School is back in full swing for us! And have you noticed that the older our grandkids get, the harder their homework gets? For those of us in the Sandwich Generation who are "homework helpers," that can mean extra brain power is required from them AND us. When it comes to English and spelling, I do fine. Even history isn't too bad. But math and science – talk about headaches for this granny nanny. 

Last week, one grandchild and I were trying to work through a new math lesson and it just wasn't getting through. I understood it, kind of, but wasn't explaining it clearly enough for them to "get it." Then again, their teacher hadn't been able to either. 

I totally understand, because that's how geometry has always been for me. But i was mad at myself. NOT because of the difficulties figuring it out. BUT because it took me 20 minutes to remember to STOP and PRAY. 

Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my groaning. Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, For to You I pray. Psalm 5:1-2

Prayer is our best weapon when it comes to homework help. My grandchild still didn't "get" it, but we were able to work through most of the work much more happily, with some questions for the teacher. 

And YAY! Three days later, I got a text, with a picture taken with my grandchild's cell phone – showing a similar problem – WORKED CORRECTLY! Isn't God AWESOME! And isn't prayer POWERFUL! So WHY do I not remember it instantly EVERY time. But someday…in heaven…

In the meantime, you'll find more encouraging and inspirational Bible verses at Internet Cafe Devotions. And…

Kaye

The Dragon and the Turtle, by Donita K. Paul and Evangeline Denmark and illustrated by Vincent Nguyen, is the latest book I've received for free from WaterBrook Multnomah to review for you. It's a fun little book that works well with reading and phonics activities for grandparents and their grandchildren. It is also one of those cute Christian stories with a lesson or "moral" woven through it and I appreciate that.

It tells the story of a lost little turtle named Roger who is found by a very polite and kind red dragon, Padraig. The two set off to find Roger the Turtle's home. It's a blessing for Roger that Padraig, the "kitten-sized, bug-eating dragon" can fly as he can go up above and scout out the locations for them to search. 

It is very reminiscent of the Franklin the Turtle books and videos – a series my grandboys loved for years and my younger, long distance grandkids still love. I was very pleased with the Bible verse and talking points at the end of the story, although I have to admit, I wish it had been incorporated into the story as well. While it's quite easy for a grandparent to add it into the story,  some savvy grandkids who are reading sometimes pick up on that and don't like having a book "changed."

Overall, though, it's quite a cute little book for our grandchildren to enjoy, teaching good character qualities like "a friend loves at all times" and self-control.  I was thrilled when I read the back of the book to discover it was written by a fellow grandparent. Hooray! Not only that, Donita K Paul wrote it with her daughter, and I'm sure her grandsons have enjoyed the series immensely. A perfect book for the Sandwich Generation.

I was also pleased to discover that WaterBrook Multnomah has a contest centered on The Dragon and The Turtle and its sequel, The Dragon and The Turtle Go On Safari, along with fun ideas and activities perfect for grandparents and grandchildren to enjoy together. Just click here for details on what's involved, what the prizes are, and how to enter - the deadline is February 11, 2011. And if you win, do let us know. We'd love to hear and share the fun with everyone at SandwichINK. In the meantime, when it's time for you and your grandkids to take a break from those fun Wii games for kids and seniors, this could be a lovely way to spend some cuddle time before nap. 

P.S. Don't forget, Valentines Day is right around the corner. Christian stories for children, like this, make sweet gifts ideas for our grandchildren that don't give cavities and that do plant seeds for an eternity – always a favorite idea of mine. I'll sometimes write a note inside the book instead of a card, or include one of those cute and inexpensive cards from a classroom Valentine pack with it.

Kaye

Putting on my "granny nanny" hat, I headed over for some fun activities for grandparents and grandchildren yesterday. Always on the look out for easy crafts for grand kids, not to mention seniors, I had already planned a toys airplanes day.

My grandsons and I love building paper airplanes. We usually get out a paper airplane design book or check some "how to fold paper airplanes" sites online. Then off to work we go.

Last week, thanks to Target's sale and my great "Valentine Bonanza," we actually had some cute and colorful printed ones on paper with a neat design, which were a bit heavier than normal. They flew great! Even better than our simple paper airplanes.

Yesterday, we "upped the ante" a bit and had a great time experimenting with different toys airplanes. Some were made of balsa wood and others were plastic vinyl rubber band powered model airplanes.

I have to admit, I was a bit leery trying the balsa wood planes. Being a part of the aging Baby Boomers Generation, I have some not-so-fond memories of them from my youth. It seemed like almost every time I tried to put them together, I would break them. And the ones that survived my fumbling broke within the first two or three throws!  

It was time to see if they have improved. I bought each of the grandsons a $1 balsa wood airplane, some $1 vinyl plastic toy airplanes, and onesuper-duper vinyl plastic airplane. Now mind you, these were obviously quite cheap. I'm not talking about the really nice, way more expensive, balsa wood model airplane kits. Balsa Wood Gliders is probably a better name to use, though we never called them that as kids. (At least, not that I remember. ) And, unlike the really nice Rubber Powered Model Airplanes that run about $40, the "rubber band powered model airplanes" I bought used a stick with a sturdy rubber band to fling the plastic toy airplanes into the air.

First we attempted to assemble the balsa wood gliders. Would you believe, it was just as bad as I remembered. My grandsons broke tiny pieces here and there and immediately handed them to me. I put my Granny Nanny osmosis to work, and promptly broke another piece! All we had to do was slide the main wing through a slit in the middle. But the slit was so tight, in order to keep it in place IF you ever accomplished this, that we kept breaking the wing. The tail and rudder did a bit better but not by much.

Fortunately, I had bought a couple of extras. In the end, we wound up with two useable gliders which then flew "OK." For awhile! It was fun, but I've scratched these off my list of fun activities for grandparents and grandchildren for now. Maybe when they are older, we will try the deluxe balsa model airplane kits and see if those go better. 

Next, we pulled out the cheaper of the two plastic toy airplanes. These were much easier to assemble and worked really well. They were still going strong by the end of the day – a miracle with cheap toys and grandboys!  

Our last test, the more expensive of the rubber band powered model airplanes, was also the easiest. We just pulled it out, grabbed our little airplane "Slingshot" and it flew wonderfully. At first, I wished I had gotten a bunch of them and none of the rest. But as the day went on, they continued to have fun with the other plastic toy airplanes. And the balsa wood gliders brought back plenty of other fun Baby Boomer Generation memories, so that was nice.

All in all, we had a terrific time and learned which toys airplanes we liked the best for the future. When it comes to activities for grandparents and grandchildren, that's a success in any Granny Nannies' book! 

Kaye