Grandma Instruction Book

If you find yourself with the new title of Grandma, then obviously you passed the Motherhood test. Being a Grandma is so much easier! You get to relax a little more this time around. All those things you got so bent out of shape about in raising your children, don't matter in the world of Grandmas.

Relax and be yourself because getting to enjoy the world through a child's eyes again is so much fun.

I feel very fortunate because I learned to be a Grandma from the best teacher in the world, my Grandma. She was my mentor, my champion, my role model, and my teacher. Mom and I never quite saw eye to eye on many things but Grandma was always there for me.

I find myself quoting my Grandma a lot and my hope is that my grandchildren will do that for me some day. What a wonderful tribute to one's lifetime, to be remembered as someone worth quoting. If you can leave such an impression on a child that they want to be like you then I would say you lived a good life.

Important Grandma Tip: Relax, be yourself, and love them in your own special way.

One of the very first things that I started to do with our grandchildren was to sing to them. Simple little nursery rhymes and songs. If there were hand movements that went along, then I would take their little hands and make the movements with them. I would get the cutest smiles and giggles from those tiny little infants!

I also would put on a CD with dance music and dance while I held them. Classic rock and roll songs that had a good beat to them. There is a warning that goes along with this activity: Sometimes the baby wants to dance longer than you have the stamina for!

Enjoying music with infants and toddlers creates joy and laughter and memories. Our little Isabel is 3 now and she still wants to do the songs and never leaves a visit without her and Grandma dancing to an old rock and roll song.

Build memories with your grandchildren. Think about what you loved about going to your Grandma's House. Do you recall "things" that Grandma bought you or do you remember the things your Grandma did with you?

I began reading to the grandchildren when they were infants too. Simple little books with mostly pictures that I could help them point to. Books with colors and shapes or books with baby animals.

It has now become an activity that they don't leave Grandma's house without doing. We are so past the baby books now! We still read books for toddlers with short attention spans, but at least there is a story line now.

I can't tell you how many times I've read "Beauty and the Beast" to little Isabel. It is her favorite book and we've read it so many times that if I purposely say something that isn't a part of the book, she will correct me! I just find that adorable. When we get to the end where Belle is dancing with the Prince, Isabel sings the first few lines of the song from the movie.

Reading to infants and toddlers helps them to have a love for reading, at least I found that to be true for my children and it has worked for the grandchildren too. Besides, reading is a quiet activity and lets Grandma rest from the dancing in activity number 1!

Grandma needs to have Rules at her house. They will most probably be more relaxed than Mommy's Rules at home, but they are rules just the same. It doesn't happen often, but occasionally this Grandma has to issue a "Time Out" and I do have a "Naughty Chair".

Now that the girls are walking and becoming little people, I encourage them to help Grandma around the house. They love feeling like a big girl and doing grown up things.

I let them put the clothes in the washer and take the clothes out of the dryer. Changing bed linens has become a game that we both enjoy. Laughing and giggling as they get lost in the bed clothes. Of course, it takes about 30 minutes to change the bed but the fun we've had is well worth the extra time involved.

Little Isabel loves to help Grandma cook. Last weekend as I was letting her help me put some spices on the meat, she looked at me so serious and said, "Grandma we sure wash our hands a lot when we cook!" That gave me an opportunity to talk about the importance of having clean hands and a clean surface. It is so cute when we sit down to eat and she takes a bite of the food we prepared together. "We cooked good, Grandma!" The pride in her little face just warms your heart.

Let Grandpa have his special moments too. Grandpa probably has some activities that he wants to share and make special. My husband takes the girls out and gives them a ride on the lawn tractor, pulls them around in a wagon, and builds a stage for them to perform on. He lets them sit in the car and pretend to drive and he takes them on pretend shopping trips.

Giving Grandpa special time also allows Grandma some time to rest!

We play a lot of "pretend" at Grandma's house. Sometimes we are Dora and Boots from Dora The Explorer. We get to be Fairy Princesses on other days. The Disney Princesses are pretty popular with us taking turns being Belle, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, or Pocahontas.

We pretend to be Hannah Montana with the girls singing and Grandma sits in the audience and claps a lot.

Sometimes we are cats and dogs crawling around the floor. Grandma usually tries to come up with something else to do pretty quickly with this game of pretend. It's so hard on Grandma's old knees!

We play waitress, we play school, and by the time the girls leave Grandma is one tired old dog. Hopefully, great memories were made that day, though.

Grandpa's pretend shopping: My husband is so adorable. He actually sets up a display in the garage with snack items, candy, and small toys. They pretend to drive to the store and Grandpa gives them a bag to shop with. He lets them pick out the items they want to purchase and they pay with pretend money.

They pretend to drive back to Grandma and Grandpa's and then show Grandma what they purchased which always includes a special treat for Grandma.

We, Grandpa and I, try to make sure that we have scrap paper available for coloring and painting fun. There is a box of crayons, a box of markers, and some paints for finger painting.

I've found that this activity is a nice one to do in between the active ones. It gives Grandma time to rest and get her breathing back to normal!

It also helps the grandchild to learn the color names and encourages creativity. They are so proud when their masterpiece is done.

There is always a supply of stickers at Grandma's house. The girls love them and working with stickers helps them with dexterity and eye hand coordination.

Personally, I think the best Grandmas are the ones who shower the grandchildren with their own personal love. Building memories that last a lifetime for both Grandma and Grandchild with simple little activities isn't something that can be purchased. Although it is fun to give them items, I think the best gifts are the love, attention, and time spent together that is the most rewarding. For me, giving of yourself to your grandchild is what makes a Terrific Grandma.

Grandma and Me Art Print
Myrick, Gregory
16 in. x 20 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com

I mentioned earlier that I had the best teacher in the world to show me how to be an awesome Grandma. The picture on the right is my maternal Grandmother. I miss her so much!

She was the kind of Grandma who would freeze a couple of quarts of black raspberries and save them to make me a Raspberry Pie for my birthday the following April. She knew I loved that more than any cake that she could make.

She also had a couple of "pearls" of wisdom that she would share with me many times over the course of the years we got to be together:

"You treat folks the way you want to be treated and you'll always be just fine. You can't break a commandment if you do that." It was her version of the Golden Rule.

"If you live your life in a way that you can look in the mirror each morning and genuinely like the person who is looking back at you, your life will be full."

Grandma taught me many things about life in general and her philosophy of life was simple yet profound. "The most important possessions a body can have are knowledge, faith, and a loving heart. With those possessions you can make everything else work in life."

What impressed me the most about Grandma was she didn't just spout words, she lived her life being an example of what she believed in and what she said.

I hope that I can be as good as an example as she was for me.

All of the graphics used in this lens came from The Graphics Factory except for the personal photo of my own Grandma.

Copyright: May 26, 2009 by BevsPaper (Beverly Owens)