By Khalida Sarwari
SARATOGA — Out on a boat in the Galápagos Islands may not be where most people hatch ideas for a book, but that’s where four Saratoga friends came up with the premise of “The Grammie Guide.”
Ten years later, after biweekly meetings at their homes and coffee shops, the women finally realized their vision to write a book in which they could share their experiences as grandmothers and suggest ideas for fun activities with children.
Published in 2012, “The Grammie Guide: Activities and Answers for Grandparenting Today” solves the question of how to encourage play and meaningful interactions with young children. The key, the ladies say, is to give children your attention as well as options beyond parking them in front of a TV or iPad.
“That was our hope — just to restore active fun, not passive fun,” said Lynne Noel. “Real fun, not virtual fun. And kids do respond to somebody face-to-face being engaged with them.”
There are more than 500 ideas in the book for activities, crafts and games. A third component of the book delves into academic research on the development of children at every age.
Each chapter touches on a different topic relevant to most grandparents. One, for example, talks about how to keep in touch with grandchildren who live far away. There’s even a chapter on activities that would appeal to grandfathers. And the book isn’t just for grandparents, said Laurie Mobilio. It can come in just as handy for mothers or caregivers, although grandparents may find it most useful.
“As a grandparent you have the luxury of time to observe and marvel at the process,” Mobilio said. “Now you can really focus on them to see the variety of interests, to see how they unfold and it’s great fun.”
Even a couple of first ladies got to know what these ladies had to say about grandparenting. The book was mailed to Hillary Clinton, who only recently became a grandmother for the first time, and Laura Bush, a grandmother of a 19-month-old. Each of them responded with a note thanking the authors for the gift.
“It’s been fun,” said Noel. “There is a demand out there.”
What was instrumental in helping them write the book is that the four have been friends for more than 40 years. One of their favorite activities to do together is take adventure trips. It was during the Galápagos Islands trip with their husbands in 2002 that Cindy Summers, who had recently become a grandmother, asked the other three for suggestions about activities she could do with her grandchild. The ideas immediately came pouring out and were collected and assembled over the next 10 years.
The experience brought the ladies closer together, said Jan Eby. Not only that, it kept her motivated to finish the book.
“I think the fact that there were four of us made it possible for me,” Eby said.
Much of “The Grammie Guide” is based on their experience as grandparents of 22 kids between the four of them, ranging in age from 6 to 19. The women collaborated on the book by each playing to her strengths.
Eby works as an assistant teacher at the Los Gatos-Saratoga Observation Nursery School. Noel is a retired director at the Cupertino Cooperative Nursery School and has experience not only working with children but also teaching parents how to handle behavior issues and other problems.
Summers also has a background in childhood education and has worked in organizations that support children’s interests. Mobilio, who works for a training and consulting company, helped with the editing of the book and setting up any software programs they needed in the process.
The book can be found online at Amazon or at several Los Gatos stores, including Village House of Books, Butter Paddle, Los Gatos Company, Wooden Horse, Maids Quarters, Automobuild, Hicklebee’s and Barnes and Noble. The book is also available throughwww.thegrammieguide.com, and at all libraries in the Santa Clara County district.
The ladies will give presentations on grandparenting. Their first talk will be Jan. 9 at the Saratoga Presbyterian Church on “10 Great Ways to Have Fun While Bonding With the Child in Your Life.” The event is from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
