Tumbleweeders!

"We made rain sticks at grandma's!"

Summer tumbles in and out of the maze of months that comprise a lifetime. It rolls along merrily in the sun, spreading carefree joy until the bite of autumn snaps it up and tosses it aside. Now, many moons will pass until I see it again: a time when grandma isn't required to compete with school days and soccer balls. I recall an impish riddle from my own days in the classroom: "What are a teacher's three favorite things?" "June, July, and August!!" Today, those months remain a trio of grandma's favorite things! Wide open hours present rested, happy little faces on my doorstep. "Well, tumble right in, you chirpy little cherubs! We have lots and lots to do together beneath these sunny skies!"

"Grandma Camp" is summer's top priority, so I carefully negotiate the week with my three daughters. Once you're three, you're in! I've got a cozy tent waiting for you, a stack of puzzle books to keep you busy during "quiet time," and an agenda of fun that goes on and on, back-to-back, from morning light til sleepy night!

This year, our Dino Egg Hunt and double feature Magic! and Puppets! shows stole the spotlight during that week. But in between, the time was filled with crafty things to make and do.....

Air dry clay is lots of fun. One day our tray of curious critters stand pale as ghosts......

...and the next, they knock you out with personality plus!

Younger kiddoes enjoy a session of basic shape animal building. If you're a manic paper punch collector like I am, this project is a simple matter of punch, glue, and go!

For one Dollar Tree dollar - just one! - you can sink your elbows into the satisfying sensation of shaving cream! (No, this activity doesn't "make" anything - except a moment's well deserved rest for grandma in between adventures!)

We "tumbleweeders" nature-walked for palm sized rocks to paint. After dark, our "Ladybug Launch" secretly re-homed them into neighborhood flower beds and Press boxes!

I don't blame parents for not relishing the sport of "night hiking," but it's a must-do at grandma's sleepovers! We grab our lanterns and follow our noses into the dark, just to see whatever we see!

My recent discovery of step-by-step cooking lessons for kids at "Grandma Honey's House" blog has inspired me to add kitchen skills to the list of things I want my grandchildren to experience with me. Here, Angeline lines a tin in preparation for one of "Grandma Honey's" breakfast recipes.


















I want to teach my grandchildren to sew, as well, but had no idea where to begin. Then I stumbled upon the same quality content and style of guidance that Grandma Honey provides in her area of expertise! How nice to have everything all laid out for those of us who are eager to instruct, but need lesson plans that organize skills into sessions that produce appealing, easy-to-make end products that entice kids to return for more. Check out Ana's complete and masterfully written tutorial for offering a (machine) sewing camp of your own at The Lost Apron blog. (note: this blog no longer being published...sorry!) 

Thank you, Pamela and Ana, for adding muffin tins and spools of thread to this grandma's inventory of grandchild enrichment experience ingredients!

"Seriously?
You people have six cats in there? SIX??!"

I drew the tumbleweed metaphor from personal observation and the cooperation of my six (6!) cats. A recent, pleasant wine-sipping evening found me enraptured with a busy, hard working little hairball that resembled every feature but size of the menacing monsters that roll the American west. All it needed was open space, the gentle twirl of an overhead fan, and a worthy supply of cat hair to keep it growing and growing and growing......I sipped and I pondered: "How large could this carefree little spirit actually get if left alone to thrive?" But then, as abruptly as the aforementioned "bite of autumn," came grandpa, trusty portable vac in tow. With his cry of, "What?! Not another one of these?!" both summer 2016, and the seed of my tumbleweed reverie faded to a nostalgic end.

I hope it was less traumatic for you!