{"id":239544,"date":"2024-02-02T13:12:17","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T19:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/?p=239544"},"modified":"2024-02-02T13:12:18","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T19:12:18","slug":"this-winter-season-celebrate-grandparenting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/zh_hk\/this-winter-season-celebrate-grandparenting\/","title":{"rendered":"This Winter Season, Celebrate Grandparenting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"has-light-green-cyan-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-06b6c25db41cf0a80c6ea3c112f1bb69 wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>Written by Elaine McAllister, Author and Friend of Legacy Coalition<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When my elderly mother lived in a retirement home, I brought a flowering plant to hang just outside her window. It was bright and colorful. I knew she would enjoy it that Spring, but never imagined a sweet little bird would as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sheltered in among the blooms and foliage, a nest was perfectly constructed; situated as if to give my mom a front-row seat for what was to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mama\u2019s room soon became the most popular room in the hallway as visitors stopped in daily for a peek. Nursing staff and fellow residents would tip-toe to my mom\u2019s window for a glimpse of the sweet production on the other side of that window pane. Their visits and conversations were a wonderful distraction for my mom at the time and a sweet memory that remains years later. There\u2019s something so beautiful and magical about witnessing God\u2019s creation \u2013 up close and personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I continued to care for my mother throughout that season and carefully watered the plant so it provided shelter for the tiny eggs which appeared soon after the nest was built. Mama kept track of the progress every day and eventually enjoyed seeing tiny birds where the silent eggs once were. They were lovingly cared for until it was time for them to fly away. Their humble abode, vacated by its unexpected guests, continued to brighten Mama\u2019s corner until the seasons changed and summer\u2019s heat got the best of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Seasons come and go. As I write this, wintertime is officially upon us. Depending upon where we live, temperature and precipitation can be brutal. It\u2019s not the season for nest-building and egg-hatching, yet every season is a perfect one for storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As one who is passionate about both grandparenting and generational storytelling, let me suggest a simple way to combine the two. Grandchildren love \u2018hands-on\u2019 activities, hearing stories, and learning new things. They crave interaction, and blessings await those grandparents who intentionally engage their grandchildren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This activity is well-suited whether your grandkids are toddlers or teens, however, more supervision is needed for the little ones. My teen grandkids haven\u2019t outgrown this wintertime project. I doubt they will. It reminds them of their great grandma\u2019s bird-watching experience and teaches the younger ones the importance of caring for our fine feathered friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s the plan! Gather your grandkids along with these simple items:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A jar of inexpensive peanut butter<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A bag of bird seed<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A few empty toilet paper rolls<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A paper plate and a plastic knife for each child<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let the fun begin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cover the bottom of each paper plate with bird seed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Using a plastic knife, have your grandkids spread peanut butter on a toilet paper roll.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gently roll each sticky roll into the bird seed \u2013 it\u2019ll stick to the peanut butter quite well.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If it\u2019s cold outside\u2026wash your hands and bundle up before delivering the tasty treats.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Carefully carry the \u2018bird feeder\u2019 outside and find the perfect spot for it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Slip it over the end of a small branch (or put a ribbon through the roll for hanging).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Clean up the mess.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Warm up the kids with some hot chocolate\u2026.and wait!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Watch as birds fly in to enjoy their wintertime feast.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following up:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Can your grandkids identify the types of birds that come to visit?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Refer to a bird-watching book or the internet to learn about birds.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Encourage your grandkids to capture a picture of their mid-winter visitors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Younger grandkids may want to draw and color a picture of the birds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is a popular \u201cdo-over\u201d activity your grandkids will want to do over and over again. Your neighborhood birds will thank you. Due to the fact that bird seed may get into your jar of peanut butter, I suggest you label it \u201cFor The Birds\u201d and keep it in the garage with the bird seed! It\u2019s no longer good for human consumption but can be kept for future fun with your grandkids.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is a popular \u201cdo-over\u201d activity your grandkids will want to do over and over again. Your neighborhood birds will thank you.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":239547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-generational-living"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Winter-Season-Celebrate-Grandparenting.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239544"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":239548,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239544\/revisions\/239548"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}