GRANDPARENTS CAMP 2025

My husband and I started sharing Grandparent’s Camp with all of our grandchildren several years ago. It was one of the best things we have ever done. There is nothing like spending focused time with the grandchildren.

GATHERING EVERYONE TOGETHER

When we first started grandparents camp we had only one grandchild. Now we have four. The youngest is 5. The oldest is 17. There are two grands in the middle, an eight year old and an eleven year old. The oldest has a summer job this year. He was not able to attend with us this time. We really missed him. I have some photos here of when he was much younger.

Right in the middle of three very active boys is our 11 year old granddaughter. We always tell her she can invite a friend, so she is not the only girl. However, she doesn’t usually chose to do so. She is a good sport about having to hang out with the boys. This quiet and patient little girl is actually a lot of help with the younger guys. We have a great divide when it comes to ages and genders here. However, God always works out a way to make everyone happy with a good time.

PARENTS CAN PARTICIPATE

The parents of our grands like to help out. They pop in and out of our activities each year. Aunts, uncles and their spouses often join with them. At first I mistook this for thinking they didn’t think we could handle their children on our own. Then I realized that wasn’t the problem. They wanted to go back and be a child too, even if it meant reliving life through their own children at Grandparents Camp.

So, that started a house full of grown children hanging out with a house full of not-so-grown children and two very old people every summer. We are always the oldest of the bunch. Yet; we probably enjoy it more than any of them.

NO YEAR IS THE SAME

Each year of grandparents camp has been different. These seasonal changes are necessary and normal because people grow and change and have different interests at different ages. I suppose this is God’s way of keeping life from ever getting boring.

Our first year of Grandparents Camp we had only one seven year old grandchild. We took him to Theatre Camp in Columbiana, Alabama for a week. He stayed there for half of each day and came home for half a day and night with us. This little camp for half-a-day lasted a week. At the end of the week the Theatre Camp put on a play. What fun our whole family had as we attended together. We loved our little star! It was an amazing experience for the whole family.

It was also an amazing experience for our grandson. He went on to be in several plays at school since then. He has always loved Drama Club too. I like to think we had a small part in sparking that flame for the dramatic in his life. The Shelby County Arts Council does an amazing job with this camp every summer. They are also popular for many other art events, especially when it comes to music. If you are interested in Theatre Camp (in Columbiana, Alabama) for your grands, you can find out more here: info@shelbycountyartscouncil.com. I can verify that they are wonderful teachers.

ONE IS EASY

After theatre camp, we also did other activities with our one grandson. One grandchild is so easy. Just do whatever they are interested in. For us, some of these things included eating at his favorite restaurants and going to to the movies. Almost everything we did that year tended to relate to dinosaurs or turtles, which were his favorites at the time. I still remember seeing “How To Tame Your Dragon” with him one year. We made lots of golden memories. I’m glad we had that alone time with him during our first Grandparents Camp because he is the oldest and the busiest these days. It is hard for him to find the time to stop and camp in the summers now.

Catching this grandchild off the schedule is a rare event. The cute little guy has turned into a handsome young man. Now he works and drives and goes to school. I’m happy we got to share a week of summer activities with him for so many years. I suppose we will have to have a “graduation” ceremony at some point to let him graduate from Grandparent’s camp. His growing up so fast has snuck up on us. Fortunately, we get to see him at our family’s annual fall gathering every year too. That gathering has no age limit. So it goes in every life. We have to let them grow up, even if we don’t want to.

THE TRADITION GOES ON

The next year of Grandparents Camp we had two grands in our quiver. All the more reason for continuing what we had begun with Grandparents Camp. You never know when you are making history. It just happens. We didn’t want to miss one moment of our family history. Grandparents Camp became a firm commitment every summer from that time forward.

Our granddaughter was only a toddler, so that year we did activities around the house. It was about bike riding, June bug catching, sidewalk chalk, Godly Play stories, cookie baking, pizza making, crafts, bon-fires in the backyard with roasting marshmallows and making some-mores, and a lot of other things, including some trips to the movies. Somewhere during these days we took on The Lion King and Mary Poppins. We bought the video of Frozen. It has been played a lot. I think the video is totally worn out now along with several episodes of Pinkalicious and Peppa Pig.

FROM TWO TO FOUR

Finally, we had three, then in a few more years, four grandchildren. The videos on hand turned to Bluey and Spider Man episodes. Our time was rarely spent in front of the television though. We got a lot more organized with Grandparents Camp.

These two youngest grands got the blessing of “experienced” grandparents. That definition might appropriately be defined as “grandparent overload.” I taught them all 10 of the Godly Play stories I knew best. The Pinata’s we hung in the front-yard climbing-tree were full of candy and treasures. There were always water guns laying around. My husband ordered a bubble machine for our back deck. We did theme days which included, Wild Adventure Day, Heritage Day, History Day, Sports Day, Free Fun Day, etc.

NO YEAR THE SAME

Almost every year we shared picnics and played in local parks. The out-of-town parents would bring the children to us. The parents often stayed the weekend before and after. The local parents dropped in and out of the week, visiting when they had down-time.

UNLIMITED FUN

I planned bible story lessons, short fiction stories, crafts and fun outdoor activities. We rode bikes, went swimming and to splash pads. Local parks were a favorite thing to do. There were movies in our backyard where we gathered outside under the stars using our own screen and projector. My husband put his telescope on the deck one year for our young star-gazers. In those years we always stayed at our house and just took field trips in the day time.

FIELD TRIPS GALORE

We started adding field trips to our activities. Over the years we have visited Oak Mountain State Park, Tannerhill State Park, Cheaha State Park, The Birmingham Zoo, The Alabama Theatre, The Kymulga Mill, The North Shelby County Library, Aldridge Gardens, The Birmingham Museum of Art, McWane Center, and The American Village.

I keep suggesting a trip to Williamsburg. My husband keeps putting that trip off. I wonder if he thinks it will take too much energy? It is probably more about our money tree being limited. I’m keeping it on the list though. One grandson LOVES history. Nothing could make me happier.

2025 TRIP WAS AWESOME

This summer we decided to take the grands on a farm vacation. Unfortunately, it wasn’t an animal farm. This was simply a beautiful hay farm. Actually, it was great anyway because there were lots of rolling hills to run and play on. We made up for the lack of animals by drawing them together at the breakfast table. I had an art lesson ready for every animal they could think up. We have some amazing artist in our little group. I love the drawings they gave to me.

The moms came with us, including one beloved aunt and uncle, who bought us tickets to The Miracle Worker Play, which we thoroughly enjoyed. This farm had a lot of interesting side-trips, but we were so happy and content just to relax and enjoy the time there. It was great to be out in the country where the grands could run and play without us worrying about them getting into the streets.

Our farmhouse had a great back porch with a roof over it. We played team games on the porch in the shade. There were stories and crafts on the porch tables. On that old porch we had relay races using solo cups and tennis balls. The simplest things brought the most laughter.

We set up a badminton set and used the same net for volleyball games. There was a set of horseshoes and corn-hole game boards placed strategically within the back yard. A creek meandered through the backyard hillside. It beaconed for exploration. There were picnic tables along the creek line.

Everyone brought their bikes. The driveway at our farm was long and private so they had lots of good riding places. We hiked over the pastures and hills. Nothing hugs better than nature on a lovely summer day. The landscapes brought back memories of my years of growing up on a farm. You know I shared those stories.

MAKING PERFECT MEMORIES

When you gather your clan around you like this, almost everything provokes good memories. As my grown daughters helped in the kitchen, they played songs on the radio that brought back memories of my teen years. These old tunes were songs played at the Hang-Out at Panama City Beach. My friend, Linda and I went there with our parents every summer. What great memories we made in that place.

These daughters of mine had been to a much different version of the Hang Out than I experienced. They had experienced massive crowds with nostalgic live musical entertainers. In those “olden days” the music came only from a lone juke box on a concrete pavilion. On a good day there might be about a hundred people passing through the open pavilion by the sea. We entertained ourselves with trampolines in the sand and video games. Pac Man was the rage. The favorite and often played song which bellowed out from the juke box was The Mighty Quinn.

I related all of this history to these Moms and an Aunt as we cooked simple recipes to feed the hungry children of Grandparents Camp. I guess grownups have their moments at camp too, but they must be rare and toned-down. We DID forego the margheritas. The adult flash-backs lasted just one brief moment, and then we went quickly back to playing pick-up-sticks.

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

Did the young ones care about those stories of the beaches of long ago? They listened respectfully, but truthfully, they only cared enough to ask when they were going back to the beach. Perspective is everything.

However, I loved watching three generations with different perspectives love and laugh together. No one realized how many times I lifted up silent prayers of thanks that week. Especially when one daughter offered to take over cooking dinner the night I was so exhausted and wanted to rest. God is good – all the time.

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE

At one point during the cup relays, which our crowd loved, I burst out laughing and couldn’t stop. The crowd wanted to know what was so funny. I was thinking about where I got the game ideas which we were playing. They were relay races held in a local nursing home. We were giving these same games to young kids to play. They were having just as much fun with them as those old folks in the nursing home I had visited. It just struck me as funny. This still makes me smile.

Later, when things slowed down and we rested peacefully in all of our silent thoughts, I seriously considered how life always goes full circle. Maybe I’ll write more about that one day. I have a plate given to me by the boy’s that will always remind me of the swift passing of precious time. I love it so much. These grandkids give me so much to write about. They keep the wheels in my brain turning.

BIG FAMILIES ARE ALWAYS HAVING BIRTHDAYS

One Mom/Daughter was having a birthday, so we baked her a gluten-free chocolate cake and celebrated with her. I’m thinking I’ll put this recipe in our Monday Night Menu’s topics soon, because it is always a hit with the whole family. You can’t tell it is gluten-free. The absentee grandchild was also having a birthday soon. So, we sang loud enough for him too and hoped he heard it all the way to South Carolina.

The kids (mostly our granddaughter) had fun decorating the kitchen for the party. It was great just sharing family meals around one table all week. Foods need to be toned down for young children. They aren’t into that spicy, hot stuff we adults tend to enjoy. We ate a lot of vegetables and fruits. All of our food was gluten-free.

UNEXPECTED PETS DO SHOW UP

Our grandsons brought their two new pet crabs. Their parents go to the beach a lot. On their last trip they had bought these two crabs (one for each boy.) Of course, those little crabs could not be left alone at home. “Lemon” and “James” were in a plastic see-through cage with a hinged top. You could drop food into the top and look through the sides of their home. Of course we managed to drop that handy little cage sending two crabs scrambling all over the house. This unexpected event scattered crabs and sand all over the kitchen floors.

I’m very happy to report that both crabs got back into their cage. They even seemed quite content to not be lost anymore. All the sand was swept up before anyone noticed. I wish I had taken a photo of those two adorable creatures from the sea, but I didn’t have a phone charge at the time.

LEARNING ABOUT HELEN KELLER

Our focused outing on this week was a trip to Ivey Green. In case you don’t know, Ivey Green is the first home of Helen Keller. We saw the pump where she first understood that words carried meaning. This was the beginning of her learning how to sign and therefore where she first began to communicate with the world around her. This cherished and major moment of Helen’s life was quiet a breakthrough for one who could not see or hear. Much credit is given to her beloved teacher, Anne Sullivan.

Ivey Green conducts a great tour. I had done some prep work for this tour by purchasing Jeanie Thompson’s publication titled The Myth of Water which included her poignant poems from the life of Helen Keller. My time at the Southern Christian Writer’s Conference had put me in Jeanie Thompson’s path.

I was happy when Jeanie signed her book for me. In our conversation, I explained that we were about to visit Ivey Green with our grands. The poetry inside Jeanie’s book is awesome. The book also contains a very helpful timeline mapping out the life of Helen Keller. Jeanie was going to be in Tuscumbia, Alabama for The Renaissance Festival which is now held every summer. We would miss her by only a few days after we departed from our camping with the grands.

YOU CAN’T STAY FOREVER

I hated to miss seeing Jeanie again, as well as attending the Renaissance Festival, but you can’t camp forever. Perhaps we can catch that great event next year. My mentioning this is to inform you we were staying the the area fondly called “The Shoals” which includes Muscle Shoals, Florence and Tuscumbia, Alabama. This area is famous for its literary works and musical history. I was happy to have my grandchildren emersed into this type of local culture who created art, music, poetry and drama. They are such creative children and this is a very creative area of our country. I was happy to be exploring its history with them.

Later in that same evening as our tour of Ivey Green, we enjoyed attending The Miracle Worker Play. This was a wonderful production. The play has happened year-after-year at Ivey Green for over 68 years. We enjoyed learning all about the life of Helen Keller. Everyone was amazed at how excellent Ann Sullivan was as her devoted and beloved teacher. Our young history buff stayed awake for the whole three hours. His little brother came pretty close.

WELL WORTH THE TIME AND EFFORT

My husband and I are getting older now. We come to the end of these Grandparents Camp times totally exhausted, but thinking the time was amazing and well-spent. Our scrapbooks are full of beautiful memories of our grands. We hope to be able to share these sweet memories with our great-grands some day.

Any time with our grandchildren is precious. The farm excursion took a lot of packing and grocery shopping, but it was well worth the effort for so much fun. We may consider going out of town more in the future. There are so many great places to enjoy with children these days. If the crabs come again next year, we might have to take them to the beach. Who knows?

If you are thinking about doing a grandparents camp, I highly recommend you do so. The memories you will make are priceless.