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Home is where the heart is

“There isn’t one large leap from living independently in one’s home to needing assisted living – there are numerous steps and choices.”

Pie for Breakfast: Memories of Thanksgiving

By Sue Burghard Brooks Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday as far back as I can remember. There was something magical about Mom, Dad, my brother and me piling into the family car on Thanksgiving eve and driving from our NJ home to upstate NY. We’d always spend “turkey day” and a few days […]

Grand-families: A different call to action

Guest blog by NJAAW Board member Dr. Charisse Smith. In the spring of 2020, I heralded a call to action for grand-families across New Jersey. Grandparents and other older family members bravely took on the challenge of helping their students with remote or virtual learning during COVID-19. They assisted their young students with logging onto […]

Resources for Grandfamilies: A different call to action

https://www.njaaw.org/2021/11/01/grand-families-call-to-action/These ideas and resources for my guest blog titled “Grandfamilies: A different call to action” are just a small slice of the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) pie. Grand-family members: Our students still need you! Use those SEL skills that have carried you through life and life’s challenges. Thank you! SEL partnership questions for the student’s […]

National Grandparents Day – what’s the story behind the day?

by Sue Brooks The pandemic has had a harsh impact on our ability to spend time with older relatives, such as grandparents. Conversely, it has awakened us to just how much we cherish those intergenerational ties. Sunday, Sept. 12 is National Grandparents Day and we wondered about its history. There appear to be three people […]

Guest blog by Mark Tabakman, NJAAW Board member

I remember growing up and watching my aging grandmother sit by her living room window, looking out, waiting for nothing in particular to happen – just watching her life pass her by.  That sad, helpless memory always stayed with me, but I was never able to take that sadness and transform it something productive, something […]

Grandparents Stepping Up to Assist Grandchildren with Virtual Education

  As a young child growing up in New Jersey, I recall spending countless summers in the sandy woods of Wall Township with my maternal grandmother, Carolyn Holland. On her screened-in porch, we spent hours playing such card games as Pitty Pat, War and Casino. This card shark, with less than an eighth-grade education, showed […]