On Sunday, November 1, twenty-four members of the GaGa Sisterhood sat shoulder-to-shoulder, laughing and sharing all the crazy, inventive ways they engage with their grandchildren. “Creativity is not just for writers, artists, and famous people,” explained our presenter Susan Borkin. “Everyday creativity is a wonderful way to play and bond with our grandchildren.”
Susan began her presentation: Ten Non-Rules for Creative Grandmas, by handing out “goody bags” with ten little toys that symbolized each of her techniques for embodying creativity. Then she engaged us in a lively exchange of practical and fun ways to enrich, enlighten and empower both ourselves and our grandchildren.
The ideas flew back and forth across the room, resulting in laughter and heads nodding in recognition. One grandma got up and did her “bananas are very good to eat” dance she performs for her 20-month old granddaughter. Another grandmother shared how she gets her picky-eater grandson to try new things when he visits. She cuts food into tiny pieces (half a pea) and places them on his plate in a little circle. After he eats his way around the circle, he gets to eat the tiny piece of dessert on another plate.
Susan Borkin not only shared a multitude of creative ways to have fun with our grandchildren she also presented her ideas creatively. She has the background and credentials to teach creativity. She’s a therapist, writing coach, and author of Writing from the Inside Out and When Your Heart Speaks, Take Good Notes. The tagline on her website says: helping creative people get unstuck through writing.
We were all inspired to go home and try out some new ideas with our grandchildren.
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I wish I had been there to hear all of the good ideas — and to rub shoulders with all that creativity!!
It sounds as if the GaGas had a marvelous meeting. I wish I could have been there. I love the title of Susan’s book, When Your Heart Speaks, Take Good Notes. Writing has certainly helped me through many crises in my life.