Because of all the various issues, including health, that my Sandwich Generation family is dealing with on a regular basis, we do spend a LOT of time in the car!  I'm always on the lookout for great educational and character building resources for quiet times together and I've got two excellent resources to share with you this week and next.

The first is one I've mentioned before – Down Gilead Lane. It's a Kids Christian radio drama full of interesting stories, character building episodes, and plenty of Biblical values – and it's really fun to listen to!  You can actually listen to episodes at no cost at CBH Ministries or buy them on CD or as mp3 downloads to listen to in the car or on your iPod or other mp3 player.

I first bought a couple of their CDs back when my oldest grandchild was about 10 or 11. We had a long drive ahead of us and I thought they would help to make the trip a bit more enjoyable. They did! And I enjoyed the stories as much as she did! Now my 8 and 10 year old grandsons have started listening and they are all enjoying them just as much. 

The stories center around the Morrison Family – five kids and their parents – living in a small town. They have a variety of friends, some saved, some not. There is mystery, intrigue, family fun, drama, happy times, and sad times – and it's all Christ-centered and biblically based. We are currently listening to the stories about a beloved family friend who is a senior citizen. He is in the midst of developing Alzheimer's Disease and I was wiping away tears as we listened to the story of how he disappeared for a few hours during a storm. Having lived through something similar with a great-aunt, I used this as an excellent opportunity to talk about ways to deal with this situation if it ever occurs again.

I know, from listening to some special episodes set later than this story, that his passing away will also be dealt with – and with senior grandparents on both coasts, I am sure that will be another good opportunity to plant seeds of love, compassion, and caring in the hearts and minds of my grandkids – both from the stories themselves and from our chats as we listen.

And yes, I continue to listen to AND enjoy these stories right along with my grandkids. They truly are very interesting. There are 12 seasons in all, with 12 half hour shows per season. I was able to purchase a complete set of all 12 episodes on CDs during an extra great discounted sale this past Christmas, so if you think you want to buy them, signing up for their email list can be a great idea. I've transferred them to my iPod and "iTouch" and my grandteen is enjoying the new episodes as much as the rest of the grandkids!

I enjoyed reading some of the CBH history in an article by the West Michigan Christian News. I still remember my own kids listening to some of the original radio programs with their home schooling buddies many years ago – talk about your sweet family memories! 

I love the fact that these are audio stories rather than video. Don't get me wrong – I do enjoy TV (LOVE my TIVO), but, as Dr. Michael Rich, MD, MPH, Children’s Hospital Boston’s media expert and director of Children’s Center on Media and Child Health, puts it in the article, Are audiobooks a good use of kids’ time?, "Audiobooks are valuable media for your children because they don’t pre-digest imagery for them. That means that as your kids listen to the stories, they’re given the exquisite experience of actively imagining the worlds they’re hearing about, rather than having the characters and scenery presented to them like in a book or TV show." (Hmmm – sounds like that would make it excellent brain exercise for all of us boomers and seniors as well )

You can get more information about all of this, plus find out about more of the great Christian resources they offer our kids and grandkids, by clicking here. And whether you're out and about on those zillion errands that are a part of our Sandwich Generation lives, or gathered around the computer the way our senior parents used to gather around the radio, enjoy some quality programming and fun stories with your grandkids. You'll treasure your own sweet family memories in the years to come as well. And be sure to check back next week for another interesting audio resource. In fact, to make sure you don't miss it…

P.S.I thought I'd use one of my fun new iPhone apps, Ransom Letters, to wish you all -

Kaye

With grandkids on both coasts who LOVE old AND new LEGOs, not to mention my senior mom's OTHER sweet AND great-grandkids who are also fans, LEGOs are a constant source of fun, creative thinking, and comment for this Sandwich Generation granny nanny.

This week, they also ran the gamut of educational wonder to sadness, sorrow, and actual tears on the part of one of my grandkids! The educational part was the pleasure of enjoying a program, the Ultimate Factories – LEGO, put on by National Geographic. A very interesting show for my grandson and I enjoyed it as well. 

Sadly, that was followed with the very upsetting news that one of his favorite websites – LEGO Universe – is closing it's virtual doors permanently in about a month. They've apparently refunded all the fees and it is supposed to be open – including its premium site – to all for the remaining days but we weren't even able to do that successfully. I'm not sure if the issue was on their side or ours but it was a definitely frustration. 

 Coming on top of the sad news about Picnik.com also migrating PART of their tools to Google+ and closing down as well, it wasn't a fun tech week for this Sandwich Generation family. I have been busy learning new tips and tricks for the photos from my easy to use digital camera AND iPhone camera that I hope to be sharing with y'all over the next few months. And my grandkids were consoled somewhat with playing on Jumpstart.com along with some very fun new iPhone game apps for kids, like Dragonvale, not to mention playing with their actual LEGOs, so it wasn't all a totally depressing week. But still… So if you have LEGO-loving grandkids who have enjoyed LEGO universe, I wanted to make sure you were also aware of this. And in the meantime, I'll keep researching great options and reporting back to you. Don't forget…

Kaye

Words With Friends! My multigenerational Sandwich Generation family is all falling victim to its delightful charms. I have to admit, when I started this game with a friend, I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I have to warn you, it can be positively addicting. And so much fun. (Can you tell, I LOVE word games.)

A few days after we had started, I was babysitting my local grandchildren and I noticed it was my turn. I had a couple of free minutes, so I picked a word and showed my grandkids what I was doing. They were enthralled, so I let them play the next word. That's how they got hooked and I realized what a fun way this would be to help them work with phonics, reading, spelling, and word vocabulary!

We used my account for a few games, but then the grandkids all wanted their own. It really isn't made for more than one player per iPhone BUT there is one way to do two per iPhone. Download the free Words With Friends game app and sign up with one email address, then upgrade to the paid game app, and sign up on that with a different email address. Since I have an old iPhone that I keep as a babysitting helper when out with the grandkids – loaded with their games, music, and audio books, I was able to do the same on that iPhone as well (and since it's under the same Apple account, there wasn't a second charge) – giving me separate accounts for four of us! (Make sure, of course, that you don't delete the FREE app ).

We are having the best time playing games with each other. My oldest grandkids can usually make their own words, though I occasionally help them with longer ones for more points. My youngest grandkids and I make the words together, practicing sounding out the words and talking about the different sound endings as we make them. That makes them happy as they get higher points and are usually beating me!

Fun times, fun family memories, and fun brain exercise for all ages in our Sandwich Generation family! Have a lovely Pink Saturday visit later today and be sure to check back on Monday for more fun Words With Friends game apps tips and ideas with our LONG DISTANCE grandkids. And…

Kaye

Lots of busy, chilly, and educational goings on this week for my Sandwich Generation family! As you can see, we finally got SOME snow. Not a lot, and it didn't last long. By afternoon – the snow on our lawn was gone and the snow on our driveway was melting away as well. 

The odd thing was that my senior mom and I got the most, while my grandkids – who only live a few miles away – barely got any. So we followed their excellent idea, put several bowls in the ground, and collected snow for one grandchild to eat when he spent the night. We put the other bowls in the freezer and his siblings will get to enjoy their own snow later this week.

Since it was too cold to go outside, we did a lot of indoor games this week including our newest fave – the Words with Friends game apps. We are having so much fun with these phonics and spelling activities! This app is an excellent tool to help with teaching a child or grandkid to read or improve their reading and vocabulary skills!  (Shhhhh – don't tell them it's so wonderfully educational, though. They just think it's plain old fun! ).

So that's what's been keeping our Sandwich Generation family busy this week – how bout yours? And don't forget to enjoy Rednesday and Sweet Shot Tuesday. Plus…

Kaye

The headlines are busy nowadays, letting each baby boomer and senior citizen know the important news that we need to be exercising our brain cells as much as our bodies. As members of the Sandwich Generation, still raising children or babysitting grandchildren, many of us are already doing that quite well, as we help with homework, run around with kids, and stay extra active mentally and physically.

But just in case you want some extra help, my grandkids and I have discovered a great new addition to our list of best eductional apps for kids and it's just as good for boomers and seniors - perfect for the Sandwich Generation family. What is it, you may ask? It's called Words With Friends and it's very similar to Scrabble.

When you open either of the Words With Friends game apps (free or paid), you see the screen above. The first person to play makes a word from the letters at the bottom of the game screen and places them on the board, making sure to use the box with the x somewhere in the word, as that is the starting point.

The play then passes to the friend or family member you have linked up to play with – whether in your home or anywhere around the world. (More on that on Friday ). They then make a word from their letters. They must add on to at least one of your letters.

Each time your turn is completed, you press the arrow key at the bottom, then press submit. Both players are then updated, and your opponent is quickly notified. 

Sometimes your opponent will play right away. Sometimes hours, or even days, can go between turns. It's perfect for the busy Sandwich Generation, because you play when you can, and easily ignore it when you can't. 

They even offer you the option to play with a total stranger, though I personally avoid that totally as you also have the option to message the other player back and forth and I am not comfortable with that – especially since I have grandkids playing with my account as well. However, in at least one game, that has actually proven to be a blessing to the player's health! 

If you decide to give it a try, you will need to give them your email address (you can always create a free email address at a site such as gmail or yahoo – just for this game if you don't want to use your own) and pick a "player name" for yourself. Think about that carefully before you sign up. I originally thought I would only play with one person so I picked something that I knew would make them laugh. Now that I'm playing with several grandkids and a couple of friends, it's a rather dorky name but I'm pretty much stuck with it.  

Whether you decide to play with family, friends, and/or (cautiously) with strangers, it's fun, it's a great brain exerciser, and depending on which app you choose – it can even be free. If you do upgrade to the paid version – don't delete the free one til you read Friday's article.  In fact, check back all throughout this week for more tips, ideas, and suggestions of interest for another of the good fun and educational apps for the Sandwich Generation on iPhone, Android, or iPad. And…

Kaye

I have a deep dark secret to confess! I am NOT fond of science fairs! They are time-consuming, deadline-inducing, sometimes frustrating, often expensive, and (for this science-challenged Sandwich Generation granny nanny) HARD! That being said, they are also educational, interesting, informative, and a good life-lesson for our kids and grandkids. SO when it's science fair time, if I get drafted to help out, I always do.

(And by the by, if you are also a boomer or senior like me, you – like me – probably never had to do a science fair til our kids came along. According to WIkipedia, science fairs started in the 50s and still aren't done a lot here – but all of my kids and grandkids schools have, so we are WELL familiar with them now!  

If you are in the same boat on occasion, you might appreciate a little extra help. And I have a very smart grandchild who suggested Science Buddies as a great resource. Along with that, and the books pictured in this article, other useful sites and resources include:

• Successful Science Fair Projects By Lynne Bleeker (Science teacher, science fair organizer and judge)
• Science Fair Project Resource Guide by the IPL (Internet Public LIbrary)
• Super Science Fair Support Center
• The Camden Campus Library at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey has some great advice and links for all our science fair projects as well.

And for those who need/want some extra hand-holding (they don't do the work for you, but they have it all laid out to make it much easier for you to make good science fair projects quickly and easily!) – 24 Hour Science Projects and Middle School Science Fair Projects. 

They even have a science fair projects info video for us.

Don't forget the poster board – we get ours at Walmart, Target, or MIchael's – along with cool stickers that go with the project, the colored markers for writing on the poster board, and other specific needs to their assignment. 

And with that being said, it's time for this Sandwich Generation granny nanny to get back to the throes of science experimentation (well, really, my grandchild is doing it all – I'm just helping her with running the errands to collect a few more needed items. ). Happy science-ing to us all! 

Kaye

WOOHOO! I just took a typing test online and it looks like I still have my 80 or so words per minute speed. I wasn't super familiar with the site so I didn't click exactly when I finished AND I fixed two mistakes. Even with all that, I ended up with 70 words per minute. So the actual should be higher. That does make this Sandwich Generation granny nanny, flirting with senior citizen status, quite happy, I must say.

It also helped remind me that touch typing is one of my skills I DEFINITELY want to pass on to my grandkids, if possible. And being right smack dab in the middle of the Sandwich Generation, I can definitely help my local grandkids with that. But where to start?

The site I tested myself at was good, but better for adults. Never fear, though. The BBC is there to help us out! Check out this cute touch typing site for kids! It's colorful, interesting, easy, and I LOVE the accents! I've already started my grandkids on their first lesson, all about the home row. Talk about great educational ideas for grandkids in traditional classrooms as well as those in home school programs. They even have print outs for practicing off the computer.  

Not only that. One of our old favorites, Webkinz World, has an arcade game – Lunch Letters – which lets them practice typing. It wouldn't work to teach them. The letters just come willy nilly. But it is a fun way to practice what they learned at the BBC site. And since my grandkids and I all still love the cute Webkinz stuffed and virtual animals (I just updated us all at Christmas), that makes us happy typing campers.  What do you think? 

Kaye

It's Christmas Eve! And if you are babysitting grandchildren, are they as uber-excited as mine are? Oh. My. Gracious! They are so cute and so fun and SO full of energy, aren't they? So just for you (and my grandkids too), here are some great resources full of fun and easy cooking and crafts ideas for the kids and us seniors to keep us busy while school is out – before AND after Christmas. Perfect for our whole Sandwich Generation families. Enjoy.

• Frugal Fun 4 Boys – with five grandsons, of course I love this site. And I especially enjoyed their adorable snowman craft. It's not the same as the cute project my grandkids made – on the left – but it's also very adorable. I also spotted her very cute and very easy baby in the manger craft, which I posted at Facebook (be sure to LIKE me on my Facebook page AND follow me on my Facebook profile, as I often share extra goodies on Facebook that may not make it here in an article – particularly those of a time-sensitive nature.)
• Sidetracked Sarah - another fun and creative mom. She featured 25 days of easy crafts – perfect for kids and seniors. And they are coooo cute – like her feet and hands angel project!  
• The Stylelist is also did a daily craft for the month and there are so many, including these cute and easy snowflake crafts – perfect for the grand kids to make and take to decorate a seniors home or senior care room. Be sure you click on each page of the slide show. There's some "magazine Christmas trees" I remember from my baby boomer childhood. TOO COOL! We used to do something similar (and maybe even easier) with Reader's Digests, as I recall. Did you? 
• Another fun resource I post to is Pinterest. Check out the adorable ideas I found in my "Easy Crafts for Kids and Seniors" board. Very fun! And a couple of other Pinterest boards are Keepin Kids Busy with a bunch of cute ideas for the grandkids, as well as creative grandparenting fun from Grandma Shelley.

Of course, my old favorites also have plenty of fun ideas and easy crafts:

• Family Fun
• Enchanted Learning
• Parents
• Kaboose

And one other idea if you are headed for Walmart or another store that carries these. My Walmart had a fun kids cardboard play house coloring castle by RoseArt – they were about $20 and are very similar to the picture of the Discovery eco friendly cardboard playhouse to color pictured on the left, only without the roof.  I set it up in the grandkids playroom, with the help of my oldest grandson. We designated specific areas for each grandkid to color. ( Here's a shot I took before they started coloring.) 

I was sweetly pleased to find that they all enjoyed some coloring time, and some playing inside time! Even the oldest grand got into the spirit of the things and decorated the fairy most delightfully. I'm sure they'll keep enjoying playing in it through the winter and by the time it falls apart, hopefully spring will have sprung and their bikes will be back in business.  And, of course, if you have a big packing box, that would work quite well also. You might want to draw some big pictures on them when the grands aren't there. Then let them color them in. It sometimes helps to have a specific thing to color rather than a big blank surface.  

Lots of fun ideas and easy crafts for the whole family – from kids and grandkids on up to sweet seniors. Plenty to keep us busy on this day of heightened excitement and throughout the New Year til school starts, and beyond. Merry Christmas Eve from our Sandwich Generation family to yours.

Kaye

Christmas music is definitely a favorite part of my holiday fun – whether I'm singing them to my grandkids, enjoying them in the car with my senior mother or sharing them with you using one of my Smilebox eCards Creations. While the majority of my favorites are Christian praise and worship songs, there are plenty of other Christmas carols we enjoy as well.

Today, I wanted to share some multigenerational caroling fun with one of my senior mom's favorite big band Christmas songs – Sleigh Ride by Glenn Miller; one of my grandchildren's particular favorites – White Christmas by Taylor Swift; and one of my many many MANY faves - Two Step Round The Christmas Tree by Suzy Boguss. 

Enjoy – and Merry Christmas from our Sandwich Generation family to you and your family! And Happy Pink Saturday as well.  

P.S.

Kaye

It's almost Christmas! I just added a lovely new surprise to my Christmas tree and wanted to share it with you. It's one of those special and unique Christmas tree ornaments I especially love and it will be a sweet reminder of a great online friend, Denise Brown, of Caregiving.com. Last week, I was delighted to hear that I had won one of the many fun prizes she gave away during her fun Holiday Progressive Blog Party. Yesterday, a fun box arrived in the mail and, along with some yummy treats and a cute sleigh, I found this great ornament, now hanging out next to the cute snowman ornament I won from her blog party last year. A real treat for this Sandwich Generation granny nanny! THANK YOU, Denise  

This cute little house has joined my other tree ornaments along with this special Santa that I love to share with the grandkids. It's such a lovely way to remind them of the original story of St. Nick.

Awww, check out this extra-special personalized tree ornament - one of the many handmade for me by my grandkids over the years. Isn't it cute! Not to mention being full of sweet family memories.

I love unique Christmas tree ornaments that tell stories. And I love to share those stories with my grandkids, often during our Advent devotions and activities for the kids. What's your favorite Christmas tree ornament? We'd love to hear. 

P.S. Another thing I love is my easy to use digital camera – both the Canon Powershot and the one in my iPhone. And Sweet Shot Tuesday is a fun way to enjoy even more photos.

P.P.S.

Kaye