Bond with Grandkids this Winter

From the time Pamela Chervank Cyphers’ granddaughters were babies and small enough to be held in her lap to when they became children who sang and danced, Akron-Summit County Public Library story times have allowed her to bond with her grandchildren. Chervank Cyphers has been attending story times and other programs with her grandkids for about seven years, and her youngest granddaughter, Esther, is now able to appreciate going. Chervank Cyphers enjoys how librarians engage with Esther.

“There are and have been some very special people there for her,” Chervank Cyphers says. “You feel like they know you. They call us by our names, know things about us and quirky little things that have happened. There’s an enthusiasm that they have for doing what they do that makes me want to come back. It’s probably not the closest library to me — we’re in Cuyahoga Falls — but we go there because we were welcomed and recognized.”

With much time indoors, winter is a great time to connect more with grandchildren at educational activities like library programs and cooking classes.

At the main Akron library, several grandparents attend baby story times on Wednesdays and preschool story times on Thursdays, and both incorporate play.

“You get an opportunity to engage with your children, … singing along, trying an interactive activity,” says Lucy Carney, the children’s library and teen division manager at the main library. Another fun option is the Paws for Reading program in which preschoolers to fifth graders can practice reading to certified therapy dogs Dec. 3, 8, 10, 12, 13, 19 and 31 at various locations.

Around winter break, kids can enjoy experimental and sensorial science, technology, engineering, arts and math programs that help them explore nature and celebrate the season. Every second Tuesday at the main library, take part in Time to Play for 2- to 5-year-olds, and on Dec. 13, a whimsical wonderland-themed program involves fun with snow, lights, bells and ribbon. Try winter experiments at the Library Scientists: Snowy Steam program Dec. 20 at the Northwest Akron library for 8- to 12-year-olds.

Participating in programs and story times can inspire grandparents to be more engaged. When reading to kids at home, use imagination to tell a story and read in animated tones. It also helps to ask kids questions such as, What would you do if you were in the story and this was happening? What would you think? What’s going to happen next?

“This can make a child feel like they are part of that context,” Carney says.  “It can impact their readiness for school by developing critical thinking skills or expressing themselves verbally.”

For kids up to 5 years old, try interactive books with repetition or rhyming. When they become readers around first grade, help them explore favorite and different genres. For kids between third and fifth grades, ask them what topics interest them and then choose books on those topics, or try a new format.

“There are the graphic novels that seemed to be a really big hit,” Carney says. “They are very literature-based, excellent books that help kids that may be a little delayed in their reading levels. It helps them get the context of the story while looking at pictures to get context better than words.”

To encourage kids to develop reading habits themselves as they get older, have books around the house, and take them to the library regularly, having them explore new sections to introduce new topics to them.

Another great way to connect with grandkids while teaching them skills is cooking together. One option for learning is attending Sip Savor Soul, which opened in late September in Akron and offers healthy cooking classes for kids and adults of all ages as well as holiday classes this month.

“The problem is many people … don’t like the word ‘healthy’ because people think it means elimination or denial of something that they really like,” says chef and founder Dannika Stevenson.

To reframe the word “healthy,” for example, she taught students to replace french fries with zucchini, squash and eggplant fries and create their own from-scratch ketchup.

Some ways to teach kids nutrition include taking them to the grocery store and letting them pick up some of their favorite foods but also introducing healthy and balanced choices. You might take kids to a farmers market instead, or if you do go to the grocery store, you might stay only within the produce section.

“Kids mimic your eating style,” Stevenson says. “If you don’t like fruit, guess what’s going to happen? Your kids or your grandkids are not going to like it either. If you want them to eat healthily, guess what? You have to eat healthily. This is a family unit. You have to do it together.”

Families can learn to cook through her classes as well as her Cook Well, Live Well, Eat Well program every other Saturday at the Summa Health Equity Center in Akron. Participants use produce from Let’s Grow Akron, a nutrition nonprofit, to cook healthy recipes.

And to help your grandkids better develop a cooking habit, Stevenson says to introduce new things so they build curiosity to try them and dive into the fresh recipes, letting them make tweaks to use their creativity. Through experience, confidence in the kitchen comes.

“Cooking is a skill that everyone should acquire,” Stevenson says.  “Just like breathing and drinking water, cooking is the sustainability of life.”

Using time indoors to help grandkids learn new skills and foster more interaction could reap a lifetime of rewards.

“If the kids are physically participating, that makes a big difference,” Chervank Cyphers says. “When the kids participate, there is an increase in socialization, as well, amongst the kids and the grandparents too.”