It's almost back-to-school time! But you still have two or three weeks to take a fun road trip with your older grandchildren. The possibilities of places to go are endless! And the length of time can vary as well, from a short day trip, to a few days, to two-three weeks!

I've taken road trips with my grandchildren when they were pre-schoolers. I've even done a blog about that. Here's the link: www.gigisseasonings.com/blog/road-trips-with-the-grands

But last year my husband and I took a road trip with our pre-teen granddaughters. Instead of zoos and a children's theater, we looked for things that would appeal to these young ladies and their interests. They are both actors who are involved with a local theater group, so we were pretty certain the destination had to be an outdoor theater production in Palo Duro Canyon, Texas. We were off!

My retired friends have done this as well, and I have their testimonies.

One friend took her grandson on a one-day trip to a famous and historical ranch here in Texas. Besides exploring and learning about the Goodnight Ranch and Charles Goodnight, there is the matter of the sweet conversations between a grandmother and grandson in the car. That's priceless. So even a day trip can be fun. Don't rule that out!

My sister-in-law took her daughter, granddaughter and two great nieces on a road trip to the next town a little over a hundred miles away. Who says it has to be some great, grand trip? It's the time together that counts! And while they visited restaurants and a museum, she reports that the girls' favorite part was the hotel stay. They loved ordering pizza and hanging out by the pool. What teenager wouldn't?

Now....about those car games!

Earlier in the summer, I was trying to plan another trip with my granddaughters, and was researching car games for older kids online. Here are some I think that would appeal to older grands:

• Board games like Parcheesi and checkers with magnetic pieces that enable you to play in the car.
• Boggle is another good game and doesn't require buying a special travel edition. It's already portable and self-contained.
• The old standby--the A-Z game wherein the players have to find the letters from A-Z on billboards and signs. I found a variation to that which sounds like fun. Each player writes an 8-letter word on a piece of paper for their opponent. Then you exchange papers, and you have to find those letters in signs and billboards. First one to complete their list of 8 letters is the winner. And yes, you can Google 8-letter words that you can use. Be warned. The list includes words like dazzling. Finding "z's" on the highway can be hard. You might want to make a rule limiting the use of such words. (Insert chuckle here.)
• Twenty Questions. You are all familiar with this one. Just Google if you're not.
• This store-bought game I purchased one Christmas, and my grandkids like to play this in the car. It's called Joe Name It,  and you roll the dice and whatever number you roll has to be applied to your question. Let's say you roll a five. Then you draw a card which might read, "Name ____ state capitals." In which case you would have to name five state capitals. I agree with my granddaughters, it is a good game to play in the car, and even the driver can play!

Enjoy yourself. It's later than you think!! And this bit of wisdom certainly applies to grandparents, and the time they have with their grandkids. Just do it! It's very rewarding and downright FUN! I hope I've given you ideas and a bit of inspiration.  Remember, the whole point of this is to go without their parents! It's your time together! 

And as always, please write me about road trips you've taken with your grands. I love to hear, love to get more ideas, and I promise to share here on my blog. Until next week!

"Everyone needs to have access to both grandparents and grandchildren in order to be a full human being." Margaret Mead

Police Appreciation Bags!

I've done this subject before in my blog and with my grandkids, but I can never cover community service enough in my blog. Besides being a great activity to do indoors with your grandchildren in this oppressive heat, you're teaching these impressionable youngsters the importance of appreciating and showing gratitude to our community helpers.

Talk with your kids about all the things these men and women do for us. They often only think about the police as monitoring our roads and highways for speeders. They don't realize all the other jobs they do as far as keeping us safe and intervening in difficult situations. 

I like the above quote by John Kennedy. And I need to be reminded of this myself. In these difficult days of our nation where there is so much hate,  it is often not enough to just voice our appreciation, but show it by our actions. Do something good for those unsung heroes around us!

This community service project is pretty much straightforward. After you've had the talk about what these members of our community do for us, then plan out what you want to include in their individual bags. You want your grandkids to have ownership of this project too!

We bought some plastic zip-lock bags, laid out all our goodies on the dining room table and began to fill our bags. Of course my grandson helped. Then we invited a cousin to join us when we delivered our appreciation bags to our local police station. 

Seriously, this is a great activity to do with your kids and grandkids, We're often looking for things to do with them on these long, hot summer days. It does involve a trip to the grocery store to get the supplies, but it's well worth it to model SHOWING appreciation and not just mouthing the words. "Actions speak louder than words."

And for you grandparents who don't have visiting grandchildren, you can still do this activity. So many of my peers are bakers and lament not having anyone to bake for anymore. Bake some treats for your neighborhood police department. It will absolutely make their day. And yours as well!!

Thank you for reading my blog. Please share it with others. And please share any community service projects you have done with your children and grandchildren. I love to hear and quite often share on this blog.

​Until next week: Be the GOOD you wish to see in this world!

Added note: You can get online to find lists of items to include in your bags. It's always helpful to get other ideas and suggestions I know.

Skills kids need for life!

I'm sure you've read the articles and even seen the print-out on Facebook. The one called "40 Old-Fashioned Skills that Kids Need to Know Today." Here's the link:
​cdn.frugalfun4boys.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Old-Fashioned-Skills-for-Today.pdf

Or even read the articles about local high schools having "adulting" classes for teens, especially seniors going off to college or career. The schools might spend a day or even a week on such classes, and kids can sign up for those they are interested in and feel they might need. During this time, there might be classes on how to change a tire, how to keep a checkbook, how to cook, and even how to apply for a job. 

I see your posts on Facebook about how such things are needed by today's generation and even lamenting that young adults today don't have these basic life skills. But we, as grandparents, can help. In this hectic, modern world, parents can't do it all. That's where grandparents can come in. And even if you don't live in the same town, when they come to visit is another time wherein you can carve out a bit of time for instruction of such skills. 

You can start when the grands are small~

I started with some of the items on the list when my grands were small, and I'm sure you did too. Things like GARDENING:

​Here's a fun one I'm sure every grandparent has participated in teaching: How to attend a concert or performance and use proper theater etiquette~

How to wash dishes~

Honestly, this is one we shouldn't neglect. Sometimes the electricity goes out. Sometimes that first apartment doesn't have a dishwasher, or at least a functioning one. And those times when there are not enough dishes for a load. You know the drill. Grandkids need to know this simple skill.

How to weigh pro's and con's of a decision~

I pulled this one off the list linked above, and I think it's a good one. I've bought my grandkids journals and even wrote with them, so they'd have some ideas on how to journal. Their journal is a perfect spot for weighing pro's and con's of a decision. Just divide that page in half with a "plus" on one side and a "minus" on the other and start listing...this way you can see which list is longer.

Check out this link for yourself and find out which ones you can help with when you're with your grandkids. It's a good list. And you'll probably be surprised which ones you've already done:

​​cdn.frugalfun4boys.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Old-Fashioned-Skills-for-Today.pdf

A final word from this blogger:

I've been gone a couple of months. I've missed doing this blog, and I've missed hearing from my readers. I love to share grandparenting ideas, and I REALLY like hearing YOUR ideas and thoughts. It's good to be back. Hope to hear from you soon. And if you've got teenage grandchildren, ask them about "adulting" classes at their school. More and more schools and communities are doing this--even local libraries! Check it out! Remember that African proverb, "It takes a village." And to my way of thinking, we grandparents are the most important members of that village!

Happy July and Happy Grandparenting!