How are your grandkids doing with school this year? Have they started back? I know fellow baby boomer-grandmother, Cindy Matthews,' granddaughter started Kindergarten this week and is loving it. All of mine are back in session, both those in traditional classrooms and those in homeschool coop classes, and they all seem to be enjoying it a lot too – well, except, perhaps, for that pesky thing called homework. That they are somewhat less enthralled with.  

There are some new needs and requirements this year and this Sandwich Generation granny nanny has been putting together some new "playlists" in my iPod to help with those. One I've made is "Learn multiplication facts songs for the grandkids." With some grandkids working on skip-counting by 2s, 3s,4s, etc.and others working on their multiplication facts, I went back to all my multiplication songs CDs, re-added them to my iPod, and now – when we are out driving, we listen to Bible memory verses songs, Bible stories like GT & The Halo Express or Gilead Street, and lots of fun math music. 

Are you in the same boat? Here are some of our favorite "teaching addition and multiplication facts songs" CDs. Would you believe it, they're cute enough, I even enjoy them. And notice the lovely pink on the album cover – perfect for Pink Saturday fun.  

• Kidwize multiplication songs - The peppier sound of Multiplication music
• Multiplication by Heart  - Cute counting by 2s, 3s, 4s, on up to 12 using a variety of familiar tunes from London Bridge to Deck the Halls and even some Mozart

On the quieter side of Multiplication songs

• Multiplication Unplugged by Sarah Jordan 
• Multiplication Songs by Kathy Troxel

Have you found any great math facts song CDs or other tricks or tips to help your kids or grandchildren learn their math facts more easily? We'd love to hear. And…happy mathematics!

P.S.  Want more info on learning multiplication facts songs for YOUR grandchildren? Just click here.  

Kaye

SENIOR HOME CARE GIVING:

Excellent article about dealing with beloved elderly parents forgetting who you are due to dementia such as that caused by Alzheimer's Disease.

Six myths of caregiving.
 
Elder Care 101:When do you stop an elderly parent from driving?   Via @DLindberg49

Next time you visit your elderly parent, check his or her fridge for expired items, especially salad dressings. Via @Seniors4Living
 
February & Valentine's Day activity ideas for senior care activity directors to use with senior citizens. Via @Carebuzz
 
EldercareABC Blog Carnival  has another interesting edition out including some excellent security tips for elderly parents.

Many blue foods have anthocyanins & phenolics, two powerful phytochemicals now being studied for antiaging benefits. One example: blueberries. Via @kimduess

Alzheimer's Reading Room: Dealing with Difficult Behavior Caused by Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease. Via @SeniorsResource

Boomers and Seniors: News You Can Use blog carnival just came out this morning. It looks very interesting with articles about Excercising in Tucson,  Knee Pain issues, and a couple of entries from SandwichINK. There's even some fun videos to check out.

Speaking of Boomers & Seniors, SandwichINK is proud to announce we will be hosting the next Boomers and Seniors: News You Can Use blog carnival on January 26. If you are interested, we would love to have you enter an article or two in this blog carnival organized by Seniors For Living.  

GRANDPARENTS:

Golden Corral: All day, everyday, kids 3 and under eat FREE with adult purchases. My senior mom, my granddaughter and I love to eat there! It's a great place for the Sandwich Generation.   Via @ThriftyParents

GIVEAWAY: The Princess and the Frog for the Wii! From now until January 26, there is a fun contest for five free copies of these fun Wii games for kids. I bet our grandkids would love this! Via @WeekinRewind
 
American Girl fun for grandchildren and homeschooling programs.
 
Video Chat with the Grandkids at GrandMagazine by @ShaynePacker.

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT:

"Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day." Sally Koch. Via @Rainer_Seiffert

Caregiver's prayer – As for me, I trust in Thee O Lord. I say, "Thou art my God. My times are in Thy hand."

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. Epictetus. Via @AnneSadler:
 
"God's Desktop Picture"  Definitely puts worries into perspective!

I sought the Lord and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday. Abraham Lincoln. Via @KristenArnold

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
 
SANDWICH GENERATION:

Now that Christmas is over, it's time for "Stocking the Empty Gift Pantry™" as well as "The Magic Mason Jar Filled With (Potential) Lights."  These are great ways to save money via @frugalluxuries.
 
CaringBridge is an excellent resource for families dealing with health issues, from grandchildren to elderly parents. Via @MatthewBJohnson
 
Quick, easy, and healthy, Carl's Jr. has a new apple, cranberry, and walnut salad that "is yumaluma!" per @jeneanw.

Are heart attacks more common in winter?  Via @Carebuzz
 
Curry and black pepper may help to prevent breast cancer. (AARP )  per @ElderCareRN

Kaye

Do you get frustrated during cold and flu season because you and your grandkids have to miss church so much? Or are you the grandparent who watches them for an hour or two when they're sick so their mom and dad can go to church, then high tail it to second service yourself (that's us ).  That's fine for you and the parents, but what about the kiddies? How about doing a homeschool-Sunday School for them when you're babysitting for the parents?

If they're extremely sick, they may only be up to a Bible story or, perhaps, a Christian DVD. But if they're feeling OK other than being contagious, you can have a really great time together. My grandkids and I just did that this morning. I took over a couple of favorite childrens books of Bible stories that we all love, including the Pray & Play Bible. We read about Jonah and talked about the different lessons we can learn from his life, like:

• God is present everywhere so there's nowhere we can hide from Him. Psalm 139, including 8-12 – "If I go up to the heavens, You are there;  if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn,  if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You."(NIV)
• God wants everyone to be saved and that should be one of our desires as well. – "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9
• Jonah had to choose to obey or disobey God. We have the same choices daily, and we should always choose to obey God. Every time we disobey God we are following Jonah's bad example.
• Every time we cheerfully obey we are following Jonah's good example. In fact, every day when we wake up, we can tell God "Thank You for this day. Please use me today and help me to make the right choices."

After we finished the story, we sang a couple of songs from the book then had a great time making BIG FISH puppets from envelopes, following the book's suggestion to cut one strip off the skinny left side of the envelope and a triangle out of the middle of the skinny right side. They put their hands in the big opening and "swam" the fish around. They had so much fun decorating these and I had so much fun watching them.

They all did a great job and we had such a delightful time. As they worked on the fish, I praised God for yet another fun opportunity to do a bit of "soul-fishing and soul-training" of my own with my sweet grandchildren.

Even though much of the internet has slowed down due to Christmas festivities, Twitter stayed busy providing excellent resources for Sandwich Generation senior home care givers and grandparents. Here's a sampling:

SENIOR HOME CARE GIVERS

Prepare for the New Year: Learn about more advance directives and 'Do Not Resuscitate' orders.

Health tips for aging adults.

Elderly couple meets in retirement home, falls in love, and marries on Christmas Eve. Via LarisaBelliveau

Alzheimer's Disease May Stave Off Cancer and/or Vice Versa.  People who had cancer seem to be less likely to get Alzheimer's DIsease. Via @caregiverforum

It is definitely vital to keep a list of medications for aging parents or yourself in your wallet! How medication mistakes happen in the hospital.  @ElderCareRN  (via @caregiving)

Alzheimer's Disease Doesn't Take a Holiday. via @Mike_Gamble

10 Signs an Aging Relative May Need More Help. via @caregiving

New Year's Resolution suggestion: Do Your Own Will free online. 

GRANDPARENTS

Sprittibee has a great list of resources for homeschooling programs.

Piggy Paint Nail Polish: The Safe Nail Polish for Your Grandchildren including a fun giveaway.

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

God is true.

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." - Mother Teresa Via @CarePathways

I know it's after Christmas, but these gifts are great all year long!   Christmas gifts: To your enemy, forgiveness. To a friend, your heart. To a child, a good example. @BillHurlbut
 
SANDWICH GENERATION

The Best Photoshop Resources of 2009 – Design Reviver. via @andysowards

LED traffic lights aren't melting snow, leading to accidents! Be extra careful in the snow if your city uses them and be sure to warn your aging parents, as well.

SENIOR HOME CARE:

Dementia Holiday Activities That Lower Stress and Raise the Joy. Great ideas in this article!

"Make 10 Christmas Cards, drop off to any retirement community, and ask the activities director to give them to the loneliest residents." A very sweet idea! This would be especially easy for those who have aging relatives living there already. It might also be a good addition to the Dementia Holiday Activities. Even if a relative with dementia can't write, perhaps they could draw a picture or add stickers.  Via @AgeWiseLiving

7 states of dementia.

WOO HOO – We senior home care givers are worth A LOT! The price of unpaid senior home care exceeds total Medicaid expenditures or total sales of WalMart! Via @ElderCareRN

10 Tips for Preventing Dementia Sundowning. Via @Carebuzz 

Interesting info at EldercareABC Blog Carnival including slip and fall info. 

Study shows 'Name Game' hints at Alzheimer's Disease. Via @SafetyNetSource

A very interesting article, Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) vs. Lifecare Community – are they the same? from @PattyGrace.

For Elderly in Rural Areas, Times Are Distinctly Harder (NY Times). Via @caregiving

Mental tasks and exercise may help lower risk of Alzheimer's disease. Via @RetireLife

Very handy – especially for aging parents – No slip hand towels for the kitchen or bathroom. 

I'm putting this last in this section as it deals with both senior home care AND fun with the grandchildren – The latest Boomers & Seniors: News You Can Use. I especially enjoyed the articles about Senior Travel Smarts and Pie Dough Fun with Grandchildren!

GRANDPARENTS:

More than 70 million strong , grandparents are one of largest and most powerful consumer segments in US!  Via @Carebuzz.

Here's a great Advent/Christmas project for our grandchildren's homeschooling programs!

GREAT WAYS TO SAVE MONEY:

25 days of Christmas – free mp3 music downloads,  including Christmas Praise and Worship,  from Amazon. Please note, though, there are also a couple of songs that are not appropriate for all audiences, including one with an explicit rating! So do check each one out to be sure it's something you want.

Free classical Christmas mp3 downloads from Amazon as well. 

10 frugal gifts.

Charming VIntage Tins…Packaging GIfts from the Kitchen. Very delightful and frugal ideas!

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

The Angel said to Mary: "You will bear a Son and you shall name Him Jesus..He…will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High."

As for you, Bethlehem…from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago. From the days of eternity 

 “We leave traces of ourselves wherever we go, on whatever we touch.” ~Lewis Thomas. Via @ShaynePacker

Words to encourage – The Lord is good.

BABY BOOMER GENERATION:

I love Charles Swindoll's Bible teaching. He has a new book out, "Insights on Romans . " This is the first in a series from 45 years of teaching those 27 books of the Bible. What a great Christmas gift this would make.  

Aging members of the baby boomer generation face a caregiver shortage. Via @Carebuzz 

"For Some Ages 55 to 64, Medicare health insurance for seniors – and maybe now for younger than seniors – Will Cost Too Much.

Moving Changes Like Bambi, Beauty, and Rental Property Insurance at SandwichINK Real Estate Info  

Yummy recipe from Jenn Fowler – Chinese Takeout Style Chicken Wings!  

Christmas appetizers and snacks. Via @njfamilymag Yummy!!!

28 *invaluable* holiday baking tips from TipNut!  Via @eMom

Talking about baking and holidays, wait til you see these Gingerbread Houses – the Most Elaborate in the US!!! Via @mike_gamble 

My whole family loves to celebrate Advent. One of my oldest and favorite traditions is an Advent wreath. When my kids were young, I bought a lovely handcrafted Advent wreath made by a friend and we used that for many years. The pottery held five of the thin taper candles. We then “built the wreath” around it using Christmas tree branches. This same friend introduced us to the joys of beeswax candles. She made them by purchasing various candle making supplies including sheets of pliable beeswax and candle wicks. She cut out the sheets, rolled them tightly around a long wick string, and pinched them together. This would definitely be a fun and fairly easy project to do with the grandkids. Countrywide Magazine has instructions to help you make your own Beeswax candles. Or, if you want more detailed information and all the candle making supplies to go with it, Discount Candle has a complete kit. One thing I was surprised to find when I was looking at Advent wreaths today was that most only hold four candles, instead of the traditional five. My pottery wreath had five spaces but it was handmade. Since I had to put it in storage when we moved, I now use five big fat candles on the fireplace mantel, still surrounded by Christmas branches. I noticed that some people had made the beeswax candles several layers square which enabled them to stand up on their own. We’re going to have to give this a try this year, time and health permitting. If we succeed, I’ll pop up some pictures. If you beat me to it, I’d love to see photos of your creations. Whether we make our own Advent wreath and candles or buy them, we, along with our grandkids, will be blessed as we use them to help us celebrate the joyous Advent and Christmas season.

For more interesting Advent ideas from around the world, enjoy a great article by Floss about keeping our priorities in the right order during this Advent and Christmas season. Then head to her Advent article, Sharing a Pause in Advent, to find links to other interesting ideas and thoughts for Advent by writers from all over the globe.

Looking for fun Christmas gift ideas for your grandkids? How about something that is not only fun, but also educational. In fact, it would even be a great addition for homeschooling programs. I’m suggesting the gift of photography by giving them a camera and/or other photography accessories for Christmas.

As you may have noticed, photography is big with my whole family and several of my grandkids already have their own cameras, even the five year olds. Of course, many are hand me downs, or yard sale finds but I’ve been amazed at how good they actually do with them. For most grandkids, you probably would want to wait til they are about 8 to start, or be prepared to spend a lot of extra time helping them.

If the idea intrigues you, here are some things to consider:

• Choose a small, easy to hold camera that’s not too expensive to start with. I prefer digital as the grandkids can take as many photos as they want and there is no cost for film, other than a memory card or two. There are kids digital cameras which are fun and may be a bit tougher in case of being dropped. Be sure to check the camera reviews for how their quality is. It might be better to buy a regular digital camera for the older grandkids. You could even be extra creative and color coordinate them, such as buying a pink digital camera for a granddaughter. Be sure to include a strap to keep it around their neck so they don’t accidentally drop it. You could even make up some unique Christmas gift baskets by including a camera, one or two memory cards for digital cameras, the strap, an inexpensive case, and a book to show how to take pictures.
• If you’re looking for a special project for their homeschooling programs, how about introducing them to the principles behind photography by helping them make a pinhole camera. Think how fun it would be to work on making their own pinhole camera this month, then have them open their own regular or kids digital cameras on Christmas day.
• If they already have a camera, you could encourage them in this hobby by making or buying them an album just for their photos, along with some scrapbook supplies to help them decorate the albums.
• For older grandkids, many community colleges offer photography classes over the summer months for all ages, including learning to develop your own film, photo editing, and photo taking. You could add a gift certificate for one or more classes to their Christmas gift baskets to make the holiday season last all year long.
• Don’t discourage them from taking your pictures. Many of us tend to be a bit shy about that, but those will be such a blessing for them down through the years, and the time you spend while they take the pictures will be a blessing in the here and now.

Christmas gift baskets with regular or kids digital cameras and other photography accessories will be special and exciting to most grandchildren, in and of themselves. They could also be the start of a long and enjoyable hobby. Who knows, they might even lead to a future career or be a great help for whatever career field they go into. They will also provide plenty of fun memories for you and your grandkids to share through the years.

Senior Home Care Giving:

Caregiver Tips: Activities for aging parents with Alzheimer’s Disease. @carebuzz

Strategies for the Sandwich Generation Senior Home Care Giver at BusinessWeek.

Alzheimers Update: Insurance Company Requires Proof for Every Aricept Prescription. RT @alzheimersdotfm

Interesting article about Sandwich Generation Senior Home Care Givers at CBN News.

Interesting info at the November 4th EldercareABC Blog Carnival including heating cost help for senior citizens!

Help Your Favorite Senior Fight Alzheimer’s This Thanksgiving: Win a $2,500 Brain Fitness System.

Thanks to new technologies taking care of the elderly will become much easier in the future.   @caring4parents

Adding a Stair Lift to Aid a Senior Loved One.

Grandparenting:

CurrClick is offering a free Thanksgiving workbook. CurrClick is a good resource for homeschooling programs as well as having lots of fun ideas for grandkids & grandparents.

Baby Boomer Generation:

Statistics show that more and more of the Baby Boomer Generation are online, including surfing such places as Facebook. It’s vital to remember to be careful what information you share with others!  Your date of birth and birthplace are enough info to give an identity thief a 44% chance of getting the first five digits of your social security number!

YUMMY – a beloved elderly neighbor gave me this recipe years ago and I was so sad that I had lost it. One of my daughters just spotted it online! It is SOOOO good!

That’s it for this Twitter Tuesday. Have a great week and don’t forget to sign up for our free SandwichINK email.

Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas are my three favorite holidays, although I do enjoy all the holidays. With Thanksgiving getting closer and Advent right on its heels, it’s definitely time to start thinking about Advent calendars to share with our grandkids, as part of their homeschooling programs or just for fun, along with other interesting ways to celebrate the season with them. Of course, one of the first places I plan to start is with SandwichINK’s own Grandparents: Advent Fun from last year. Then it’ll be time to find new ideas from various other sites.

As you can imagine, I was quite excited this morning to open my email and discover a cute article from TipJunkie. She has several fun Advent calendars we can enjoy making with our grandkids.

From there I went on to my favorite Advent Calendar site yet – an online Advent Calendar! It’s all set up for December 1 – 25. When you click on a date, you find a Bible reading, activity, craft, recipe, delightful Christmas hymn, and fun Christmas song.  From the Legend of the Candy Cane to a cute Gingerbread House and lots more, there’s plenty to keep grandkids and grandparents busy throughout the month of December, while keeping the primary focus on the fact that Jesus is the Reason for the Season.

How about you? What are your favorite Advent calendars? Also, don’t forget to sign up for the FREE SandwichINK email to stay on top of all the new holiday ideas, resources, and projects coming your way this season and throughout the year.

Last year, my long distance grandkids enjoyed it when I mailed them the fun kids coloring pages to print. They especially loved the Princess and Strawberry Shortcake coloring pages I sent them!

This year, my oldest is reading and writing and we discovered she loves to fill in business-like forms of all kinds. “She doesn’t care what they are,” says mom. “She just has fun filling them in, just as I did when I was young.” So now I’m on a hunt for fun and interesting forms to help her set up her pretend businesses. I bet my nearby grandkids will enjoy them as well. For that matter, I thought some of your grandkids might also, so I am sharing with you the fruit of my labor.

Kids Turn Central has some fun genealogy forms that are just for kids and grandkids. They get fun forms AND fun pictures on many as well. And they get to learn more about their family. Terrific!

The IRS has tons of free forms available for printing on their site. It’s never too soon to teach our grandchildren about obeying the authorities over us by paying our taxes.

The state of Colorado has some interesting real estate forms with lots of lines and boxes my grandkids are sure to enjoy.

PNB has all sorts of intriguing forms with boxes and lines and circles to keep my grandkids happy learning the “banking business.”

Entreprenuer has all sorts of interesting forms including job applications, payroll records, and independent contractor’s agreements. This would be a great chance to talk to our grandkids about working as an employee vs. self-employment.

One caveat – make sure you only select the forms themselves. Otherwise you’ll be printing out lots of instructions your grandkids won’t care about.

Don’t you love it when you can put a smile on your grandchild’s face with just a few minutes of your time and some paper, envelopes, and stamps! And they get to enjoy pretending they are all grown up, and even learn more about the world around them. Hmmmm, I do believe this would make an excellent social studies projects for many of our grandkids’ homeschooling programs!

For more fun ideas and projects to do with grandkids, be sure to sign up for the SandwichINK free email updates!