Grandma's magnifying glass lesson

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My two oldest grandsons, Bubby and Mac, love Scooby Doo and the idea of solving mysteries. So when I visited them in January, I brought along an old magnifying glass we had lying around.

The boys got a kick out of taking a closer look at bugs and rocks—as they previously had with a toy magnifying glass I once brought—and pretending they were on the path to discovering clues that might solve a case of an imaginary Scooby Doo and the gang sort.

magnifying glass and boys 

When I packed my grandma bag for this current visit, I figured I'd...

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Musing elsewhere: 9 Personal Skills to Encourage in Grandchildren

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compassion: children with ladybug 

Want to enhance your grandchildren's lives in ways that last a lifetime? Well put away your wallet and encourage kids to develop personal skills rather than accumulate playthings.

Grandparents are uniquely qualified in three specific ways to best encourage skills that make a world of difference when it comes to a child's future success:

  • boomeon bloggerWe have unconditional love for our grandchildren.
  • We support and supplement the values instilled by our grandchildren's parents.
  • We often have fewer work demands and outside obligations than the parents, hence more relaxed, one-on-one time with the grandkids.

Use your time, talents, and unique experiences to help instill important personal skills in your grandchildren by encouraging them to be:

Compassionate. Visit zoos—from open-range to petting—and animal shelters to discuss humane practices in caring for animals. Compassion for humans can be...

Continue reading 9 Personal Skills to Encourage in Grandchildren on Boomeon.com...

10 life lessons grandchildren help us remember

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10 life lessons grandchildren help us remember

With all that we do for our grandchildren, they do for us so very much more. Things such as reminding us of important lessons we've learned yet often forget to put into practice. Things such as these.

grandchildren quotes 

 

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7 lessons learned when my dog got skunked

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I have a big back yard. Birds and squirrels enjoy frolicking about back there. As do skunks.

dog skunked

Skunks, as you likely know, are nocturnal animals, so we've never seen them during the day. And we've only smelled whiffs of them now and then as their stinky scent wafts through the night-time air. Our dogs...

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Ice bucket fatigue no more

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ice cubes

I feel like a jerk admitting this, but I tired rather quickly of seeing video after video of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. I know it's a fabulous way to raise awareness of — and funds for — the horrific disease. I know that. Truly, I get that. But each time I saw yet another...

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The know-it-all grandma and her acts of ignorance

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The know-it-all grandma and her acts of ignorance

I'm often asked by family, friends — and sometimes even strangers — for answers and directions on a variety of topics. I'm happy to say that I can usually give them what they seek. My husband often jokingly calls me Google; my daughters consider me one of the best researchers they know.

Which makes it difficult to not fancy myself a know-it-all at times.

know-it-all

To keep things...

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Beyond grandparenting: 9 things I learned while in the desert

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I am a grandma. But as all grandparents know, far more goes into who we are and what we do than just those things related to our grandchildren.

With that in mind, here are tidbits I learned while visiting the desert for Jak's baptism, lessons that have nothing to do with my primary focus of the trip (that being those awesome little critters I call my grandsons).

learned while in the desert 

1. I can still...

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Thank you, Mr. Marr

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Thank you, Mr. Marr

I was invited to participate in the #redThanks teacher tribute project with RedEnvelope.com wherein writers share stories on themes of mentorship, role models and/or teaching — stories of a "gift" deserving of a thankful tribute. This is my story, served up in a letter of thanks. This is not a sponsored post.

Dear Mr. Marr,

Bruce Marr, Woodland Park High SchoolIt's been more than three decades since I...

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On covering former First Lady Laura Bush

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In light of yesterday's patriotic mood in honor of Memorial Day, I thought today would be an ideal time to share my experience covering the conversation between Laura Bush, Barbara Pierce Bush and Soledad O'Brien at the AARP Life@50+ event in Boston a few weeks ago.

Life@50+ Laura Bush presentation

As a guest...

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