Are you chasing your kids around the house during calls with the #grandparents
***
Kids are active beings and it is normal they can't or don't want to sit down and have a traditional conversation. Of course it is fine to follow them around, but sometimes that can make the caller on the other end seasick! And there is nothing wrong with modeling and teaching your child to facilitate conversations with loved ones and take time for...
May 22
Connection between grandchildren and grandparents who you don't get to see often enough, maybe isn't always how we thought it would be, but it is still delightful.
***
Who are you calling this weekend? What will the kids read to them?
***
#granddistanceparenting #longdistancefamily #facetime #reading #readingwithgrandma
#learningtoread #books #oma #grandma #grandparents
#grandchildren #grootouders ...
May 15
Counting together...😍🥰❤
***
#granddistanceparenting #grandparents #grandma #mothersday #grootouders #longdistancefamily #mathsactivities #learningtocount #facetime #moederdag #teapot
May 8
How are you connecting with family this weekend?
***
Set-up a #nailsalon for 30 minutes of fun!
***
#granddistanceparenting #grandparents #grandchildren #grootouders #longdistancefamily #facetime #skypewithgrandma #nailsofinstagram #nailpolish #girlmom #family #nailpolish #paintingnails
May 1
What do you miss most about #longdistancefamily?
***
We miss the everyday: simple things- sharing a morning cuddle, a meal together, a walk in the park, #bedtimestories...
***
They last time we read a #book (in-person) with our #grandparents in the USA was over a year and a half ago, and witj #Oma in The Netherlands last summer! Our hearts are #homesick for them. ❤
***
#granddistanceparenting #grootouders ...
Apr 25
Wishing you and yours a weekend filled with connection! Despite the distance there may be between us, you can always ring up #grandpa and show him a 🍀 or share with #grandma reports on whatever you did today. Who are you calling this weekend?
***
#granddistanceparenting #longdistancefamily #facetime #grandparents #grandchildren #grootouders #clover #family
Apr 17
Do you exchange #snailmail with your family?
***
Grandpa has been sending us #postcards for as long as we can remember! The kids love getting them and the little notes from #family. Any ideas on how we can display them? We currently put them on the fridge and a shelve on the wall, and replace them with the new ones. Now we have an entire shoe box filled with them!
***
#granddistanceparenting #longdistancefamily #grandchildren ...
Apr 11
How are you connecting with family to celebrate Spring? or Easter or Passover or whichever holiday or season you may be celebrating?
***
Dying eggs is a great way tradition to celebrate Spring. My kiddos got a little creative during the egg dying and put the nets meant for the eggs on their heads, which made for great laughs! Check out stories for the results!
***
#granddistanceparenting #grandparents #grandchildren #easter ...
Apr 4
Five things to do together online with children to celebrate the holidays related to Spring:
1. Make bunny hats together. Simultaneously make a cylinder shape that serves as your crown and cut out #bunnyears which can also be colored. Afix the ears to the crown and exchange bunny faces and challenge each other to do a #bunnyhop.
***
2. Make a simple paper basket or woven #Easterbasket and each collect whatever trinkets you can ...
Apr 2
How are you navigating this start of a second year with COVID and being far away from #family?
***
Are you like me- trying to remind yourself to keep your head up these days?, despite whatever is going on around you? to keeping looking to the stars, keep climbing that #tree? Trying to find the silverlining?
***
As #Belgium enters our third #lockdown (third time in a year #schools are closed in an attempt to reduce the spread of ...
Mar 27
How do you integrate your family into play during calls?
***
Put them in the center of the fun? Make them part of the story? Ensure a good view to ask questions?
***
#granddistanceparenting #longdistancefamily #facetime #kapla #playtime #grandparents #grandchildren #skypewithgrandma
Mar 20
Which games do you play online together with your #family?
***
Thinking about how we are going to stay busy during this rainy weekend!
***
Playing virtual #twister on a #quilt #grandma made, where the #grandparents call out colors and the hands and feet rotate, always leads to good laughs at our house. We also started playing #mariokart online together, which was a great way to connect in a different way from a traditional call. ...
Mar 12
Reading to grandpa.
***
You don't need a special app to read together virtually, just a book, a phone and some enthusiasm and patience on both sides to enjoy a book together. So what do I do when my #grandchildren are reading to me during a virtual call?:
1. Just listen, you don't have to say anything. Nodding your head in affirmation is great!
2. As they pause, ask them to show you the pictures, or ask them a ...
Mar 6
Do you read virtually with your family? How do you read together?
***
We have tired calling the #grandparents to read them a book, had #grandma read a book to us, recorded the kids #reading a #book so #grandpa could listen in after work! But we would love to hear your ideas about how you integrate reading into your #granddistanceparenting routines.
***
#grandchildren #learningtoread #readingwithkids #facetime #longdistancefamily...
Feb 27
Missing sitting on grandma's lap, big time? Three things you can do on your next call to facilitate immediate connection despite the distance:
1- start your call by singing a song for the #grandparents! #doreime is a current favorite here.
*
2- Show off your latest trick to #grandpa. Current favorites here are #somersaults, #headstands and simple #magictricks.
*
3- Read together! If your kids are of the reading age ...
Feb 20
Despite all the pictures and videos one can send #family to keep them updated on what the kids are up to, they just don't do justice to your day. We need words! But due to time differences and busy lives you can't always catch them live to give them a full report of your daily #adventures and the kids already forget in the morning how it was to walk through the forest early in the morning on a snowy day with the cold air on your cheeks....
Feb 13
Are your children missing their #grandparents as much as we are? It leaves a whole in our heart the longing for their attention and love. We just want to wake up in their homes and cuddle and play games and laugh together. All those little things we took for granted, well some of them can be done online together! Here are three games you can play #acrossthewires with kids:
1- #battleship yep you don't even need a board you can both ...
Feb 6
Tips for video calls with kids that go mute or freeze when you start a video chat.
***
Note I don't mean run away. If they run away and hide, give them space and just keeping talking to the caller. And then try again later. I mean you have a #chatty Cathy who is playing nicely and it seems like a good time to call #grandma. Then you call the #grandparents and turn the camera on them and they freeze! My #daughter and #son have both ...
Jan 29
