My husband’s and my immediate family are all on the other coast in California. While we all do fly back and forth to visit, it is a challenge to stay connected. We tried different things over the years, all with disastrous results:
- On our family reunion vacation in Maine, my mother broke her wrist and had to fly home with it uncast due to the swelling that would occur from the plane ride.
- My mother-in-law got terribly seasick on our family reunion vacation in Hawaii.
- And did I mention that my sister’s house caught on fire while Skyping her and my mother for the first time two Christmas’ ago?!
Maybe we are just going about it all wrong. Maybe we need to try something new! (You think?!). I am thinking using about HomeTeam App TM from Panasonic, an online app that connects users like grandparents and grandkids through video chat while reading books and playing games together.
HomeTeam App TM includes curated content, including these popular children’s books:
Curious George by H. A. Rey
Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh
5 Little Monkeys by Eileen Christelow
Tuesday by David Weisner
Mr. Wuffles by David Weisner
Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
Little Toot by Hardie Gramatky
This or That? by Chrispin Boyer
Super Simple Body by Dr. Karin Halvoson
I really like that grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and more can read books and stories together … just like you do in-person.
HomeTeam also has fun and engaging multiplayer games and you can also play games remotely. HomeTeamTM games include classics like Checkers and Chess as well as exclusive educational games that teach basic math skills, vocabulary, science, logic and more. It’s not only great for grandkids but these learning games are helpful for grandparents too as recent research indicates that logic games help prevent dementia.
New users can sample the entire HomeTeam experience, including unlimited access to content and all features free of charge for 30 days. After that, a premium subscription for continued access to unlimited content is available by month ($7.99/mo) and by year ($79.99/yr). HomeTeam is available for download in the App Store and Google Play.
I guess we are not the minority with grandparents far away. According to the AARP, over half of grandparents in the U.S. live more than 100 miles from their grandchildren; 43 percent live more than 200 miles away. At the same time, Pew Research Center found that the use of communications and social networking services among seniors is skyrocketing. I can attest to this! My 92-year-old mom is on Facebook
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Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
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This sounds like a great idea. I have grandchildren that live 1000 miles away, and this might work well for me.
This is a fantastic idea. We go through that every year when my mom goes back to Peru. She misses her grandchildren, and I think an app like this would let he interact with them in a fun way. I wonder if they have some of the books and games in Spanish, though.
Hi Mariana,
I’m not sure about Bi-Lingual in Spanish or just Spanish but that’s a great idea!
What a great way to keep in touch more often. Haven’t seen this app. Will check it out.
Hi Patricia,
I think it’s a fun way to stay connected too!