LPB Success for Families Program

The Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Information Center partnered with the Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) Agency to offer the Success for Families Program.  

Success for Families is a curriculum based on children’s programming such as Sesame Street, Between the Lions and Clifford the Big Red Dog. The curriculum is comprised of facilitator led workshops that focus on literacy skills, child development, health and social skills necessary for school readiness and activities to develop skills. LPB’s project is designed to address the needs of non traditional family units: grandparents and other relatives raising children. 

Grandparents at the Urban Restoration Grandparent House are the primary participants. Parents are learning a lot about the PBS reading program, parenting, crafting, role modeling and ways to learn right beside their children. 

On September 9 Clifford the Big Red Dog (Alias Jennifer Thibodeaux) made a special visit to LPB to entertain parents and children. While at LPB participants made crafts and took pictures with Clifford. 

If you have any interest in participating in this program, please contact Dot Thibodeaux, Project Coordinator at 225-335-0322. 

Grandparents Build Self-Esteem

Thanks to a $65,000 grant awarded to Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) by the Barbra Bush Foundation, LPB is sponsoring a new literacy project. 

LPB’s literacy project focuses on improving grandparents’ literacy and technology skills so they can better educate their grandchildren. 

LPB and Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Information Center of Louisiana (GRGICL) host workshops at the Grandparents’ House. 

The recent workshop that was held in October focused on self-esteem and how the grandparent should help the grandchild develop positive self images. About twenty to twenty-five grandparents usually attend the meetings. 

The workshop was hosted by Mrs. Gayle Nettles, a retired teacher who works for LPB. The workshop focused on having positive self-esteem which is the key to success. 

The workshop discussed the importance of creating a safe and nurturing environment for the grandchildren. 

Mrs. Nettles discussed the “four A’s to parenting” with the grandparents: Acceptance, Attitude, Approval, and Appreciate. She also described how giving positive and accurate feedback, as well as becoming involved in constructive experiences, will benefit the grandchild. 

Mrs. Nettles also explained that as a grandparent it is more beneficial to focus on the things they cannot change, but rather focus on things they can change. 

Mrs. Nettles encouraged the grandparents to make a list with their grandchildren of things that the grandchildren are good at doing. In addition to that, she asked grandparents to help the grandchildren give themselves three compliments a day. 

During the workshop she further stressed that the grandparents should try to watch what they say in front of the children. The grandparents also discussed the importance of being spontaneously affectionate with their grandchildren. 

Grant Funds Workshops and Computer Lab

With a vast majority of grandparents in the United States lacking necessary computer skills, there is a definite need for computer education programs for grandparents. 

LPB is working with Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Information Center of Louisiana (GRGICL) to meet that need as part of a $65,000 grant LPB was awarded by the Barbara Bush Foundation. The purpose of the grant is to help improve literacy among grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. The idea is that by improving their literacy, grandparents can then help with their grandchildren’s literacy development. 

Mr. Gary Mire is the grant director and is in charge of overseeing the implementation of the grant. Mr. Mire said, “After talking with a lot of the grandparents, we realized that they really needed help learning to use computers and the Internet.” 

In response LPB decided to use some of the grant funding to construct a computer lab at Grandparents’ House. The lab consists of four computers with internet capability and two printers. 

However, LPB realized that having access to computers alone would not improve computer literacy among grandparents in the area. LPB plans to offer classes at least once a month taught by LPB’s Nancy Thompson. LPB is hoping to increase that number depending on demand. 

Classes are offered free of charge and focus on teaching grandparents how to use email, surf the net, and find information to help their grandchildren with homework. 

One of the focuses will be teaching the grandparents how to use the PBS Kids and PBS Literacy Link websites. They can then teach their grandchildren how to use the programs on the sites. 

Being computer literate will also help the grandparents acquire information about parenting or financial advice. Thanks to LPB working with GRG, computer literacy among local grandparents is certain to improve.