GRAND Magazine - Spring 2022 - 15

grandparenting
The whole thing succeeded beyond our
expectations. The stories are so compelling
that kids don't think of them as lessons-just
as entertainment. Yet the designated value
for each month comes through strongly, and
kids actually experience the feelings and
consequences of each value. These monthly
values-stories are being used by parents
around the world and today are also being
used more and more by grandparents who
take on the challenge of teaching their
grandkids values.
Now, what if you, in your role of grandparent,
were to focus on one of these
twelve values each month with your
grandchildren?
After the book became a bestseller, we worked
with a group of playwrights and artists who took each
value and put it into an engaging story, full of music
and drama and humor, aimed at kids between five
and fourteen. They were produced as audio stories
with the goal of engaging kids' imaginations so powerfully
that they would listen to them over and over
during their designated month. Each monthly story
follows a boy named Alexander and a girl named Elle
as they face common, everyday situations, choices,
and behavioral dilemmas-but then they morph into a
Prince and a Princess in a larger-than-life world called
Inland, where their values-choices can essentially save
the kingdom. Kids, as they listen to the stories and the
music, come to realize that the little things they face
each day are actually the same as the big things that
Alexander and Elle face in Inland.
15 GRAND Winter 2022
If that appeals to you, here is a simple, proven way
to do it:
First: After consulting with the parents, tell your
grandkids that VALUES are about doing the right thing
and being happy. See what values they can think of
and make a list together. You can do this in person if a
grandchild lives close enough, or by text or FaceTime
or WhatsApp or Twitter.
Second: Tell them you plan to talk with them
about one exciting and important VALUE
month and that you have a great story
to share about each one. You
can start this right away, or,
with summer coming up, you
could get your plan together
now-and then introduce the
values when you are together
during the summer and set
up a plan to work on and talk about one value each
month over the course of the coming school year.
Third: Order the monthly stories, which are called
" Alexander's Amazing Adventures, " at valuesparenting.com/alexander/.
You can sample the stories there
before you sign up and assure yourself that they will
" work " with your grandchild.
Fourth: Try to listen to each story with your grandchild
early in the month and talk about it together.
Then have the story on his or her phone or the parent's
computer so it can be listened to several more
times as the month goes by.
Stories are the best way to teach, and these are
exceptional stories indeed. And they are about the
most important of all subjects-namely the values
that you hope will guide your grandkids lives.
GRAND is pleased to
welcome New York Times #1
each
Bestselling Authors Richard
and Linda Eyre as regular
columnists. The Eyres'
parenting and life-balance
books have reached millions
and been translated into a
dozen languages. As fellow
baby boomers, their passion
and their writing focus have
now shifted to the joy of
grandparenting. Linda's latest
book is Grandmothering, and
Richard's is Being a Proactive
Grandfather, and their latest initiative is a Grandparenting101
Zoom course which has an invitation list that you can join by
emailing EyresGrandparenting101@gmail.com.

https://www.facebook.com/GRANDmagazine https://twitter.com/grandmmagazine?lang=en http://www.valuesparenting.com/alexander/ http://www.valuesparenting.com/alexander/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1945547901/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1945547901&linkId=7079a2cd80c784626a6c3dd8f60b33d1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1945547278/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1945547278&linkId=9847c82a7bc51f499afca3a3753f0834 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1945547901/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1945547901&linkId=7079a2cd80c784626a6c3dd8f60b33d1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1945547278/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1945547278&linkId=9847c82a7bc51f499afca3a3753f0834 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1945547278/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1945547278&linkId=9847c82a7bc51f499afca3a3753f0834

GRAND Magazine - Spring 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - Spring 2022