Roughly 252,756 miles away from the earth, a jar of Nutella, a chocolate hazelnut spread, floated past an astronaut’s head and drifted across NASA’s livestream during the Artemis II lunar flyby this week. This was the subject of a Wall Street Journal, article, Saturday/Sunday, April 11-12, 2026. The author, Ben Cohen, gives us the origin of Nutella.   “During a Post war cocoa shortage in the 1940s, an Italian pastry chef named Pietro Ferrero had the genius idea to combine the

Enjoy April Fools’ Day 2026 with simple, funny and harmless April Fools’ Day jokes . Here you are, parents and grandparents! They are divided by age group  so the humor lands right and stays safe. The adult ones #3 and #5 work for all ages!  See the BONUS one at the end! 3. The Endless Toilet Paper Roll Glue or tape the loose end of the toilet paper to the roll so it spins but doesn’t tear off. They’ll keep pulling… and pulling… but nothing separates. HAPPY APRIL FOOLS’ DAY!

As a grandmother, I will do anything to make my grandchildren happy. I knew about MrBeast on YouTube because my then seven-year-old and 13 year-old grandchildren kept showing me all the contests where he was giving away ridiculously large amounts of cash. They were hooked on MrBeast, who has been on YouTube for thirteen years, longer than the ages of my grandchildren when they introduced me to him. When MrBeast announced that he was selling chocolate, of course they wanted th

We grandparents love to spend time with our grandchildren. My grandchildren range from age 7 to age 22, and each of the six is special in his or her own way.  Five of them  are Generation Z or “Zoomers”, between 14 and 29 years old, the first true digital generation, knowing and living with smartphones and social media attached to them at the hip, and finding anything that will grab their attention otherwise is a miracle. Enter the miracle of American Mah Jongg!  And auspicio

As a former teacher who used to teach the Palmer Method to my elementary school children and as the mother of six grandchildren, it hurt my heart when in 2010 the U.S. education system removed cursive writing as a school curriculum requirement from the federal Common Core Standards.    New Jersey has just become the 25th state, meaning, as of the beginning of 2026, we now have half of our states, again requiring cursive instruction in public schools. Half, or more than half o

Meteor showers, solar and lunar eclipses, northern lights, and a rocket launch are some of the astronomical events worth an adventure for you, with your children, with your grandchildren in 2026. Some are close to home and some are planning an adventure, so see if you can make at least one to see, and give yourself, your children and grandchildren an out of this world experience in 2026.   FEBRUARY 2026   ARTEMIS II LAUNCH :  BEST FEBRUARY 6, 2026   (OR 7 OR 8) or March to Ap

I almost didn’t write this blog about ‘6 7.’ That is because I recently wrote a blog about skibidi and how shocked I was that a dictionary would permanently add a term such as this and wrote:   “What Word Has Been Added to The Cambridge Dictionary in 2025-‘Skibidi’?”   My grandson, who is fourteen, said that he was also shocked, literally shocked, that a dictionary put the word skibidi in it. He said words come and go and phrases come and go so quickly in his generation that

When I was researching for board games for 2025, I decided that Wirecutter was the best resource. Then I accidentally came across the fact that Wirecutter for 2025 has listed gifting ideas by age starting at baby and going to adult. Here is the index to all of the alternatives on Wirecutter. I hope this helps finish your last minute Christmas and Hanukkah and holiday shopping. From WIRECUTTER: “The best gifts for kids help them experience the world in new, exciting ways—and g

If you ask me what board games I have in my house to play with grandchildren, you will know that it immediately dates me. However, I do believe that we grandparents still need to play the following with our grandchildren, the subject of previous blog posts, and also explore the new games for children and adults now available for the holidays 2025.   Monopoly     We missed National Monopoly Day November 19, but always have a set handy. See, previous blog post, National Monopol

All of a sudden, or not so sudden with the domination of social media, and everybody in a group sitting on their phones rather than talking to each other, studies about everything about friends and friendships are everywhere. But are they helpful? The Why I was raised by two Holocaust survivors who believed that friends were those who turned you over to the Nazis, and only family members were the people you could depend on and with whom you should surround yourself. Leaving o

The photograph is a 1904 depiction of an acquisitive and manipulative Standard Oil (founded by John D. Rockefeller) as an all-powerful...

This Grandma’s eighteen and nineteen year old grandchildren wanted a vacation in the Greek Islands and had no interest in Athens or the...

Having teenage grandchildren is an education. Not necessarily an education that I expected nor that I desired. I did teach middle school...

With what is happening in world travel now, it is important for this Grandma to introduce those of you who are unaware to MEDJET. PopPop...

Part II ZURICH AND SWITZERLAND WITH GRANDCHILDREN With Abundant Chocolate Experiences and A Surprise of Four Countries in One Day.   Two...

Part I LONDON WITH GRANDCHILDREN Anew* Two grandchildren, ages fourteen and seventeen, and their seventeen year old family friend joining...

This Grandma’s favorite tip about hugs is that you should never be the first to let go when you are hugging your grandchild. I learned...

When my grandchildren are in the car with me, I always have Pop Hits I on Sirius. I want to relate to them and their music. . . or so I...

Instagram taught me to search “Life Hacks” on Google for simple solutions to daily tasks! Instagram is an application (app) that my...

You know you are longer (we never say older) when some words your eleven year old grandson introduces you to and tries to explain are the...