For those of you that are grandparents, what bits of wisdom/experiences are you passing down to the grandkids? I’m not talking about the stuff the parents should be teaching them, but the things you are interested in.
I love animals, the woods, anything outdoors and history. When the kids are over, we always try to make sure we do something that is interesting without being boring.
We walk in the woods where I always point out little things to them. I tell them the names of the wildflowers, show them lichen on trees, show them that the poop on the trail isn’t from a dog but from a coyote - you can see rabbit fur in it. The other day, I noticed those little mini anthills that you see on the edge of sidewalks or parking lots. One was in the shape of a volcano with 2 holes on top. I pointed it out to my granddaughter and told her how the anthill was built one grain of sand at a time. When we went back that way, she excitedly pointed it out to her brother. It warms my heart when I see the wonder and excitement in the kids.
We have a train museum that also has veteran, logging and miscellaneous museums in it. We go there at least once a year. They’ve been seeing the same things for years but they still have questions and are still interested in all of it. We also go to a logging camp museum that has been around since I was a kid if not longer. Again, it hasn’t changed one bit, but they still ask to go there and still have questions.
We also go to the zoo a few times a year, to creeks, the shores of Lake Superior, and whatever wooded trails we can find.
The local animal shelter has a kids program where on one Friday/month they let the kids visit with the shelter animals, watch an animal-themed movie and have pizza. We went and I was very disappointed on how it was presented compared to how it was really handled. (That’s another whole story.) I thought the kids were going to be disappointed too. When we were driving home, I asked them if they had a good time, thinking I’d hear that it was just ok. Nope! They both yelled, “that was so much fun!!”.
It’s great to be able to spend time with them doing the things that are close to my heart and to see them enjoy it as much as I do.
