beat-the-heat treats (a Friday Flashback feature)

A few years ago, I posted a piece on chilly treats for hot days, noting how darn hot it was in the desert while visiting my grandsons (which at that time meant just Brayden and Camden as Declan was yet to be). Today it's desert-style hot at my house. In the mountains. And I'm craving something cold, something to beat the heat here at home.

I figure much of the country seems to be suffering a hot spell as well, and though I can't share an actual treat with each and every one of you as I would like, I can share the directions for doing so on your own. Preferably with grands.

Here it is: Today's Friday Flashback, featuring a few tasty ways to cool you and yours. Enjoy!

BEAT THE HEAT TREATS
Originally published July 16, 2013 (with names updated to my grandsons' real names, as I recently revealed them here):

The temperatures in the desert during my visit to see Brayden and Camden were, as I expected, ridiculously high. Spending time in the pool or at the water park was a great way to stay cool, but because we're not fish, other ways to chill out had to be devised.

frozen treats

Yesterday, the last day of my visit, Megan offered a frozen treat...

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Matchy matchy!

Matchy matchy

Jim and I went on a bike ride yesterday afternoon. This is how it started off:

bike ride 

Despite the matchy matchy apparel, we were delighted to get on our bikes and ride — and use our new bike rack (for the car) for the first time. The bike rack we bought for our anniversary last year. The bike rack which sat unopened for an entire year because Jim was hospitalized mere days after that anniversary, and we hadn't hopped on bikes since.

Yesterday the bike rack was finally opened and put to use. It worked perfectly for...

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