Today is National Homeschool Day — Saturday, Feb. 23!

Need some ideas on how grandparents can get actively involved in homeschooling? Or maybe some reasons why they should?

As part of the celebration of National Homeschool Day, Grandparents of Homeschoolers has an online video workshop that you can view anytime TODAY — from now until midnight. It is designed for both grandparents and parents and filled with lots of fun ideas for grandparents, whether you live locally or long distance.

Just sign up at the link below and you’ll receive a link via email to view that workshop anytime today, plus five more workshops on homeschooling topics by other speakers. The full list of homeschooling topics is:

Rich & Barb Heki — “Engaging Grandparents in Homeschooling”

Israel Wayne — “Homeschooling from a Biblical Worldview”

Dr. Lainna Callentine — “The Bible, Science & My Child’s Heart”

Sherri Seligson — “Am I Ruining My Children?”

Kyle Justice — “Fostering Your Children’s Gifts for the Kingdom”

Meredith Curtis — “Teach History with Genesis”

The workshops are each 45-55 minutes long.

National Homeschool Day is being spearheaded by the International Association for Creation, a wonderful homeschool advocate!

We hope this free video blesses you as you find new ways to get involved in the homeschooling lives of your grandchildren!

https://thecreationtrail.weebly.com/national-homeschool-day.html?

It was a typical open house. Or was it? And yes, this does relate to Thanksgiving Day!

Elizabeth was celebrating her high school graduation. It was a joyful time, with her friends, relatives and family gathered at her home to celebrate what God had done in her life.

All of us were there to honor her faithfulness, educational achievement and ministry that defined who God had molded her to be.

But something unusual happened: SHE blessed US!

From her family’s perspective, they had simply displayed a mix of small items to express praise and thankfulness to God, but from the perspective of guests like us, it was a powerful example that both challenged and blessed us. Notes and Scriptures and items about thankfulness were found everywhere! A canvas with markers encouraged guests to write down things for which WE were thankful. Photos and slips of paper that depicted “thankful things” (actual excerpts from Elizabeth’s “Thankful Journal”) were scattered around the table to bless guests and express thankfulness. Even the invitations were notes of thankfulness to guests. All of these items, while being mementos of Elizabeth, were road maps directing us straight to the throne of God, from Whom all blessings flow.

Elizabeth has spent years surrounding herself with visual reminders of God’s goodness and recording all the things for which she is thankful, no matter what the circumstances at the time. The result? A visibly joyful spirit that is evident to anyone around her.

I’m sure there were days that she found it difficult to be thankful, as we all do. We all have days, or years, of trials or suffering, when we start to doubt God’s love and care for us, or our usefulness to Him, or we are so fed up with suffering that we don’t even feel like going on with life.

It’s those times, when Satan is blinding us to God’s goodness and His wonderful plan for our eternity as believers in Christ, that we need to focus, as Elizabeth has done, on God’s blessings to us throughout our LIFETIME in order to offset the memories that Satan uses to (1) drag us down in the present, or (2) pump up our egos to make us believe that WE are responsible for the good things we enjoy. It is all from God and it is all for our good. Oh, that we can help our grandchildren understand that early in their lives!

This life on earth is just a blip in eternity and there is no amount of earthly joy or earthly suffering that even compares to the glory of eternity — our forever life with the God of the universe, our Creator, in Heaven through Jesus Christ.

The “secret” to being thankful on Thanksgiving Day, which you’ve probably already figured out by now and will want to pass on to those precious grandchildren, is to be thankful EVERY day!

“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” — 1 Thess. 5:18

You can help your grandchildren learn to give thanks in everything! Give them a “Thankful Journal” where they can begin listing all the things they have to be thankful for, every day. No matter what their age. And we need to do that, too. Not just for us, but so we can share with our children and grandchildren the bigger picture — God’s faithfulness through many generations.

A “Thankful Journal” is simply a modern-day way of doing what God commanded in Scripture. He told the Israelites to REMEMBER the great things He had done for them, and to tell them to their children and their grandchildren (Deut. 4:9). We need to share our memories of the good, joyful times; and memories of how God sustained us through the difficult times of suffering.

Those memories of the past can spark the faith we need for delighting in joys and weathering storms in the present and the future.

Today is a special day in the United States, set aside to give thanks to God for the country and the freedoms and the plentiful food and preservation of life that He so providentially and graciously gave to the Pilgrims and still gives to us today. So whether you connect with your grandchildren via distance or across the dinner table, you can help them start a “Thankful Journal” this very day!

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” — 1 Cor. 15:57

National Grandparents Day is approaching — September 13 — and we’d like to tell you about a unique activity that can deepen your relationships with your grandchildren and strengthen your faith as you learn some fun science together!

Grandparents of Homeschoolers™ is partnering with Let Creation Sing to present Generations Through Genesis — a national event to connect families with creation museums throughout the United States for exciting door prizes, discounts and special activities Sept. 10-14! Creation museums are museums that teach science from a biblical foundation, beginning with God’s creation of the world.

Did you know that there very likely is a creation museum close to where you live? Here’s a link to help you find the museum nearest you: www.VisitCreation.org

Generations Through Genesis is the first national creation science event brought to you through the coordination of museums and ministries from coast to coast! The event encourages grandparents, grandchildren and family members to visit their local creation science museum together and learn more about our Creator, Jesus Christ.

How to Register

There will be door prizes and other activities. To register for your door prize, please visit: www.CreationAction.org and click on “Register!” You may be selected for a free 1-year membership to the nation’s largest Christian homeschool library, or a brand new set of DVDs on how the heavens declare the glory of God, or many other available prizes! (If you are unable to attend a local museum during this event, you still may register for the event to be entered into the door prize drawing.)

Learn more about Generations Through Genesis door prizes at www.CreationAction.org under the “About” tab.

Long-Distance Grandparents?

We’ve got a great solution! Team together with other families by “adopting” a grandparent or grandchild for this event! Grandchildren and grandparents who don’t live near one other, or grandchildren who don’t have living grandparents, can be so blessed by spending time with families from church or the neighborhood for fun, educational experiences like Generations Through Genesis.

Share with your Friends on Social Media!

Please share this event across your social media. There is a “Share!” button at: www.CreationAction.org. You also can this blog post from the Grandparents of Homeschoolers Facebook page.

Sponsors

Generations Through Genesis is part of the Creation Action Event Series, brought to you by The Creation Trail.

Generations Through Genesis is underwritten by Grandparents of Homeschoolers and the members of the Creation Science Alliance. Learn more about Generations Through Genesis partners under the “About” tab at www.CreationAction.org.

Once you partake in this event at your local museum, please consider leaving a review online at www.VisitCreation.org to share with others about your experience! We’d also love to have you share any photos of you and your grandchildren and families on the Grandparents of Homeschoolers Facebook Page. Please “Like” the page if you haven’t already.

We also encourage you to explore the www.VisitCreation.org website for more exciting opportunities to learn about God’s creation throughout the year.

We’re Praying for You!

Grandparents of Homeschoolers and Let Creation Sing would like to thank you in advance for your support and passion in strengthening all generations in the truth of Jesus Christ and His amazing creation.

We’re praying that all grandparents and grandchildren — and parents, aunts/uncles, cousins and friends who attend Generations Through Genesis — will enjoy a blessed time together as we celebrate National Grandparents Day the week of Sept. 10-14.

If you’re not able to visit a creation museum with your grandchildren that week, we’re praying that you will be enriched by God’s blessings of the grandchildren in your lives, whether you are with them in person or long-distance!

I was just about to post it on Facebook. A smart-aleck comment that I just knew would strike a chord of kindred spirits with everyone. Well … everyone who lives in cold climates and has to experience the weather from the outside, as opposed to sipping hot cocoa on the inside.

After waking up last week to a blanket of snow, freezing weather and hungry, thirsty chickens that needed buckets of water carried to their coop in the field, this grandma was already fed up with winter even before it started.

Determined to share my agony with everyone, the Facebook post started materializing in my mind as my frozen fingers struggled to open the chickens’ complicated new raccoon-proof door locks. I would write: “Snow is part of the curse! Look it up yourself — Irritations 11:20.” At that moment, I was convinced that winter was a curse and summer was a blessing.

Then I logged into my computer and the post I was about to type disintegrated into oblivion. There, staring me in the face, were two new posts — one from our daughter and the other from a friend, both extolling the beauty of God’s creation and His awesome presence in the cold air and fresh covering of snow.

Our daughter posted this picture and wrote: “Lovely snow we had Saturday. It fell softly and seemed to bring all the land into a reverent hush. Be still and know that He is God. (Psalm 46:10)”

And our friend wrote:  “The cold, crisp air reminds me of the Lord’s salvation. You can see clearly. You can hear clearly. It is a sweet smell. It is refreshing. It makes you alert. It jolts you out of your slumber. Yes, today reminds me of God’s goodness!!”

Wow! An attitude of gratitude sees the beauty in everything and is thankful in everything. Over the years, I’ve learned to recognize purpose in trials, praises in pain, blessings in hardships, beauty in devastation … but because we’re human, it’s still so easy to let little irritations change our focus if we aren’t continuously on guard.

Upon reading those God-honoring Facebook posts, my mind was once again transformed: I became so very thankful for the beauty and stillness of a lovely winter morning. How incredible that our awesome God could place this soft blanket upon us overnight … and create instant new scenery for us to enjoy and explore!

This morning, we received another, even larger, blanket of snow after the last one had melted. But today, I ventured out with the same water buckets but a new attitude, thanking God for the beauty and for the opportunity to get exercise in His creation by feeding and watering the chickens in the early hours of dawn.

But you know what? Those ungrateful chickens weren’t at all thankful for the snow! They refused to go out of their coop! They just stood there and stared blankly at the cold snow that had invaded their new day. One brave-hearted hen stepped gingerly onto the snow and then quickly pulled back out of it.  The rest of the flock looked at me as if I somehow could — and should — change their situation.

Isn’t that just like us? We’re unthankful when things don’t go exactly our way, and instead of seeing the beauty, we see the beast.

As grandparents, we have a unique vantage point.  We can see the beauty through our children and grandchildren. Hubby and I took our visiting 2-year-old granddaughter to the snowy chicken coop this afternoon for her first experience gathering eggs. What a joy to see the excitement in her eyes as she was surrounded by chickens, hungry for her handfuls of scratch grains, and the wonder and delight in her eyes of discovering large, shiny brown eggs in the nest boxes and helping gather them. Just to see and experience those moments was worth all of the water-lugging and feed hauling through all types of challenging weather conditions.

“Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe.” — Hebrews 12:28

Webster’s 1828 Dictionary describes Thankfulness as “Gratitude; a lively sense of good received.”

Resolved – to foster an attitude of gratitude, first in myself, and then in the grandchildren! We all have things to be thankful for — because of the goodness and mercy of God — even amid severe hardships.

Friends of our family have a son, a missionary pilot, who just lost a leg in a devastating accident in New Guinea. He’s in intense pain, battling infections, and has a long road of recovery and totally different lifestyle ahead. Yet he and his family are the perfect examples of gratefulness and thankfulness. The parents have their son alive. The wife has her husband alive. The children have their dad alive. This godly man has the blessing of being able to continue raising and discipling his children and enjoying his loving wife and family. They are all so very grateful and express it continually. Only Jesus Christ living through us can turn the ungrateful beast within us to a beautiful heart of worship, thanksgiving and gratitude.

The way to foster that attitude of gratitude is by continually realizing our state — that we deserve nothing, yet God has given us everything. Through Jesus Christ, we have eternal life in paradise with our Savior. This life is just a blip in eternity, but it’s our opportunity to have an impact on our children and grandchildren for eternity. Pray with them, sing praises with them, love them, educate them, disciple them, build their character, point them to Christ.

As Americans celebrate Thanksgiving Day tomorrow, remembering how God has blessed this nation, let’s remember the even greater things for which we have to be thankful, no matter what part of the world we live in. Here’s a fun craft, keepsake and living tribute that will be fun for the grandchildren and help nurture a spirit of thankfulness. The finished product is pictured at the top of this blog. We did this last year and plan to do it again tomorrow.

Here’s how it works: Print off the pages, cut out the leaves and punch a hole in the top of each leaf. You can use a color printer or use b&w and have the children color them with a light highlighter so the text is still readable. Grab a branch from a tree outside and put it in a weighted vase. After the meal, have everyone write something they are thankful for — and why — on the back of one or more leaves. Then ask each person to read aloud the Scripture verse on the front of their leaf and what they wrote on the back before hanging it on the Thanksgiving Tree. Thank you, Ann Voskamp, for this lovely idea on how to keep a thankful spirit and nurture it in our children and grandchildren. (This printable craft is available in Spanish, too.)

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/11/a-christian-family-thanksgiving-activity-the-thanks-giving-tree-free-printable/

Have a blessed day of Thanksgiving tomorrow, whether you are celebrating our history in America, or whether you live elsewhere in the world and simply want to visibly live out a heart of thankfulness to God — an Attitude of Gratitude.

—   Barb Heki, for Grandparents of Homeschoolers™

Lyrics to “Give Thanks,” by Don Moen:

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, “I am strong”
Let the poor say, “I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us”

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son

School has been under way for 2 months and the fresh excitement of a new school year has dissipated as the rigors of academics consume the days.

Time for Grandpa and Grandma to interject some FUN into the studies! Read on to glean some local and long-distance ideas for doing some creative, hands-on activities for all ages with one of the wonders of God’s creation — leaves!

Step 1: Go on a nature walk with the grandchildren and gather a wide variety of leaves as they turn colors and fall to the ground. If you live long-distance, gather enough of each variety for yourself and your grandchildren and have them do the same in their respective locales. Collect those evergreen leaves that don’t turn colors as well. If you live in a region where the leaves don’t change colors, or if the leaves have already fallen in your neck of the woods, ask a friend or relative from a deciduous-rich locale to send you some. Or, purchase a lovely variety of artificial leaves from a craft store. You could even print off leaves from free-image sites on the internet.

Step 2: Flatten the leaves between sheets of paper and bring or mail a set to each grandchild.

From this point, choose any number of leaf projects below and do them with your grandchildren. If you live long-distance, choose those that will work well to do via telephone or video chat.

Leaf Identification

Give your grandchildren some resources for identification: web searches, encyclopedia, local DNR offices, parks and recreation departments or county extension offices. Have your grandchildren keep track of which leaves they recognized without researching and which they had to look up. Glue the identified leaves to sheets of paper to keep in their science portfolio. Take these out at a later time and quiz them to see if they remember each leaf type. For older students, you can expand into researching the trees that each leaf came from or study the scientific parts of leaves and trees and learn the function of each part.

Crayon Leaf Art

On a newspaper-covered surface, arrange a few leaves on a sheet of white paper and sprinkle pieces of shaved color crayon pieces over the leaves and paper. Cover with a sheet of waxed paper, waxed side facing the leaves. Press a hot iron over the waxed paper until the crayon pieces melt. Let cool and pull off waxed paper to reveal a colorful piece of art. Have the grandchildren sign their masterpieces.

Leaf Designs

Look through the leaves and pick out some with a variety of shapes, curves and textures. Glue them onto a sheet of paper, placing the shapes in a way that creates a new design. For example, curved leaves could become rolling hills. A willow leaf could become a hammock placed horizontally between two long pine needles that represent trees. Have the grandchildren write a paragraph describing the scene they’ve created.

Magnified Drawings

Using a magnifying glass, or for older students a microscope, draw the veins and structure of the leaf that is more clearly visible when magnified. Contemplate the intricacy of God’s design that is not visible to the naked eye.

Rubbings

Place a leaf, or several leaves in a variety of shapes, between two pieces of white paper. Peel the paper off a crayon of your choice and rub the sides of it across the paper, making sure to cover the leaf area completely. A distinct impression of the leaf will emerge. Tell your grandchildren that this is similar to the process used in early letterpress printing, a type of relief printing. The very first Bible, the Gutenberg Bible, was printed using the letterpress technique. With older students, try the same thing using oil pastels. They also can get a rubbed image by placing a sheet of foil wrap on top of the leaves and using their fingers to press over the entire surface of leaves. The foil will take the shape of the leaves.

Leaf Bouquet

Grandchildren young and old can have fun designing a lovely leaf bouquet. Leaf length can be extended by gluing artificial stems onto the leaves. These can be twigs or colored pipe cleaners or anything they find around the house that works. Encourage them to be creative in adding embellishments to the richly colored leaves, such as feathers, or including a picture or note, fastening everything together with yarn or ribbon.

With these simple leaf projects, you will have taught them some research skills, botany, art, writing, history, printing and design! And in the process, you will have shown them the mighty works of God!

Celebrate with an all-time fall favorite — a cup of hot apple cider!

“He changes times and seasons.” — Daniel 2:21

     — Rich & Barb Heki, for Grandparents of Homeschoolers™

Today has been THE most beautiful summer day in the Midwest … a perfect opportunity to sit on the lawn, feel the gentle breeze and revel in God’s creation. It’s rare for any of us to find time to ponder in this fast-paced, demanding world.  But when it comes, what do we think about?

FAMILY! We reminisce about our childhood, our parenthood, and now our grandparenthood. As the memories flood back, we realize just how much we have to share with our grandchildren. Fun times. Scary times. Kooky times. Serious times. Embarrassing times. Times of success. Times of failure. Everything we’ve learned throughout many decades.

Gail Lumet Buckley, the daughter of actress Lena Horne, experienced this when she discovered photos, mementos and other memories her father had saved in an old trunk. That carefully preserved collection inspired her to write a book about her family history. She observed: “Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future.”

We are so blessed because we can share these memories with our grandchildren today — whether we are with them in person or on the opposite side of the planet. Thank you, Lord, for this digital age where memories aren’t confined to an attic trunk, but can be enjoyed and shared every day.

We have our cherished memories as grandparents — memories of our own childhood, and memories of nurturing our own children to adulthood. But what’s amazing to think is that we are making memories now for our children and grandchildren. In everything we do and say.

This revelation came to me suddenly a few months ago when we lost my mother … our children’s grandma … and our granddaughter’s great-grandma. As our adult children gave personal testimonies at the funeral of the memories they had of their grandmother, it was amazing to hear what things stuck in their memories. Funny moments. Special times. Sacrificial actions. Character traits. Endearing personality. Acts of love. Things she taught them.

I realized, for the first time, what a monumental influence a grandparent can be in a child’s life. Yes, I always knew that, but hearing it spoken by our children is when it really came alive for me.

And then I thought back to my own grandparents, and what I remembered about them. The first thought that came to my mind was remembering my grandma teaching me the Lord’s Prayer when I was 3 years old … in the bathtub. She used that time to saturate me not just with soap and water but with Scripture. And 15 years later she purchased a Bible for my 18^th birthday and died before she could give it to me. But it was passed on to me after her funeral and became a precious memory, and one of the tools God used to bring me to salvation by faith alone in Christ alone. How I wish I could thank her personally right now, but I rejoice that one day I will be able to do so.

There are so many moments to treasure in this life, and it’s so easy to let them slip by.

Here’s a National Grandparents Day memory-making idea that we hope will bring you joyful memories of the past and future rich relationships with your grandchildren:

Relax on the lawn (or wherever you can be alone with God and truly ponder) and make three lists:

1. Memories of your grandparents that you cherish.
2. Memories of your times with your grandchildren that you cherish.
3. Memories that you want to make with your grandchildren in the future, to disciple them in the Lord Jesus and to leave them a legacy of precious times with you, their very special grandpa and grandma.

May God bless you and give you — and your children —and your grandchildren — beautiful memories to treasure throughout their lives, and to pass on to the generations after them.

Why is it that we are fully confident when we teach our grandchildren something we know how to do, like baking bread or changing the oil in the car, but when we hear the words “teach school” our hearts race and we dive for cover?

Is it the fear of the unknown? Or the fear of being embarrassed because we might not know all the answers to questions our grandchildren will ask? Or the fear of ruining them because we aren’t “professional” teachers? Or that overwhelmed feeling of not knowing where or how to begin, much less complete the instruction, and they’re sitting there watching you, expecting you to be Super-Grampa and Super-Gramma?

Whether you’re just helping out, or completely homeschooling your grandchildren, be assured that you are fully capable, and in fact highly desirable, and indispensable as a teacher and mentor – reinforcing their parents’ plan for their education and discipleship. Consider these factors:

• The God who gave us our children and grandchildren equipped US to be their parent, grandparent, teacher and mentor.
• Statistics show that homeschooled children whose parents were certified teachers scored almost identically on standardized tests as homeschooled children whose parents were not certified teachers. Moreover, homeschooled students scored an average of 33 percentile points above public school students, whether their parents had a simple high school diploma or less, or a college degree.* So be encouraged: College training and teaching experience for you is not necessary for your homeschooled grandchildren to excel.
• Education is a lifestyle, not a list of coursework completed. Everything you do with your grandchildren is an educational/discipleship opportunity. Everything!
• The world is our classroom. Opportunities to learn through hands-on activities by being out-and-about in the “real world” make home education the richest learning experience available to mankind.
• We don’t have to know it all in order to teach it all. Part of the fun is learning together!

Yes, You Can Teach!

Years ago, I served as a corporate manager in a Fortune 500 company. When the director of our public relations department retired, upper management astounded all of us by moving a home economist into the position of vice president over our department. We were bewildered. What does a home economist know about public relations? That individual had no training or experience in PR, and several of us had master’s degrees in our field.

But, as we “trained in” the home economist on all facets of a public relations department, I soon realized that she was going to do fine and the department would not crumble and fall off the face of the earth. I learned a very important lesson during those years: Any of us can learn anything at any point in our lives, and do it well, whether or not we have received college training or job experience in that field or discipline.

Case in point: George Washington Carver (1864-1943) was a black man who had to battle tremendous obstacles to become educated. Yet he pursued it with vigor, rose above his persecutors and became an accomplished artist, musician, scientist, inventor and college professor. He didn’t have any formal training for many of the things he did so well; he learned by reading, watching and doing because he loved learning. If we teach our grandchildren how to learn, and to love learning, they will soar.

And if we teach them to see our Creator in everything, they will learn the most important lessons of life. As Carver related: “I love to think of Nature as wireless telegraph stations through which God speaks to us every day, every hour, and every moment of our lives.”

How-Tos

So how do we “teach school”? The concept is really quite simple: When teaching “school,” start with something you know well — like your own hobby or skill. Then add something that you don’t know well but would really like to learn yourself, like maybe the history of space exploration, or algebra. Then learn it TOGETHER! Yes, you can teach what you don’t know, because you learn it as you study it with them! OK, there are some things that you do have to learn before you can teach it, like brain surgery. But that’s a specialized post-graduate field. You can teach your grandchildren anything that is learned from birth through high school, and many things beyond, because you teach what you know, and then learn the rest together.

There are a myriad of ways we can teach/learn academics together with our grandchildren. Here are a few:

• Studying textbooks and literature
• Following a teacher guide
• Creating your own “teacher guide”
• Watching DVD instruction
• Attending a class
• Learning via computer programs
• Pursuing online courses
• Taking part in a local homeschool co-op
• Teaching lecture-style
• Giving a demonstration
• Using hands-on learning-by-doing
• Going on field trips
• Googling!

The resources available for learning are as diverse and flexible as our imaginations.

Keep Perspective

One advantage of age is it brings perspective, and we as grandparents can bless our families by interjecting that perspective into our interactions, activities and lessons — by being another voice to emphasize what’s really important in life.

And that is discipleship — instilling character, integrity, knowledge, love of learning and most of all a thirst for an increasingly deeper relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We can help educate our grandchildren to become little Einsteins, but without Christ as the foundation and substance of their lives, it is all for naught.

Grandparents, we play such an important role in the lives of our grandchildren. Every learning experience in our grandchildren’s lives is an opportunity for discipleship.

So charge ahead, Grandpa and Grandma!

• Teach what you know. And learn what you don’t know together. That is how to teach children how to learn.
• Make it fun and exciting! That is how to teach children to love learning.
• Approach everything from the foundation of Scripture and model what you teach. That is how to make disciples.

— Barb Heki, for Grandparents of Homeschoolers™

Source for statistics: http://www.hslda.org/docs/study/comp2001/HomeSchoolAchievement.pdf

The January doldrums have arrived. All the fun fellowship of celebrating Christmas and ringing in the New Year with family and friends is now archived in photo albums, cell phones and refrigerator doors.

The kids are whining about being stuck indoors and Mom and Dad are getting cranky, too.

For those in the northern climes, you’ve had it with parkas, boots, lost mittens and errands on icy roads. And the kids aren’t doing so well keeping the outdoor animals’ water from freezing. Everyone wants sunshine!

For those in the southern climes, you’re tired of the rainy season and would really enjoy a good old-fashioned snowball fight. You mourn the fact that the kids have never seen snow, gone sledding or sculpted a snowman!

Grandparents, it’s time to inject some FUN into the gloomier school days of winter. You can do it in person, or if distance is an impediment you can mail a customized “kit” to your families and enjoy the experience together via Skype.

All you need to do is gather the ingredients for one of the kits below and you’ll have a fun and exciting educational experience to beat the winter blahs. You will be the HERO — whether you bring sand castles to Minnesota or snowmen to Florida.

For northerners in need of sunshine — bring your grandchildren and their parents a Beach Adventure in a Box.

For southerners who yearn for a “real” winter — your grandchildren and their parents will love an Arctic Afternoon in a Box.

Here’s what you’ll need for your kit. You can choose any number of these ingredients or come up with creative ideas of your own, tailored to your unique family. Don’t get overwhelmed. Keep it simple and choose two or three ideas. Save the rest for another special day with your grandchildren.

Beach Adventure in a Box

• Summer clothes (the required attire for everyone).
• Flip-flops (to hand out as gifts to each family member)
• Beach blanket (to spread on the floor for a picnic)
• Picnic lunch (or get some take-out chicken and potato salad).
• Watermelon (to carve for dessert).
  • After dessert, have a watermelon-spitting contest in a hallway or hard-surface area. Then, save the seeds to plant in the spring and you and the grandchildren can do a study of how a watermelon grows. Lots of science ahead!
• Plastic wading pool (to fill with sand)
• Sand (to create sand castles). Lumber stores are a good place to find bags of sand.
• Seashells (to mix into the sand for the grandchildren to find). Available at craft stores.
• Toy marine creatures (to bury in the sand for the grandchildren to find).
  • Have each child look up information about the sea creature he or she finds. Then, together, compose a creative story about that sea creature. They’ll have a blast hearing your ideas and combining it with theirs.
• Prizes! (fun items your grandchildren will like). Hold a sand-castle-building contest and award prizes for the best castle, most creative castle, biggest castle, castle with the most turrets, flattest castle, tallest castle — you can think up categories so each child will end up with a prize to enjoy.
• Space heater (to make it really hot in the room). Or, turn up the heat as high as your budget will allow.
• Flashlights and lamps (to shine as simulated sunlight for the beach adventure).
• Camera (to record the Beach Adventure activities). These fun photos will double as an academic record,
• Scriptures about the wind, waves and sand (to focus on God, who has created all of these things, to marvel at His majesty, and to thank Him for all the beauty of nature He has set around us).
  • Discussion question: Read about Peter walking on water (Matt. 14:22-23). Discuss how that would feel. Would each family member have had the faith to stay on top? What is faith? How do we know we have faith? Who do we have faith in? How is our faith in the abilities of the pilot flying our airplane different from our faith in Jesus Christ? What is a saving faith?
• Paper, pencils, pens, markers (to draw and/or write a journal entry of their Beach Adventure).

Arctic Afternoon in a Box

• Winter clothes, coats, mittens and boots (the required attire for everyone). And no, our dear Texas friends — cowboy boots don’t qualify.)
• Turn on the air conditioner to as cold a setting as your budget will allow.
• Purchase some miniature stuffed Alaskan Husky-type dogs and wrap them in gift bags for the grandchildren.
• Baked Alaska or Snow Cone recipes (for kitchen fun with the grandchildren).
• White paper and scissors (for creating old-fashioned, homemade snowflakes by folding and cutting the paper into unique designs).
• Compare everyone’s snowflakes. None are exactly the same. Relate it to God’s unique creation of each snowflake and each human life. Gen. 1:27 says God created us in His image. And he made us totally unique; even identical twins are different.
• Snow! (for a miniature snowman-making contest) There are various recipes on the internet for homemade artificial snow. Or, you can purchase containers of artificial snow. Provide sticks, pieces of fabric, scissors, buttons, ribbon … anything that would be fun for the kids to use in decorating their snowman.
• Ice cubes and frozen candy bars (for a race to see which child or adult can melt an ice cube the fastest).
  • Let everyone use their creativity in melting the ice. Anything is allowed (hair dryer, microwave, their hands) unless you specify otherwise. Award the winner a frozen candy bar.
  • If you’re more adventurous, you can go online and look up the freezing points of various liquids. Bring your list to the Arctic Adventure and have the grandchildren guess which liquids would freeze first. Or, you could put a sample of each liquid in a section of an ice cube tray and conduct a test yourself during the party. Award prizes to the winners.
• Bookmark the website for the Iditarod, an annual sled dog race across Alaska, which begins on March 1: http://iditarod.com
  • Study it together online: How the teams prepare for it, the hazards of the trail. Discuss the reasons people may risk their lives just to win a race in the snow. This link has all kinds of educational information about the Iditarod, including opportunities to follow the race daily via blogs, newsletter, forum and live chats.
  • Rent the animated film, “Balto” and cuddle up with blankets. Balto was the lead sled dog in the “Great Race of Mercy,” in which teams of sled dogs transported serum across the harsh Alaskan wilderness to Nome during the 1925 diphtheria outbreak, saving many children. The Iditarod commemorates that historic event.
  • When there is more time, read one of the Balto books together; several have been written.
• Camera (to record the Arctic Afternoon activities). These fun photos will double as an academic record, too!
• Scriptures about the snow (to focus on God, who has created all of these things, to marvel at His majesty, and to thank Him for all the beauty of nature He has set around us).
  • Discussion question: What does the Bible mean when it says, “…Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow….” (Is. 1:18)? How white is pure, unadulterated snow? What happens when snow is stained? Can we make it white again? No, only God can. And He is also the only One who can make our sinful lives clean. Discuss the futility of trying to make stained snow white. Compare that to people trying to get to Heaven by “good works.” Both are impossible. The Bible says our “good works” are like filthy rags (Is. 64:6). We can’t make ourselves clean by “good works.” So we must rely for our salvation on the only One Who can make us clean and bring us back into a relationship with God if we repent of our sins and put our faith in Him.
• Paper, pencils, pens, markers (to draw and/or write a journal entry of their Arctic Afternoon).

Grandparents, you are such an integral part of your grandchildren’s lives — a lifestyle of learning, of loving, of serving. May those cherished times together be multiplied for eternity.

— Rich & Barb Heki, for Grandparents of Homeschoolers™

Today, the entire world is filled with festivities — families getting together or connecting by phone or videoconference from afar. It is a day of feasting, showing our love for one another by giving gifts just as the Magi gave gifts to Jesus, and reveling in the traditions that leave warm fuzzies in our hearts as we spend time together, enjoying one another and giving thanks to the God of the universe who gave us CHRISTmas.

For grandparents, the joy of watching our grandchildren delight in all of this is a tremendous reward. But for many, the warm fuzzies are a reminder of yesteryear, and the reality of today is A Different Kind of Christmas.

As I write this from my mother’s hospital room in a state far away from my own family, my heart’s focus is extreme gratitude that God so miraculously spared her life!

And simultaneously, I am thankful that God has made me cognizant of so many who cannot be home with their families for Christmas — patients at hospitals and the medical staffs and workers there; military families who are protecting our nation so we can retain our freedoms to celebrate Christmas; missionaries in faraway lands; persecuted Christians in other countries who are celebrating secretly for fear of their lives; families with a loved one in prison; families who have just experienced the death of a close family member. Your whole extended family may be together, but you have to endure the day with THAT relative and try to avoid head-butting. There are grandchildren mourning the loss of Grandpa or Grandma; and there are grandpas and grandmas, along with their children, mourning the loss of a grandchild; or a wayward grandchild; or the separation of divorce and the complexity of court-designed visitations. Suicides reach their highest levels around Christmas.

For those experiencing a Different Kind of Christmas, the songs that once stirred joy in people’s hearts become catalysts that intensify their pain. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” is a beautiful song when you will be home and an agonizing reminder when you won’t.

Before you get all drearied-out reading this, I’ll get right to the point: All of the sadness and pain and agony in life is precisely why God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, and it’s precisely why we celebrate Christmas. Sin is, and always has been, the culprit for every heartache we experience on this earth. When God sent His Son to become a human and experience everything we experience and yet never sinned, that was God instituting Christmas, or CHRIST-mass, the birth of the Son of God. The culmination of that gift to mankind took place at the resurrection when He became Savior.

Jesus said, I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. — John 10:10(b)

So how do we find the abundant life amid grief or pain and suffering, especially at Christmastime?

Just like Jesus did. Because it’s not about us, or our circumstances; it’s about God’s plan from the beginning of time to return us to a relationship with Him, and eternity with Him in Heaven, by sending Christ to suffer and die for our sins and then to conquer death through His resurrection. No matter how far our society has swayed in taking the Christ out of Christmas, the fact remains that if Jesus Christ had not been born on earth, we would not be celebrating Christmas today, or ever.

But there weren’t beautifully decorated trees and homes filled with scrumptious treats, beautiful music and joyful anticipation of giving and receiving gifts that night when Jesus was born. Joseph, Mary and Jesus had A Different Kind of Christmas.

The only lights were the stars in the sky, and the “comforts” of home were a cattle feeder filled with straw for the newborn Son of God. We don’t know if they had any family with them; the Bible doesn’t mention it. As a mother and grandmother, I think about Mary’s labor. We know that it wasn’t on a Select Comfort mattress with memory foam. It was likely squatting or laying on the ground covered with a little straw. There were no hors d’oeuvres or cups of cocoa with whipped cream to accompany gift opening. There probably was little to no food for Joseph and Mary, and the only gifts were from the Magi who arrived months later. Even those gifts were symbolic of Jesus’ painful future on earth — a sinless and holy King destined for a horrible death on a cross.

Yet Joseph and Mary were joyful and praising and worshipping God, despite their miserable circumstances. They knew that this was about Jesus Christ and God’s plan to bring salvation to helpless humans sentenced to death by our own sin.

So whether you’re having a spectacular celebration with family this Christmas, hugging those grandkids, or whether you’re experiencing A Different Kind of Christmas, remember that it’s not the type of Christmas we’re celebrating that matters. It’s our relationship with the Christ of Christmas. Make sure you know Him as your Savior, and teach your grandchildren about the greatest Christmas gift in the world — salvation and eternal life in Heaven through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Now THAT’S a cause for celebration!

Have a blessed Christmas, everyone!

Rich and Barb Heki, for Grandparents of Homeschoolers

“For unto us a Child is born,
 Unto us a Son is given;
 And the government will be upon His shoulder.
 And His name will be called
 Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
 Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace
 There will be no end…” —Isaiah 9:6-7(a)

Remember when …

• Thanksgiving was a special day set aside for giving thanks that wasn’t surrounded by anything else (No Black Fridays or Cyber Mondays)?
• Thanksgiving decorations were displayed in the stores before Christmas decorations?
• Most Americans knew the history of Thanksgiving?
• Thanksgiving wasn’t a feast designed to kick off the Christmas decorating and shopping season?
• Families had literally nothing and were truly thankful for the little things … like a turkey on the table?
• Most grandpas and grandmas lived nearby? [Today, the American Automobile Association (AAA), using a survey of 1,350 American households, projects that 38.4 million Americans will be traveling over this holiday weekend, up from 37.8 million in 2012.]

Did you know …

• The first Thanksgiving celebration was a three-day event? Three days filled with feasting, games, worship, prayers and praises to God!

On that first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621 there were no newspapers with 5 pounds of ads and coupons to peruse for the next-day shopping frenzy. Just Americans thanking God for the provision He had supplied and His care for them in a “new world” where life was fragile and the next meal was not an easy drive-through burger lane.

Today, Thanksgiving has become big business, a marketer’s dream. Last year, over what is now called the “Black Friday Weekend,” 226 million people shopped at retail outlets or online, spending $52.4 billion, with the average customer spending just under $400, according to the National Retail Federation.

In all of the merchandising mania, have we forgotten what true thankfulness is?

What’s really important?

In addition to our relationship with Christ (who is the Way, the Truth and the Life), we all know that people are the most important thing: Family. Friends. Strangers.

That’s why we labor for days to clean and decorate our homes; it’s why we cook our favorite hearty dishes and scrumptious delicacies to serve to our guests, or to bring to our hosts.

That Thanksgiving meal, surrounded by an atmosphere of thankful hearts, is the Norman Rockwell picture of our heart’s desire.

May we, like the early colonists, give thanks today for God’s many blessings, no matter what our situation or circumstances, because everything we are and have is a gift from God that we don’t deserve. We rejoice exceedingly for His past and present blessings and pray for those who need encouragement. Thanksgiving Day brings a mixture of praises and prayer needs:

• A beloved grandma we know was given the green light to leave the hospital and fly across the country to be with her family today….
• Another dear family receives their beloved son home from the hospital today — just for one day — following a devastating motorcycle accident and hospitalization….
• Still another close friend is spending today in the hospital with her very ill mother.
• Some of our guests today are from a family broken by divorce, who will never celebrate Thanksgiving again as a complete family.
• Others have worries on their minds. A biopsy ahead … excruciating pain (will they be able to sit with everyone at the dinner table today?) … a job loss … financial concerns ….

The Pilgrims had great sorrows and distresses on that first Thanksgiving Day as well. Half of them had died that first winter because of the harsh conditions and no medical facilities. The weather (combined with critters and insects) would determine their food supply every year. Food preservation was a huge problem. Marauders threatened their physical safety.

Despite all of this, they counted their blessings and were THANKFUL to God. And they spent three days thanking Him!

Those precious good times and those heartbreaking difficult times are a reminder for us to enjoy and treasure  moment we have together … because life is precious. And to be thankful and grateful for God’s ultimate gift of eternal life through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.

If you are a grandparent, smother those grandchildren with your love today, whether with personal hugs or with loving words by telephone or Skype.

If you are a parent, thank and encourage your parents for all that they mean to you and your children.

If you are a grandchild, tell your grandparents what they mean to you and how much you love them. Your words will be forever ingrained on their hearts.

Thanksgiving Day — the celebration has changed, but the act of giving thanks to God and expressing love transcends all cultural shifts and geographical boundaries.

So, in this modern-day age, whether you and your family hit the streets on black Friday, engage in recreation together, or sequester yourselves in front of the fireplace with a good book …. remember to be thankful for all of God’s blessings. All day. Every day.

… Because thankfulness is a lifestyle you live, and a legacy you leave. Thanksgiving Day is just a day to remind us of that.

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men! For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, and the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.” — Psalm 107:8-9