Planful Grandparenting

I wonder how much thought you have put into being a grandma. What does being a grandma mean to you?

Across the board, you'll hear from other grandparents that being a grandparent is a gift.  The smiles, the love, the opportunity to influence a young person's life are precious to grandmothers.  

Here's what grandmas have told me they love about being a grandma.

The Planful Grandma Creates Memories

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. I may receive a small payment, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.
 

Have you thought about what you mean to your grandchildren?

Have you thought about how you want to be remembered by your grandchildren once you are no longer with them?

Have you thought about the ways you can make a long-term, meaningful impression on who they really are and the adults they will grow to be?

Who is a Planful Grandma?

The planful grandma is a grandma who has considered the role she plays in the extended family.  Very often grandmas are the glue that brings the family together by gathering the family for holidays, remembering everyone's birthdays, creating traditions, and mediating misunderstandings. She takes this role seriously, lifting up each family member, and creating a loving and nurturing environment.

The planful grandma knows her strengths and skills.  She looks for ways to share her knowledge with her grandkids.  She creates opportunities for her grandchildren to learn from her through activities that will engage and delight her grandkids, making them want to do more of what grandma does.

For example, the gardening grandma shares her love for making things grow.  She engages her grandchildren in preparing the garden beds, planting seeds, watering, weeding, and harvesting.  She points out the flowers, shrubs, and trees.  She teaches the names of plants and helps her grandchildren to appreciate the seasonal changes in the garden.

The sports grandma shares her love and excitement for sports.  She introduces her grandchildren to her favorite teams.  She buys shirts and hats with her favorite team's logos.  She teaches the basics of the games she loves to her grandkids in age-appropriate activities.  She attends the games her grandkids play and cheers them on without criticism.

The cooking grandma is always baking goodies and delicious meals.  She loves to share the food she makes with the family.  She loves to cook with her grandkids and always finds ways to include her grandchildren in food preparation.

The crafty grandma is always making something from nothing.  She loves to craft with her grandchildren finding hundreds of ways to cut, glue, paint, and glitter the world around her. She refinishes furniture and builds things. She encourages her grandchildren to turn trash into treasure.

The artful grandmother draws and paints.  She shows her grandkids how to see the world through their own eyes.  She encourages creativity with pens, ink. paints and other mediums.  She delights in her grandkid's artwork and displays it joyously.

Of course, I could go on and on.  Have you considered which grandma you are?  Perhaps you are a combination of many of these grandmas and good for you.  That means you have many gifts to share and many ways to build lasting memories with your grandkids. 

How do You Want to be Remembered?

The planful grandma most importantly plans to create the memories she wants to last with her grandkids. Leaving memory building to chance may seem like an option but you know how things go.  Too much can get in the way. You'll need a plan.

Five Steps to Creating Memories

Identify your knowledge and skills. We all have knowledge and skills.  One way to understand what you are already known for is to ask your kids what they remember most about growing up.  As they tell their stories you will hear the most meaningful elements over and over.  You may also be surprised when you hear some of what has stuck in the memories of your kids.

Decide what you want to be known for? One day someone will ask your grandkids what they remember most about Grandma. What do you want that answer to be? For today, you'll want to think about how your grandkids would fill in the blank for this statement:

My grandma is_________________________.

Take some time and really think about it. You'll be using your answer to guide you in the coming years.

Share your knowledge and interests. Identify which skills are best to share with each grandchild based on age and interests. Identify the values you want to demonstrate as time goes by.  Did you have a family values list posted at your house when you were raising your kids like I did?  Dust off that list or make a new list as your reminder.

Your grandkids' ages and interests are important considerations for your plan. I have three granddaughters and I don't expect them to be interested in the same things. Two were just born this year, but for my three-year-old granddaughter, I try to stay tuned into whatever she is interested in at the moment because it is changing rapidly.

For example, she has suddenly become obsessed with drawing. She loves to draw intricate pictures of her family and the things she sees outside. I love to paint with watercolor.  We have been doing drawing activities together that use various mediums like crayons, markers, pencils, and paint. 

I love the outdoors and want her to remember that about me.  Whenever we are together, we always have outdoor activities.

Repetition and consistency build memories. Develop your gameplan for how you will include your grandchildren and create repetition and consistency. The gameplan may be a challenge.  Your grandchildren may not live near you.  Even if they live close by, they may have very busy lives that make it difficult to find time with their grandparents.  That's why a plan is so important.

You'll need to engage your children (your grandkids' parents) in your plan.  Let them know that spending time with your grandkids is important to you and for them.  Workout a way to make it happen.  

Record meaningful moments to remind grandchildren.  There are many ways to record meaningful moments. For example:

Create a record of the time you spend with your grandkids.  Capture fun moments on video with your smartphone.  I like to upload my videos to my Google Photos app with each grandchild having an album. One of the things my granddaughter likes to do is review some of the older videos to remember the things we have done together.  She really loves to do this as part of her bedtime ritual when she sleeps over at my house.

Create a scrapbook.  Imagine a scrapbook for each grandchild.  You can get all kinds of products to help you make scrapbooks at stores and online today.

Create Memory Boxes. Memory boxes for each grandchild would be fun, too.  With a memory box, you'd be able to save three-dimensional objects.

You’ll want to be prepared to make your memories.  Plan ahead by assembling the necessities for fun-filled visits with grandkids.  Here are ideas for getting your “Grandma’s Bag of Tricks” assembled.

What other ways can you think of to record memorable times?

This Grandmas Making Memories blog is here to help you.  As you become a follower, you'll find ideas for making memories with your grandkids.  If you follow our Facebook page, too, you'll find other ideas.  If you want to share your ideas with other grandmas, join our private Facebook Group.