Grandmotherly

There is nothing quite like a preschool that allows for dress up clothes. And 'babies' to care for. And other girls who love clothes and babies. It was hilarious, at this preschool orientation to see just what the little boys and little girls gravitated to. There was a complete, but natural, separation of the two. The trucks corner had magnetized a clump of small boys who whirred them around the floor while bumping good-naturedly into each other. The occasional "Hey!" when someone took someone else's truck punctuated the area, then faded.

The doll's corner contained three small and quiet females who had already all put on a princess dress. And crowns. And I believe there was a wand.

They were all in their element, and the orientation went off without a hitch.

One could, of course, insist that the girls go and 'try' the trucks, and that the boys go and put the baby to bed. But it wouldn't have gotten very far, and the boys and girls wouldn't have liked it nearly so much.

There is one arena, though, that has melded the two sides quite nicely. That is in the arena of 'helping Grandma'. Grandma has had two focuses this week: packing the kitchen, and being with the two smaller children while their parents make the move. We do all sorts of things during the day. We play train tracks, we read lots of books, we go on walks, and then we pack things up together. This is because whenever I begin to drift toward the cupboards, the small girl insinuates herself into the action with a quiet, "Can I help you, Grandma?"

And of course she can help! She is a superb help. The littler boy is too, but his help comes in a different form (usually the 'put in/put out' kind). The girl knows about placing things into the right boxes, or about stacking things that are heavy on the bottom, and then the ones that are light on the top. She has a sixth sense about these things and this makes my job easier.

This week she mixed up the ingredients for the Chicken Divan we had for Great Aunt's birthday party. It was fun, and we chatted away like two busy ladies with an important task.

It will be such fun to see the three as they grow up, as they become good citizens and steadfast workers. They have already had such a fine a head start. One day they will be busy, with perhaps a little less time for 'helping', and chatting, and listening. 

But I won't think about that now. Instead, I'll just gather them up and read another book out loud, probably the same book I've read a hundred times and they have never become tired of.

We'll be right there in our element.


See you along the way!
the SconeLady