How Children Learn

Do you remember how exciting it was to LEARN NEW THINGS?

Lillian is six years old. And she is like a SPONGE. In the last year, she learned so much...the days of the week, the months of the year, the letters of the alphabet.

Another poor picture...but both Memphis and Lilly are so intent and focused...you can almost see the furrow in their brow...

We often assume kids know how to do things. But when you say to a child, "clean your room" that has no meaning.  Realizing that, I tried to be more specific....so I asked Lilly to fold her clothes and put them away. About 30 minutes later, she came out of her room and asked, "how do you fold clothes, Grandma?"

So, a big element of Grandma Camp is teaching Lilly how to do things. Ordinary things. She already knows how to fold towels, and she helps set the table. Getting out the napkins has been her job since she was three. She can learn how to make popcorn in the microwave, or put away dishes. She loves to help me cook, and this summer, she could learn to clean green beans or peel potatoes.

But it can't be all work and chores. There will be some creative, artistic activities. (Yeah! SEWING)...and we'll also learn how to play some of my favorite card games. King's Corner was my Great Aunt Glad's favorite...but we'll probably start with Gin Rummy...

And -- HEY -- why should Grandma have all the fun??  John just took delivery of 50 new baby chicks...so Lilly could learn how to feed chickens, or collect the eggs, right?

John is very proud of his eggs -- he polishes each one before he sells them...

This is a store-bought large egg, versus a REAL large egg!!

Because John is a wonderful gardener, I suggested he ramp up a gardening activity for Lilly. I thought she would enjoy having a little section of the garden for her own. I pictured Lilly hoeing the dirt, planting the seeds, watering, waiting for the plants to pop up, weeding the little rows...watching the flowers grow, or picking the radishes. You can see it, right?

But here's how Grandpa camp works.

John went shopping (by himself) and bought six pots. He filled them with dirt and planted some tomato and pepper plants. He set them on a bench, and showed Lilly where they were.

Gheesh...it's no wonder women are afraid of power tools...