August 09, 2017

BTS 2017: Grandsons and good teachers

August 09, 2017/ Lisa Carpenter

From the look of their first-day-of-school photos (which I nabbed from my daughter's Facebook page), my grandsons lucked out with caring and personable teachers for the new school year.

brothers first day of school 2017

Camden kicked off kindergarten with a super-sized grin — sporting the empty spots...

August 07, 2017

Practicing what I preach

August 07, 2017/ Lisa Carpenter

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...

August 04, 2017

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

August 04, 2017/ Lisa Carpenter

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...

October 17, 2016

Running for funds... and fun

October 17, 2016/ Lisa Carpenter

When my daughters were in school, fundraising typically revolved around candy bars. Moms and dads, grandparents and other friends and family were encouraged to purchase a chocolate bar — or a boxful for the really enthusiastic supporters — to help cover the costs of school activities, sporting equipment, and so forth.

October 05, 2016

Fall break fun

October 05, 2016/ Lisa Carpenter

My grandsons in the desert are on fall break from school.

What better way to kick off the holiday week than with a Monday movie with Mom?

brothers in theater

Once again, I can't adequately express...

August 18, 2016

Grandma's love is SO big!

August 18, 2016/ Lisa Carpenter

From the time my first baby girl was born, I had a penchant for grabbing the arms of beloved little ones — especially teensy tiny ones — holding them above the babe's head and professing the sing-song sentiment of how big she or he is.

Brianna Lee is SO big! I'd trill.

Then, Megan Rae is SO big!

Andrea Lynn is SO big!

Followed by Bubby, then Mac, then Jak being oh SO big, too, as each tiny one grew into being not so tiny at all.

I haven't sing-songed the SO Big song in quite some time. Yet, when I saw on Facebook the photo Megan posted last week of Bubby and Mac's first day of school — Bubby entering third grade, Mac full-week morning prekindergarten* — my first thought was, "Bubby and Mac are SO big!"

brothers back to school

Oh, how I would have loved to...

July 30, 2015

Back to school already? 10 ways to support school-bound grandchildren

July 30, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Unbelievable as it seems, it's time for students to return to school, some as early as next week. In light of that, I'd like to once again share with you ideas on how grandparents can support and encourage their grandchildren in academic endeavors. Though my daughter Megan is on break from teaching—and she has three sons now, not two—her ideas as well as the others in this post are still a great way to make a difference for your school-bound grandkiddos.

Kids of all ages will soon head back to school — if they haven't already. Though Mom and Dad play the starring role in supporting their children's educational efforts, grandparents have plenty of opportunities to make their mark, too.

My daughter Megan is not only the mother of my two awesome grandsons, she's also a teacher. 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.