GRAND Magazine - November/December 2019 - 33

grandparenting

Grammie camps - quality time
creates quality relationships
BY LINDA EYRE

ooking back over my twenty plus years of
Grandmothering, I've realized that the best
investment of my time, and the most fun I've had
with our grandchildren has been through what I have
called Grammie Camps. They have become a way to
create lasting relationships and treasured memories
with our grandchildren.
In preface, I must say that every grandparent/grandchild relationship and situation is different. I'm pretty
sure not many readers will have thirty grandchildren
who live from Zurich and London to New York City and
Hawaii-and because they are so spread out, I try to
cram in a lot during the two weeks we are all together
each summer, and the key to it all is Grammie Camps!
The kids are invited to come to Grammie Camp
the year they turn five and we look forward to those
times together all year. I have tried a lot of ideas to
make our time together memorable. If you're up for
it, pick and choose from the smorgasbord of ideas
below that might fit the needs and ages of your own
grandchildren. Or even better, use some of these
suggestions as a springboard to create your own
ideas, depending on your circumstances.

33 GRAND

Nov-Dec 2019

Here are a few things that have
worked for me:
1. "Happys" and "Sads". Even our oldest grandchildren like to share the happiest and saddest things
that have happened to them since the last time we
met. We learn a lot about each child as they share
hard and good things that have transpired in their
lives. There is real empathy as well as rejoicing as they
share both the fun and the hard things in their lives.
2. Talent Show. For years the "talent" was pretty
marginal, but as the years passed, unique abilities

manifest themselves. The talent ranges from great
piano and violin solos to amazing demonstrations of
the use of the Kendama and the putting together a
Rubik's Cube in one minute flat!
3. Work. In today's world, work for children is often
a forgotten art. I come from a long line of hard-working farmers whose children had to work to survive.
Luckily our summer place always has plentiful weeds. I
have loved teaching the kids to feel the satisfaction of
making an area of the earth more beautiful by clearing the weeds. Of course, some ice cream at the end
of a project is nice but the satisfaction of doing something hard with their cousins is the best reward.

Continued on next page

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0994809700/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0994809700&linkId=c0cf2342749a51234e00421ef2df453e https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003B6QYSW/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B003B6QYSW&linkId=74a78ba0a510c9871c2e38f745d59213

GRAND Magazine - November/December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - November/December 2019