tips1

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TIPS FOR CYBER-GRANDPARENTS 1

"Grandparenting is a gift between two people at the opposite ends of their journey."
~Judy Ford "Wonderful Ways to Love a Grandchild"

Lyamm (age 1) and Grammy

If your grandchildren do not have a computer at home, get them a free e-mail account. They can then receive e-mail at their local public library. Ours provides free Internet access for everyone! Our favorites are:

Hotmail and Hotbot Mail

Send e-cards for all occasions. It's easy to do. Our grandchildren love the cards from

Care Mail and Blue Mountain Arts

Blue Mountain Arts has an option where you can add your own voice to the greeting. There are also many others. Just search for free greeting cards. Most sites have a children's section.

Start your own simple homepage. You do not need to know html coding or anything complicated. Check out our

Web Page Publisher 12 Steps!

Share family history-find out about places where your ancestors were born. Send your grandchildren sites to look at. We will share sites about

Denmark and California with Lyamm and Cael.

Go on a tour together-you on your computer and your grandchildren on theirs.

e.g. The Crayola Factory or Barkerville

Then share your impressions of the sights.

Find the answers to those "why" questions your grandchildren ask. Check out:

Ask Jeeves for Kids

Find art projects and science experiments that you can both try at home. Then share the results the next time you get together. We like:

The Craft Exchange and Bizarre Stuff you can Make in your Kitchen

Send photographs and drawings back and forth by e-mail.

Get your grandchildren to go on Internet Scavenger Hunts. Award a small prize when they find all of the items. You can make up more of your own.

Send your grandchildren sites about the community where you live, and they can do the same for you. We will share sites about

Prince George with our grandchildren.

Do "Round Robin" stories by e-mail. You take turns adding a part to the story and see where it goes.

Interview your grandchildren about their life and get them to interview you about what your life was like at their age. Click here for a

Sample Interview

Baby Cael and Dan

Try a Voice Chat such as the one at Yahoo.

If you have a video web cam, you can download Microsoft Net Meeting.

Exchange weekly letters on a particular topic chosen by the two of you- e.g. "Things that Make me Happy or Sad" (younger children) or "War" or "Youth Crime" (older children). There are more ideas for subject matter at Grandletters. Share your feelings and thoughts, and, if you have a drawing program or a scanner, your own personal drawings on the topic. There are reviews and ordering information about drawing software like Microsoft Photo Draw and Corel Draw at CNET.com.

Register for a free and private passworded family website at My Family.com. You will get a private family chat room where you and your grandchildren can visit and a photo album and calendar of events and birthdays that everyone in the family can add to.

Make a gift for your grandchildren by assembling a directory of sites about their favorite subject- pictures, facts, stories.

Lyamm's Cat Directory

With your grandchildren, make both a online copy and a hard copy of a scrapbook of all your Internet correspondence, pictures, and activities. Look at it together frequently and remember.