Can grands be a part of your daily life when they live across the country? Oh, yes, thanks to video chatting.
This spring Grandchild #4, now age five, enjoyed the same tradition his older sibs did when they were five-years-old. As soon as our hosta plants emerge from the ground, during our almost-daily FaceTime sessions, we showed the plants to Sebastian. We talked a bit about what plants need to live and grow.
Because hostas grow quickly, our five-year-old saw the differences fairly soon. The above photos from last year were taken 18 days apart!
Our hosta viewing was just a small part of the FaceTime session. After all, we have books to read, our garage to look at, and more!
Of course, on every video chat, we ask about their lives as we talk to our grandchildren. Equally important, we share our lives. Letting them make small decisions for us seems to be a winner. Recently, I had Fiona pick out which vase I should use for flowers I just bought and Anderson picked out a new desktop background for my computer.
We “show and tell” as if they were actually in our home. I point my iPad in the kitchen and they see Grandpa making chicken and noodles. The other day, Grandpa and Sebastian waved goodbye as I got in the car and left to visit a friend. Sebastian loved it when I tooted my horn.
Not everything works. Some matters the kids might not be interested in so we just move on to something else. But more often than not, we hit the mark.
“I want to see the pasta,” Sebastian said one day this spring.
“It’s hosta, not pasta,” we say, concealing a chuckle. “Let’s go see how it’s doing.”
Check out my other articles about Video Chatting:
–Unleash the power of video chatting with grandkids.
–10 tips for Skye and Facetime with toddlers, preschoolers.
–You can do THAT while Skyping with grandkids? Sure!