Hey there! It’s Granny Bunny (aka Mary May). I am beside myself with happiness as I’ll be hugging my grandkids soon (it’s been over a year now). In the meantime, if you recall, my mission with the Granny Bunny News is to share some ideas of how to make more magic for the children in your life. Last time, I shared some Harry Potter website fun with the Hogwarts Online School I created for my granddaughter. If you missed it, you can find it here. This time, I’m sharing ideas about a keepsake book project, famous birthday parties, holiday candy stores, a nifty art game using drawing prompts, a peek at our “creation stations,” and plans for our Vaccine Hug Day. So, I’m sharing some fun ideas you can try if you like, and I’m hoping you’ll share some of your ideas with me. So, hold on to your wand, cuz here comes some magic spells. — Granny Bunny

I resurrected a lovely project that’s been whispering to me lately for some attention. I recently sorted through another set of boxes filled with old photos. I’m trying to sift out the shots that show both of my daughters, Maggie and Mollie, when they were little girls. My intention is to write a poem for each photo with a footnote telling the backstory. My goal is to assemble them into keepsake books for each daughter, and for the progeny that follow. I got a good start on it awhile ago and then set it aside to work on my website. I can tell the timing is right to dust this off for another round. I am calling the collection “Sisters” until something better pops into my head. If you’ve got a love project you’re working on, I’d love to hear about it. I have twenty of the “photo-poem-stories” done so far. If you’d like to take a peek, I’d be thrilled. Just click the button below.

When my creativity well is running dry, one of my old stand-by activities is to whip up a birthday party for someone famous — real or imagined. It adds a little whimsy to life and, most important, provides an excuse for a cake! (Sometimes, I do it just for Keith and me). I also leverage this source of inspiration to create some virtual fun during the pandemic. This month, we gave a nod to the birthday of Dr. Seuss with a little online contest. I think most folks like the feeling of being part of a family. The kids especially like it when they are doing the adult or big kids’ activity rather than something only for little kids. These contests and games are so easy to put together, but they’re just enough to create a bit of fun and remind everyone we love each other. You can read more about our simple Dr. Seuss contest by clicking the button below. Photo Credit: seussville.com

One of the activities I plan for my youngest granddaughters is Holiday Candy Store. So easy! I try not to fall into the trap of simply entertaining my grandkids all the time. I think it’s important that they amuse themselves and learn something. For this activity, I buy a bunch of candy, trying to stick with the theme of whatever holiday is upcoming. Second, I put a tote box filled with my holiday decorations and supplies in the dining room. Then I cut them loose. They can spend hours creating the store, making signage, name tags, and decorating. They also have to price the candy and set up the till with real money from our change jar. Finally, Keith and I show up to shop their wares. Best of all, they get to keep the money they make and take the leftover candy home. Sweet fun! It’s always one of their favorite times at Granny & Paw’s house.

I must admit I am wildly excited about our upcoming dates with our daughters and their families. We’ve had both doses of the Pfizer vaccine and our immune systems are cooking antibodies and memory cells as I type. To add to the excitement, the two youngest grandchildren decided we needed a countdown calendar to Vaccine Hug Day. They don’t know it yet, but Keith and I are wrapping up bags of Hershey’s “Hugs” as special gifts to mark the day. I also bought a big carton of “Hugs” fruit drinks so there’s more to unwrap. We have a little family song I made up eons ago. It’s a simple tune you can learn in one pass. We switch out a few lyrics here and there to fit the occasion. This time it will be called “Vaccine Hugs Are Coming.” Of course, there will be plenty of photos. Since I will be in attendance, there also will be a sobbing grandmother.

Aside from all the fun parts of Vaccine Hug Day, there’s the medical part we can’t ignore. The CDC issued new guidance last week. It’s worth a read if you want to know how to protect yourself and the children you hug after your vaccine journey.

It’s important to both Keith and me to mark this milestone, but also to be mindful not to disappoint the kids by setting up false expectations. Everything is not going back to normal yet, but we are getting closer —- and that alone deserves confetti and cupcakes. Photo credit: Hemophilia Federation of America

We have a room that is home to our arts and craft supplies, a sewing table, a couch and TV. I wanted to call it Art Space in homage to Keith’s previous employer (Kohler Art Center), but Keith decided it should be called “Granny’s Naked Room” in homage to Terry Bradshaw’s character in the movie “Failure to Launch.” I protested loudly but he just laughed at me, and eventually wore me down after enlisting the whole family in his plot. So, in “The Naked Room,” we have the little collection on the left filled with loads of art weapons for the kids. On the right, in the larger version, are supplies which are dangerous or expensive and require both permission and sometimes supervision. Easy access is key to creativity. You might want to start small, even a dedicated shoe box can be magical.

Liner Note: Yes, we have named many of the rooms in our house. “Den” seems terribly mundane given the creativity this room inspires. I have grown to love the quirky name Keith picked. Somehow “The Naked Room” captures the rawness and vulnerability of the creative process. Anyway, that’s my la-dee-dah excuse when I have to explain to concerned guests.

As immunity from Covid is ever closer, I’ve started planning some new activities to do with the grandkids when the CDC allows. One of these is an art game using an idea I got from a professor at UW-Madison named Lynda Barry. She takes a deck of cards and writes a different drawing prompt on each one and uses them in her classroom. No more cutting card stock! I borrowed her idea: someone picks a card and picks a song (Alexa, play …). Then you draw the prompt until the song ends (usually around 3 minutes). All of the prompts in the first deck are “Draw Yourself …” Examples include: in the hospital, riding an insect, escaping from jail, dancing sadly, you get the idea. I haven’t done it with the kids yet, but Keith and I are addicted. I’m already thinking about decks for writing prompts, acting prompts, sculpture prompts, and singing prompts. We love it and I’m sure the kids will feel the same way. (Cards were $1 per deck at Walmart).