Grammy Tanda and I love to spend time with our grandchildren in person, but since most of them live in three other time zones, we don’t get to see them as often as we’d like. So some of our most pleasurable moments are when we are chatting “face to face” over the Internet with our grandkids.

If you enjoy talking with your grandchildren on the phone, you will love video chatting even more! It’s video conferencing software you run on your computer that lets you talk with and see your family. It’s just like in the Jetsons cartoon—live audio and video.

What could be worth more than seeing the grin on your grandchild’s face when they see you talking with them on the screen? They’ll be proud to show you how much they’ve grown and to show off their first missing tooth. Even grandbabies will respond to your voice and smiling countenance.

Somethings are just better communicated face to face, where you can see expressions and gestures. Compared to letters, email and even telephone calls, video calls can make conversations much more interesting and intimate. You’ll have more to talk about, and your grandkids will more easily remember you or your face.

Now watch this video. It’s full of examples and cool ideas for you.

A grandparent’s job is to give positive encouragement; to be a cheerleader and a talent scout. ~Grammy Tanda Packer

Fun things you can do on your video chat: read storybooks and show them the pictures, make up stories, sing, dance, play games, help with their homework, be playful, play peek-a-boo, make funny faces, and tell knock-knock jokes.

Ask your grandkids to sing and read to you, and tell you jokes and stories. Have them show you their drawings, crafts, homework, new clothes, acrobatics and somersaults.

Options for free video chat software

You’ll need a computer, a webcam with a built-in or separate mic, and a broadband Internet connection. Different programs use their own protocols, so you and your family will need to use the same software. Each of the following programs allow you to make video calls worldwide.

iChat from Apple is an application that comes free with every Macintosh. If you have a Mac, iChat is the best software for video chatting. You can even have a video conference with up to 3 other Macs at once. Since it uses the AIM protocol, iChat works well with AIM on other computers.

AIM is an application you can download to your computer. It uses the same protocol as iChat.

Skype is another popular program for making video calls. Download the program and sign up for a free account. Computer-to-computer calls and video calls are free.

Google voice and video chat is integrated into gmail in your web browser. It’s a great option if you and your family have gmail accounts. Anyone can sign up for a free gmail account.

How to get started

1. Choose an application and install it. (Consider what your family may be using.)
2. Launch the program.
3. Create a screen name and password (first time only).
4. Share your screen name with your family.
5. Arrange a time to call.
6. Turn on your webcam.
7. Log in to your chat program.
8. Initiate the video call by clicking the appropriate buttons, or click “Accept” if your family initiates the call.
9. Click the video icon by their name to see their video. (Note: Some programs make you click a button to allow them to see your video.)
10. Enjoy!

Videophones are another option for video conferencing. These are special phones with an LCD screen. No computer is needed, but they need a high-speed Internet connection. You and your family both need the same brand of videophone.

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then live video is worth ten 10,000 words. ~Grandpa Shayne Packer

We know you’ll love video chatting with your grandkids! So go try it.

Enjoy – Grandpa Shayne

Announcement: This post is part of a blog carnival hosted by Susan Adcox, About.com’s Guide to Grandparents.

We’d like to hear from you. Please comment below to tell us about your videochat. What fun things did you do on the call with your grandkids.

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[Kay Fontana, "The Grandcoach," is our featured guest writer today. Kay helps baby boomers overcome the challenges of raising grandchildren. She is a former teacher, certified coach, mother of 3 and grandmother of 7.]

Spending time with your grandchildren is a gift and a blessing. For grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, they receive the gift of time every day.

For grandparents who live far away or do not have the opportunity to see their grandchildren often, the joy of seeing them and them seeing you, still exists with the use of modern technology, specifically, audio, video and digital photos. Today, I would like to focus on digital photos.

The 3 basic steps to sharing photos on the Internet

• Selecting the camera to use
• Selecting the photo viewing program to use
• Importing the pictures into the photo program

Selecting the camera

If you do not have a digital camera yet, I encourage you to do so. Digital cameras now range in price of $59.00 all the way to thousands of dollars. The inexpensive ones work very well and serve their purpose. They are actually higher quality and less expensive than they were 10 years ago.

Look for a camera that uses a memory card that fits into your computer. On your computer, you may see something like Compact Flash, Micro Drive, SD*MMC*MS, Pro*XD, or something similar to that. Your computer’s owner’s manual can help you select the correct media storage device. Most cameras also offer the option of downloading the picture using a USB cable. If you are shopping online, the product details should give you all the information. Just make sure your camera’s storage device can be used in your computer, or your camera can be connected to your computer to import the pictures.

Selecting the photo viewing program

There are several online photo services that let you organize, edit and share your photos. Many are free. The 3 that I use are Picasa, Flickr and Kodak Gallery. Today, I will focus on Picasa.

Picasa is free photo editing software from Google. Enjoy this two minute video about Picasa.

If you have a Google email (gmail.com) account, the Picasa service can be accessed by your Gmail account. If you do not have a Gmail account, you can create one for free at Google.com.

You will also need to install the Picasa program on your computer, which is also free. If you don’t see it as an option on the Google home page, just enter picasa.google.com in your browser to bring it up, and click “Download Picasa 3.”

Importing photos

Once you have created your Gmail account and installed Picasa, you are ready to download (or import) your pictures from your digital camera. Once you have set up the Picasa application and have downloaded pictures from your camera, the Picasa program should automatically open every time you insert a media storage device in your computer (or connect via USB cable).

Once you have downloaded the pictures from your camera, you can click on “Web Albums” on the top right portion of your screen, which will take you directly to your Google Web Album in your Internet browser.

You can also access your web album by going to www.google.com to log into you Gmail account. When you are in your account, click on “Photos,” which is located on the top left portion of the page. If you don’t see it, then click on “more” and it will be under that.

It takes a little time to maneuver around Picasa, but it is my favorite one to use. When you become familiar with the program, you can sort photos into different albums. You can also set up privacy features on your albums so only your family and friends can view selected items. Google also has a lot of nice features that are great for sharing with your family, such as calendars, blogs and groups, but more on that another time.

If you don’t have a digital camera, or have one and haven’t set up an account online to download your photos, I encourage you to do so. Picasa is free to use, and once you set it up, you can have your family upload photos to your albums for your whole family to enjoy.

Warm regards,

Kay Fontana
“The Grandcoach”
www.CoachingForQuality.com

[In future posts, GrandparentsTLC will review more ways of sharing photos online, including Apple's Macintosh iPhoto application and MobileMe.]

Have you used Picasa or another photo sharing program? How has it enabled you to connect with your family and grandkids? Please share your comments. We enjoy reading about your experiences.

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I always put my “grandparent glasses” on as I review websites, to see how they can enable us as grandparents to connect with our grandchildren in fun new ways. Today, I’m delighted to help you discover StoryOfMyLife.com. Story of My Life is a place where people can write and store their life story, forever, for free!
The Story of My Life website “features one fascinating person per day.” They have given Grammy Tanda and me the honor of featuring each of us in a set of stories written by professional storyteller Sarah Peppel. My story is featured on the site today (Feb. 4, 2009), and Tanda’s story on Feb. 5, 2009.

I’m sure you’ll agree that there is nothing in life that compares with the wonderful feeling of being surrounded by our family and grandchildren. We want to feel connected. We want to share our legacy, our stories with our posterity. Family history is important.

The history of our grandparents is remembered, not with rose petals, but in the laughter and tears of their children and their children’s children. It is into us that the lives of grandparents have gone. It is in us that their history becomes a future. ~Charles and Ann Morse

Have you ever felt the excitement of finding a letter or journal from a grandparent or ancestor? Something that paints a picture of their personality and life. Remember (or imagine) as you read it, how you seemed to connect and bond with them?

Now I want you to ask yourself this soul-searching question: Wouldn’t you want your grandchildren and posterity to have the same experience, to feel the same love and bonding with you after your gone? Sure you would!

So, what do you need to do to make that happen for them? You need to write the story of your life! Our grandkids deserve to get to know us. They will cherish the memories that we share with them in person. Through our stories, they will come to love and admire us for the good in our hearts, as well as for our struggles and trials. It’s all part of life.

Now, thanks to modern technology, writing your life story is easier than you might think. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Story of My Life all the tools you need to record your life stories, one slice at a time. It has been engineered to bring all the pieces together in a coherent, finished compilation; with chapters and categories. You simply write short stories about an era of your life; about specific events that shaped your character.

They have a rich help system, complete with FAQs, glossary, a writer’s forum, etc. The writer’s forum includes help to get you started, overcome reservations you may have, and tips and links on storytelling. One of the most powerful aids in the writer’s forum, is a set of inspirational questions to ask yourself to help trigger memories. These questions are organized into three stages of life, each with categories and events that provide you with a suggested outline for chapters in your life story.

There is a Getting Started section that encourages you to “start with computer, and simply begin writing.” It explains “the website makes it so easy for you to start slowly and build your Stories on top of each other. You select a time frame and the system will automatically sort things chronologically.”

About Story of My Life

CEO Patrick Tardif is the mastermind of Story of My Life. He describes Story of My Life as a collection of “people’s life stories” that categorizes “important things about people to share through the generations. Story of My Life is a place where you leave your legacy; place secrets in a time capsule, and transfer your stories to your next generation.”

StoryOfMyLife.com has over 100,000 stories at this time. Most of them are private, but many are public so anyone can read them. There are three types of networks: family, friends, and interest groups. So you can invite people to your networks, and request to join other’s networks.

When I talked with Kristen Kuhns, COO of Story of My Life, she suggested their site differs from other social networking sites by using this metaphor: “If LinkedIn is the office, Facebook is the school reunion, MySpace is the concert/club, Twitter is the conversation at the water cooler, then Story of My Life is the family backyard BBQ!”

The Story of My Life Foundation™ is a not-for-profit entity who manages the content related to the Story of My Life website. The foundation has a “Forever Promise” to store and safeguard your life story forever.

May I offer you a couple of tips?

• When you set up your account, choose a username (ID) that’s readable, and capitalize each name or word. For example: ShaynePacker, not shaynepacker. GrandmaWebb, not grandmawebb. I usually advise people to use their real name and photo. The same for any social network, such as Facebook and twitter. (See my Twitter quick start checklist.)
• As you write your personal history, ask yourself these two very important questions: 1. “What do I want my grandchildren to know about me, my personality and character traits, about my life?”  2. “What do I want my grandchildren to know about life? What counsel can I offer them? Advice, tips, warnings?”

So go look it over and give it a try. Then invite your family and friends to take a look once you’ve got started. You don’t need to be completely finished before you start sharing your stories with others. Hey, it’s a work in progress. Think of it like building a house. You want to share your enthusiasm by inviting folks to follow your progress. And don’t worry if there might be some construction rubble lying around.

I encourage you to start today. Sign up for an account. (It’s free.) Then, while your over there at StoryOfMyLife.com, we would be honored if you would read Tanda’s and my featured story and leave a comment there.

What next?

• Read “Eyeing Technology Through Grandparent Glasses” – Grandpa Shayne’s story on StoryOfMyLife.com.
• Read “That’s Where Tradition Stops, Buddy!” – Grammy Tanda’s story on StoryOfMyLife.com.
• Sign up for free a free account on StoryOfMyLife.com.
• Please go back to mine and Tanda’s stories and write a comment.
• Go to the Story of My Life home page and click on the orange “Take a Tour” button. Explore their site. Read some of the stories.
• Explore their help section, especially the Writer’s Forum. (Click the life preserver icon at the top of any page, then click the Writer’s Forum tab.)
• Start writing your own life story. Have fun. Share it with those you love.

- Shayne Packer

We welcome your comments. Tell us how your life story project is coming. Once you have a profile set up on StoryOfMyLife.com, let us know your username or your Story URL so we can come read the story of your life.

Related post: The TLC in Grandparenting

Related post: ScrapBlog digital scrapbooks – website review

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Here is a funny video of our “Shorty Claus” skit that my son, Kerry, and I performed for our church Christmas social. After you watch it, I will give you some quick instructions on how to post your own YouTube video. So click the play button and enjoy!

If you had fun watching this video, please give it a quick “thumbs up”: vote for it on YouTube, and leave a comment there also. Thank you!

Now, I’d like to make a disclaimer: I don’t usually wear a beard. (I don’t particularly like the look. And Tanda gives me ”the look” when I kiss her, like it’s dis-”taste”-fully itchy.)

The simplest toy, one which even the youngest child can operate, is called a grandparent. ~Sam Levenson

How to post your own YouTube video

We are creating more in-depth tutorials that we will post later. But these steps will get you going.

Step 1. Shoot movie

Shoot a movie with a video camera, camcorder, anything that takes video. A digital video camera is the easiest to use and upload. Here’s a couple we recommend that have great consumer ratings.

• Flip Video Mino Series Camcorder, 60 Minutes for $159.00
• Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom for $542.00

Step 2. Import movie into computer

Plug your camera into your computer with the USB of FireWire cable. Plug in the camera’s power cord. Power up the camera. Launch your video editing software. (This is one reason we love the Mac, iMovie comes free, and is so easy to use.) Some software lets you queue up the video to the first of the scene, or you can do this before connecting the camera to the computer.

Step 3. Edit movie (optional)

You can fine-tune the beginning and end of the scene, add title text, transitions, music, effects and adjustments. (Be sure to save your work if the software doesn’t automatically save it.)

Step 4. Upload video to YouTube

Note: You will need a YouTube account. You can sign up for free account if you don’t have one yet.

Some software, such as iMovie, lets you do upload directly. It also lets you add the description and tags. You can also upload videos from the YouTube site.

Step 5. Publish video

Once your video is uploaded, YouTube takes a few minutes to get it ready to view. Be sure to check all the settings, description and tags. If you have a blog, you can embed the video on your site, just like I did with my video above.

Step 5. Promote video

Email a link to your blog post, or to the video’s YouTube page. Tweet it. Put it on FaceBook. Ask all your friends and family to vote for it and write a comment, just like I’m doing now. I can’t wait to read your comments!

The "Real" Santa

So, have fun and create your own YouTube movie. Who knows, it just might be the next viral video! (Right after mine, that is).

Enjoy – Shayne

Please vote and comment on my Shorty Claus video now. Thanks!

You can give us a Christmas gift by bookmarking or emailing this to a friend!

My grandson applying stickers

Have you ever had aspirations to write a children’s storybook? Not necessarily a published storybook, but at least a simple one for your own children or grandchildren? Come on, admit it! I have. I’m going to show you how to create a simple childrens storybook using stickers.

Ever since our children were young, my wife and I enjoyed telling bedtime stories to them. Tanda Loved to read good books to them. (They got their love for reading from her.) I love to read also. I love to make up stories even better. So I would invent impromptu adventures about Silver Long Johns, the pirate, and Oowey Goowey the worm. (Sometimes Oowey was sticky bubble gum or roasted marshmallow). As the children got a little older, I’d stop the story at the pivoting point, just as something exciting was about to happen, and have them take over for awhile. Like a choose your own adventure. We would all take turns. It helps develop creativity and imagination. The wilder, the better. Now I make up fun stories with my grandkids — in person, on the phone, in video chats — and we all enjoy it!

They say genes skip generations. Maybe that’s why grandparents find their grandchildren so likeable. ~Joan McIntosh

My young grandkids love stickers (also known as an autocollant or decal). But sometimes they stick them in places that their mom isn’t too happy about. So I thought of an idea, to combine stickers with my desire to create a storybook for children. So, I created one. And as most of my projects do, it started with a simple idea, and ended taking more time than I expected. But, oh was it fun! Don’t you just love getting into that creative zone where you can let your imagination soar? It is an exhilarating experience.

Daniel working on his sticker book

So far now, I’ve made two of these sticker storybooks as birthday presents for two of my grandsons, Daniel and Joshua. They just turned 4 and 6. I plan to make one for each of my grandchildren. It is a personalized storybook; a keepsake. It is also an interactive storybook because the grandchild applies the stickers on each page of the storybook story. The first one I made was for my 4 year old grandson, Daniel. I documented my storybook project and took photos so I could share the process with you, and show you how you can make your own children’s storybook with stickers. Yes, you! You are just as creative as me or anyone else.

Joshua working on his sticker book

By the way, anyone can make a storybook like this. You don’t have to be a grandparent, but this blog is viewed with grandparent glasses on. So whether you are a grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, mother, father, or kuala bear, the process and techniques explained here are the same. You can also create one that is much simpler than mine. Just try it! Your special child will love the handmade gift from you. I think homemade presents are the best! Don’t you? (Unintentional hint for my children that Grandparent’s Day is September 7th this year.)

So, click and play the tutorial presentation I created for you now. It includes the story I wrote, along with my commentary. Enjoy!

One more thing… I kept a copy of the story. So when Daniel was finished with his book, I had a video chat with him. I read it to him as he turned the pages. It was fun!

Daniel reading his finished storybook

Now go and make a sticker storybook yourself! Then please come back and let us know about your experience. Have fun!

Grandpa Shayne

Copyright 2008, Shayne Packer. All rights reserved. You may review this article and link to it, but please do not embed the slideshow in another website. Thanks, Shayne

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