Grandparents, when they unleash their creativity and use their skills and passions, can have a transformative effect on their families. I set up my first Grandparent Connection School Program at Deerfield High School in 2009. The Deerfield High School grandparent program is still going strong, with 300 grandparents expected to attend the event for senior…
DetailsAs grandparents we know it can get harder to stay connected to grandchildren as they age. I recently published a new booklet for grandparents and schools administrators on how to enter your grandchild’s school world. With my granddaughter living in my same City (or close enough, I’m in Deerfield, she’s in Chicago) and this wonderful…
Details“Be sure to tell us about sex and drugs,” advised Jerry Witkovsky, originator of the Grandparent Connection program, now in its fifth year at Deerfield High School in Deerfield, IL. But first, new principal Kathy Anderson kicked off the Freshman Connection program for forty or so grandparents who filled the faculty cafeteria for this special…
DetailsPhoto of Hirsh and Perl Lieberman and family, c. 1908 or 1909. By Esther Manewith My Story Begins 120 Years Ago in Ukraine My story starts in Zhitomer in Ukraine about 120 years ago. Zhitomer was an oblast, a provincial center, at that time, home to about 200,000 people, ten percent of whom were Jewish. Many Jews…
DetailsThe Grandest Love wants to know more about you! Will you answer the five questions below and be a featured Grandparent on The Grandest Love? Thanks to Michelle McConnell for being our first featured grandma. Please copy and paste the questions below and email them to grandestlove (at) interculturaltalk.com. How do you want to stay…
DetailsLet’s face it: life-cycle changes are humbling. Even happy changes, like becoming a grandparent, force us to face certain realties that we may not be ready for. After all these years at the helm, we’ve gotten very accustomed to our leadership role as The Parents. Oh, sure, we’ve been practicing the fine art of “letting…
DetailsAs older adults, we sometimes feel as if we’ve seen and done it all; there is little that surprises us anymore. An awareness of loss, of time growing shorter, may preoccupy us. But The Grandest Love takes us to an oasis in time and space, an oasis where promise – not loss – reigns. No…
DetailsTalk about “The New Face of Grandparenting.” Michelle McConnell turns 50 this year. She is a marathoner (actually running 50 miles this year for her 50 years) and global activist to bring awareness and prevent child slavery and trafficking (115M are victims in world today). She just wrapped up a 22 for 22 Challenge…22 push-ups every day…
DetailsBy Guest Blogger Deanna Shoss We were sitting at the dinner table at Fitz’s in St. Louis last week. While my husband, son and I chatted at one end of the table, I overheard my mom getting a momentary-oh-so-cherished-one-on-one with her grandson, my 15 year old nephew, an avid St. Louis Blues hockey fan. “So,…
DetailsThat adorable child who couldn’t get enough of “nana” and “poppop” now sits sullenly across the table. They are, at least, honoring the “no cell phones at the dinner table” rule, but you sit in silence. You, wishing for a connection. They seemingly, wishing it were over. Questions like “How’s school?” or “What are your…
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