Grandparenting Archives - Page 4 of 6

Nov 26 2019

Giving Thanks This Holiday Season

During the start of the Thanksgiving week and other winter holidays, I typically help my kids and grandkids prepare for the season by:

Organizing a toy giveaway drive for local charities
Baking and preparing food for various family celebrations and community events
Preparing food and gift baskets for those in need
Helping in community service activities
Volunteering at local school holiday events
Participating in church and community celebrations

[Read more…]

Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert

Mary Ann Burke, Ed.D., Digital Education Expert, is a substitute distance learning teacher for Oak Grove School District in San Jose, California and the author of STUDENT-ENGAGED ASSESSMENT: Strategies to Empower All Learners (Rowman & Littlefield: 2020). Dr. Burke creates digital language arts and substitute teaching K – 12 activities for teachers and parents. She is the Cofounder of the Genparenting.com blog. Burke is the former Director II of Categorical & Special Projects for the Santa Clara County Office of Education that supports 31 school districts serving 272,321 students in Santa Clara County. She is also a previous Director – State & Federal Compliance for Oakland Unified School District, the former Director – Grantwriter for the Compton Unified School District, and was the initial VISTA Director for the Community Partnership Coalition in southern California. Much of her work focuses on creating innovative digital trainings and partnership programs for teachers and families to support students’ learning. These programs were featured as a best practice at a National Title I Conference, California’s Title I Conferences, AERA Conferences, an ASCD Conference, the NASSP Conference, and statewide educator conferences.

Aug 27 2019

Yikes! Brandon’s Twin Sisters Turn Four

The twins are turning four and their passion for life’s many adventures continue to inspire me and challenge my energy. We just had our twin granddaughters stay with us for four days. I have always dreamed what it would be like to have twins party all night. I finally had the opportunity to watch this lively celebration. Our first night together was spent at a beach motel with the twins sharing a double bed. They loved the adventure so much that they would not relax and just kept playing. After 30 minutes of fun, I finally informed them that I would lay down between them to help them focus on sleep. Thankfully, Anna fell asleep immediately. Maria continued to wiggle another 30 minutes and then dozed off. All was well until 1:30 a.m. when both requested a cup of water. One cup of water was dropped on one side of the bed. I quickly plopped down a towel and reassured the twins the bed would be fine for sleeping. Thankfully, all was dry in the morning [Read more…]

Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert

Jul 30 2019

Grandparenting a Seven-Year-Old Grandchild

As my life becomes more balanced, I have gained added time to enjoy my grandson as he turns seven years old. I am excited to watch his incredible growth developmentally and academically. I find seven- year-olds are very thoughtful and creative in their responses to life. I am also impressed with his increasing reasoning abilities and effective problem-solving strategies.

Becoming More Responsible

Some of the questions and discussion topics that we and other friends are discussing include: [Read more…]

Joyce Iwasaki, Early Parenting

Joyce Iwasaki has over thirty years of educational experience working with diverse students in grades from preschool through high school. Joyce’s extensive background includes teaching elementary school, serving on early childhood advisory boards, and advocating for educational initiatives as a legislative aide. During her tenure as a legislative aide, she helped create legislation that allowed incarcerated mothers to keep their newborn babies with them while in prison. Additional legislation was enacted to allow incarcerated pregnant mothers to remain unshackled during labor and delivery. Ms. Iwasaki established and served as the president of an educational scholarship foundation for fifteen years. Her foundation awarded college scholarships to emerging student leaders who provided service to their schools and communities. Joyce is active in performing arts and cultural organizations. She also provides ongoing support to her daughter and family by raising her grandson in her home.

Jul 02 2019

Nurturing Our Children’s Independence

Summer break is here and the kids are excited to explore and achieve new levels of independence. The grandkids will be staying with us for extended days of play and travels. We struggle each year in deciding how to provide each child with new milestone achievements and freedoms. Here are some of our proposed solutions for this summer of adventures: [Read more…]

Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert

Jun 11 2019

Grandma’s Space for Work Provides Added Time for Family

Four months ago, I decided to rent office space outside of our family home to allow me to separate my work from my home life. Since that time, I have learned to balance each day at home with increased time for my family. I have also found that: [Read more…]

Joyce Iwasaki, Early Parenting