MEMORIES OF 2022
Do you want to have an amazing vacation that you will never forget?
May I suggest Grandparent’s Camp?
My husband and I have four beautiful gifts from God. We call them our grandchildren. Three of them live out of state. We only get to visit with those three four or five times a year. The oldest is now in high school and his schedule is difficult to navigate. Even when it all comes together; more time is spent doing adult things with their parent than fun things with the kids.
We began looking for a way to change this balance.
Grandparent’s Camp was the best idea we ever had.
MAKING A HAPPIER YEAR
The world in 2021 was very strange for kids. We wanted our grands to know about the carefree way we grew up. They wanted to hear some of our childhood memories. Also; we wanted to encourage them to seek this information from other family members beyond us.
So; we set down and devised an agenda of things to do for a whole week. We included things we would not normally get to enjoy on other visits.
Then, we gave each day a theme.
TEACHING ABOUT OUR HEAVENLY FATHER
I have a deep concern for God’s truth to get through to the next generations. It is our hope that we might help their parents make this possible. We understand that parents of today must maintain a constant quest to educate the kids in God’s best ways to live. The world moves against that. We are hoping to help make their teachings stick and become stronger.
It is our desire that our grandchildren’s lives be filled with God’s Holy Spirit. We want them to know and understand The Holy Scriptures. Hopefully, this part of life will never be a burden to them; but only a joy forever.
One grandmother already sends them to church camp every year. With that in mind, we took another route at our house. In an unorganized and personal way, we endeavored to tell them the stories of God ourselves. For each theme of our Gma and Pop Camp, we included two Godly Play stories within each day.
Many of you have heard me speak of Godly Play in the books I have published. These stories will always be a special part of my own personal testimony. They are excellent resources for explaining the awesome wonders of the God we serve and worship. The stories speak in children’s language. All lessons are foundational framework for a great relationship with God.
If you wish to know more information about how you can tell Godly Play stories; just click here: https://www.godlyplayfoundation.org/,
PLANNING
We tried to think of some fun (yet nearby) places to fulfill the children’s need to run and play in the great outdoors. Fun and creative play was our main goal. Fellowship among cousins and grandparents was our highest goal. Love lead the way. God provided.
THOUGHTS ABOUT FOOD
I thought it would be a great time to get a little more creative with food. I made some slightly novel meals I knew the kids could enjoy. We kept the food healthy; but more kid-friendly.
Our grands have special food requirements. Their parents are very strict about their sugar intake and they need to eat gluten free. I gladly conformed to all of these needs. It wasn’t a problem at all. We had lots of natural fruits and veggies to snack on as well as the main kid-friendly meals.
The meals varied over the years. Usually, when the stay was at our home, every day but Friday included a picnic. Some years we rent a house near different child-friendly attractions. I remember one year, we all made our own pizzas together. They kids loved helping with the cooking.
I’m sure you are getting the picture of Grandparent’s Camp by now. Of course, it would all depend on what is available to you in your local area.
ACTIVITIES
Just sit down and plan a week of activities that will work for your grands. Make it full of things they love to do. They will never forget the time of fun and fellowship. Your grands will love you forever for taking the time to do so. In the end; you will probably enjoy it even more than they will.
OUR PLAN FOR A TERRIFIC WEEK
The plan depends on the ages of the grandchildren and whether you are traveling or staying at your home. This is mixed at our house, different on different years. No year has been the same so far. It is best to keep things simple. Don’t over plan or blow the budget. Plan according to where your families are at in life.
For instance, one year we left the weekends open. Our traveling daughter brought her three boys on a Friday, and we just had a great “as usual” visit with her and the kids for the weekend. She went home on Tuesday to work. Gma and Pop Camp officially started on Monday and lasted through the following Friday. The boy’s mother was able to join us at camp for two days. We had them on our own for three days. Also, that gave us another weekend at the end. Again, we used it just to visit. We traveled with the boys to meet their parents half-way home. Some years it works like this, some years are different.
Our granddaughter who lives locally often brings her Mom and Dad over several times during the week. Sometimes she even brings the family dog. She and the dog are attached like glue. It is hard to separate them from one another.
COORDINATING WITH EVERYONE
On many of our years together for Grandparent’s Camp, our oldest grandson (now a teen) was at our house the weekend before and the weekend after regular camp. That happened because he was going to an older kid’s camp with his other grandmother. As he has grown into a teen now, he often has to work and can’t attend with us. We miss him so much! At least we get to see him in the Fall season when the whole immediate family gathers together for a week.
Most years we still got to visit before and after camp for long weekends; so that was wonderful. We were able to give him a few birthday surprises before he left for his other camp. One weekend I remember he made us some gluten-free chocolate chip cookies before he left. That weekend while he was visiting we took him and our daughter to one of our favorite restaurants to celebrate their birthdays. One Aunt and Uncle came over to join the fun. A side-event and surprise was bumping into a few old friends there at the restaurant whom we had not seen in years and getting to introduce the grandkids to them.
We usually try to do some older activities with our teenaged grandson during one long weekend later in the year. His schedule is always full and complicated, so we just work with it.
A FEW THEMES WE HAVE TRIED
WILD ADVENTURE DAY
On our Wild Adventure Day we started breakfast with animal-shaped foods. Our Godly Play story for the morning was called NOAH AND THE GREAT FLOOD.
If you decide to use the Godly Play stories, keep in mind that you do not have to order the rather expensive Godly Play toys. Just order the story books and make your own kits. The toys are all wonderful and very effective. However, if you are on a budget you may want to make a large portion of these yourself. It isn’t hard to come up with the materials.
I ordered a few of the Godly Play story pieces. I purchased those I considered to be favorites. Then, I made the rest of the story boxes myself. Most craft and hobby stores carry hinged wooden boxes. All you have to do is to paint them. I used a plastic container which rolls on wheels for our desert box. It had a tight fitting lid cover on top. I used that cover as a surface to tell other stories when I wasn’t using The Desert Box. One of our years I think the desert box came to live on top of the kitchen table for the week. I could tell the other stories on top of the plastic covering. I could take off the lid and use the “desert box” whenever the story called for it.
BEING FLEXIBLE
One year I was afraid that our very active four year old grandson wasn’t paying attention to some of the stories. Later I asked him about his favorite stories. I said I wanted to know why they were his favorites. He literally quoted almost every important part of each session. That fact alone made my heart smile. I’m thankful to know that he was “actively” listening even though he never sits still and he rarely is quiet!
EACH CHILD IS DIFFERENT AND UNIQUE
We experienced just the opposite for our granddaughter. She listened intently. I could see the wheels in her head turning with each move of the toys that told the stories. It was great fun to observe this. I thought it was rewarding to hear her reasoning. She loved answering the “wondering” questions at the end of each story.
When we told the story of Noah and The Great Flood; as we came to the end with the promise of a rainbow from God; then we pulled out our prisms. I had asked my husband to help me find a prism to show the kids how you can see a rainbow inside of a prism. He wound up ordering a whole collection of prisms. Pop loved showing off the prism collection after the story was over. They were fascinated with the demonstration he gave. Then he handed each of them their own prism to help them to always remember the story and God’s promise.
They took their prisms and hung them in a window at our front door. Later in the day, we watched how the sunlight made rainbows at different times. Observing the prisms became a fun activity all during the week. It never failed to delight. I always got to say “Just remember that God always keeps his promises!”
I don’t think they will ever forget.
DESOTO CAVERNS PARK
One fun place we visited on Wild Adventure Day is Desoto Caverns Park. If you can get to Alabama with your kids or grands; be sure to add this place to your list of fascinating places for kids to visit.
EXPLORING THE CAVERNS
Our grands LOVED this park. We explored a cavern with lots of amazing lessons about science and rock formations. Also, we got to play outside in all of the kid-friendly adventure/activity booths. The caverns were amazing!
Outside the caverns, we found one booth full of cool air. The air was blowing beach balls of various sizes around. Kids could run, jump, and play right in the middle of all the air-dancing balls.
There was a pirate’s ship with air-blasting cannons on each side of the ship. No gun-control here! We spent at least an hour shooting tennis balls back and forth at each other. We were divided into teams on each side of the pirate ship. Lots of laughter was shared each time one team got knocked out. Nothing hurt. Even the one who was too little to stay all week at camp without Mom got in on the action that year. We laughed and laughed.
Of course there was a rock climbing wall. Our grands loved that adventure.
CONSIDERING THE MAZE
We peered off a steep mountain down into a maze-type wooden fort that looked like a place where you could get lost forever. It had observation towers to climb up into in the middle. I suppose that was just in case you got stuck and needed to look for some doorways that you could not find. Our collective thoughts were to put that activity off till last. We knew we might never get out! It was HUGE and LONG. In the end we told the kids we would come back for that when they were older. They are still reminding us!
FUN AT THE SPLASH PAD
We enjoyed panning for gold and a splash pad outside the gift shop. When everyone cooled off, we hiked to some shady picnic tables. The surprise treat at the end of our picnic was rock candy suckers.
After we finished our picnic we told another Godly Play Story. This time we told the story of Creation. The kids were so cute when we got to the wondering questions at the end of the story. They listened intently to how God created the world in just seven days. Our granddaughter’s favorite day was the Sabbath (7th day.) One grandson’s favorite day was the day when God made the green growing things. We decided there were NOT any days we could leave out and still have all the story we needed.
Our next excursion was to ride the train; which just toured around the park for a short distance. This old grandma crawled up inside the little train with all the other kids while Pop and our grown daughter watched. The one-year-old LOVED this train ride. So did the other two.
Our last adventure in this park was to take the guided tour of the cave/caverns.
It was very interesting and COOL. We went deep inside the old cavern. Inside we heard many amusing facts from our guide. He was a local college student. The final and best part of the cavern tour was an amazing laser-light show. The lasers danced to the tune of the water dripping from the roof of the cavern. It was wonderful.
NOT ENOUGH TIME TO DO EVERYTHING
We left with two tired grandparents, a one year old who was sleeping in his Mommy’s lap, and a very grateful three year old and seven year old. They sweetly expressed their thanks and delight. Desoto Caverns Park was a huge success for us. Honestly; we did not have time to do everything. We may have to go back again later to catch what we missed.
That afternoon we took our naps without one little qualm. When everyone was rested we grilled some hamburgers for dinner and then watched The Lion King movie.
The kids painted some picture frames to put some pics of our activities of the week in. We will give these to their parents for gifts later on this year. I put them safely away. I’ll find the best of our photos and make photos ready when that time comes around.
At bedtime we read a bedtime story called “Good Night Ark,” which tied in beautifully with our morning story-telling.
HERITAGE DAY
We created this day to help the children learn that history and family heritage is very important. It was explained that heritage is all about your family; and everyone needed to know their family stories.
For breakfast each child had a plate that had stick people which represented their own immediate family members. I left out our granddaughter’s dog. She insisted that we draw her in. Of course we did!
The heads of our stick-people were round turkey-sausages. I even found some candy eyes to put on them. They had gelled red smiles. The eggs were green and served for the grass that their family was walking upon; and we made little houses out of toast. The final touch was a slice of orange in the sky for the sunshine.
After breakfast we told the Godly Play story called THE GREAT FAMILY. This was all about Abraham and Sarah and their ancestors. The story included the fact that Isaac was born to them. Isaac and Rebecca became the head of a great family of God. They all went on and on for generation after generation. Our story ended with these words; “then they had children, and their children had children, and their children had children, for thousands of years until one day your great grand parents were born; then your grandparents, then your parents, then YOU! So you are part of the great family of God too!” The kids loved the ending. I saw the lights coming on in their eyes.
FAMILY HERITAGE IS IMPORTANT
One year we used this Family Heritage theme. It took a whole day. We introduced the children to the stories of our own heritage. This day actually flowed nicely, following after that Godly Play story of THE GREAT FAMILY. We started by telling tales about the things we did when we were children their age. This included talking about the places we lived. Those stories included many of the people we remembered from our own childhoods. We wanted the grandchildren to know who blessed our lives in different and unique ways. We called this “passing it on” and encouraged them to be sure to pass own their stories when they grow up. I shared a song I learned as a teen called “Pass It On.”
My husband took us on a driving tour of his childhood memories. In that tour we saw the first two houses where he lived as a boy. He took us through the little town where he grew up. We saw where his grandparents operated a farm. Much of everything had changed. He pointed out the changes. We discussed the importance of maintenance of property and keeping things up. All agreed we should be taking care of our special places just as long as they belong to us.
RESPECTING OTHER’S
The conversation veered to the realization that sometimes others don’t consider our places to be as special as we do. Because of that, we must respect other people’s property at all times. My husband and I showed them the “before” photos of when everything was all fresh and new during the times that he lived there as a boy.
In our next part of the Heritage adventure, we stopped at a local park in Leeds, Alabama. It was an in-between places stop that had some pretty fantastic playground equipment. There were some shady picnic tables, so that was where we had a picnic lunch.
A FAMILY STORY
After the picnic I pulled out the Godly Play story of THE HOLY FAMILY. I let each child hold each member of the Holy Family. They held baby Jesus who had his arms open wide for a hug. Next I let them hold his Mother; Mary. Then each child held Joseph; Jesus’s earthly Father. We explained how the wise men came to bring them gifts. We shared how the Shepherds heard the Angels singing. They loved the cow who gave his feeding place to Jesus for a bed. They petted the donkey that Mary rode into Bethlehem.
In our home, I leave THE HOLY FAMILY figures out on our coffee table all year. Each season I add different little seasonal touches to their decor. The grandkids love to play with these little wooden figures. They always want to hear more of the story. They ask to know what happened to THE HOLY FAMILY. Also; they realize that they too are a part of this wonderful family. In the end of this story the baby Jesus with outstretched arms lays over the Resurrected Christ. He had his arms stretched wide to give a hug to the whole wide world.
RELATABLE HISTORY
So, as part of this heritage day, Pop and I took some of our favorite old fashioned toys to the park with us. These were the toys we used to play with when we were kids. We wanted them to play with the same things. There was a hula-hoop, some jacks, a dodge ball, a jump rope, and a Barbie doll. We told them how we played Red Rover, London Bridge, Hide and Seek, Tag You’re It, Simon Says and May I. They loved the old toys and played with them not just that day; but all week long. We played a few of the games we told them about. They knew many of them.
No one was in a hurry. We let them have all the time they wanted to play on the playground before we moved on. Next stop was all about my heritage. I showed them an old apartment where I had lived after I grew up during the time that I had worked in Leeds.
Also, I told them about my grandparents. I showed them pictures and gave stories about the things I did with them. There were stories about my dog, my horses, and my sister who now lives in heaven. I told them what it was like to grow up on a farm. We drove out to the old rock farmhouse my family inherited from my grandfather. The old rock house was almost 100 years old when he bought it. My parents owned it, and eventually a portion of that land even belonged to me, my husband and our children. The grands had heard memories from their parents about adventures on the farm.
PHOTOS ARE GOOD FOR HERITAGE DAY
Again; things had changed A LOT from our memories of the place. I noted the differences. We showed them the old photos so they could reflect on the before and after. Next, we drove out to my old school and my old church. I told them about my friends from church and school while growing up.
I actually created a game for us to play about my heritage. The gameboard contained all of the different places I had lived over the years. I noted my age during that time beneath the houses. The board was made from a box-top. It displayed a timeline on a road. The road was showing my journey through life. There were photos on the board pertaining to places I had lived. I put the relevant city names on each house on the board. So as I told stories of my past; the grandchildren moved the car to the appropriate places for each part of the story. That worked well to hold their attention. The toy cars were from the era of the times we were discussing.
TELL YOUR FAMILY STORIES
Do you have any old family stories that need to be told? Grab your grands and make a day of it. Everyone had a blast from the past.
A VERY SPECIAL TREAT THAT EVENING
After my heritage tour, we stopped in at Great-Grandmother’s house (my Mom.) Then she told them about all the things she loved as a little girl. There were stories about growing up while living on a dairy farm. She had a lot of old photos to show them. Great-Grandmother even had a photo of my great-great-great grandparents. (There were not many camera’s around back then, so I was amazed.) She showed the kids a milk bottle from my grandfather’s dairy that she still has sitting on a shelf in her house.
There were lots of tales about my father and his brothers and sisters. They have all passed away now. She showed photos of my Uncle Rayburn when he was in the Calvary. Also photos of when he moved on to serve in the Army in WWII. All of my father’s brother’s (except one) were Veterans. My Dad was in the Navy during the Korean War. She showed them photos of him during those days.
Mom went on to tell the grandchildren stories about her sister who lives in California. She shared stories of her brother and his daughters who grew up living in Trussville, Alabama.
STORIES, STORIES, STORIES
It turned out to be a great day. When we got back to our home we watched The Jungle Book and read “Can’t You Sleep Little Bear?” for a bedtime story.
By 9 p.m. all people under our roof were sleeping soundly.
NATURE’S WONDERS DAY
Next day, after breakfast was an exciting time for the grands because we FINALLY got to see what that desert box was all about. I took off the lid. We shared our story inside The Desert Box. Of course the container was filled with sand. The Godly Play story used on this day was titled THE EXILE AND RETURN. We told the story of how The People of God had been in slavery. They were held captive by Egypt, Babylon and Assyria.
The kids learned that God could go with you even if you are held captive and in exile. He will always help you rebuild the things you thought you might have lost forever. They came to understand how the Assyrians and the Babylonians destroyed the Temple and the walls of Jerusalem. We learned how Ezra and Nehemiah were careful to lead and rebuild the things of God again. Now we know that our hearts are the REAL Temples of today.
Every time I asked the wondering question of “where are YOU in this story” they were now answering; “We are God’s people too!” They understood that these stories of God were also a part of their own heritage. They GOT the concept of freedom from this story. Each child realized how important heritage is to all of us; especially if we desire to worship The One True Living God.
CHEAHA STATE PARK
After breakfast and story time; our daughter, the Mom of our granddaughter, joined us for a day to explore the wonders of nature. She drove her car which was full of our floats and her dog. We all journeyed towards Cheaha State Park.
Cheaha is so beautiful in the summer! I’ve mostly hiked there in the fall seasons when the leaves are changing colors. They have a large spring-fed lake with a sandy beach for swimmers. The lake is surrounded by mountain views which will take your breath away. We found ourselves surrounded by natural beauty.
DRINKING IN THE NATURAL BEAUTY
Before we swam and picnicked; we took a little hike. We walked over a wooden walkway that was built on the bluff beside the Lodge.
TAKING A LOVELY HIKE
The walkway was covered and shady. It was surrounded by lovely woods on both sides. The wooden walkway had resting seats along the way in case you got tired. At the end of our hike, we found ourselves standing at a mouth-dropping-high mountain peak. This beautiful scenic overlook was amazing. The grandchildren loved seeing how high in the sky we were.
When we finished our hike, we were hungry. It was time to cool off for a while. So; we headed to the beautiful lake which was waiting in the pretty picnic and beach area.
STORY OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
The grandchildren were so excited about swimming. So, I didn’t make them wait for the story after our picnic. Later at home that afternoon we told the Godly Play story of THE TEN BEST WAYS TO LIVE. (This story uses language children can grasp and understand. It explains the Ten Commandments. The children also begin to get introduced to Moses and Jesus in the telling!
One grandson wanted to play with Moses and Jesus every day after this day. He kept asking me which was which. I found that amusing because I knew Moses was the foreshadowing of Jesus. Hopefully, he will remember discovering this when he grows older and looks back. I hope he remembers how he questioned who was who. It is a very grown-up concept, but told the Godly Play way, it can also help a child to understand.
My favorite part of THE TEN BEST WAYS TO LIVE is how the story words the commandments in children’s language. The story box is heart-shaped and the commandments are grouped under “love God,” “love people,” and “God loves us.” For an example; the commandment for “Thou shalt not commit adultery” is “Do not break your marriage.” All ten commandments are worded in simple words which children can grasp and relate to. None of the stories are preachy.
IT ISN’T SUMMER IF YOU DON’T GO SWIMMING
FINALLY; we got into the cold, clear spring-fed water!
It was so refreshing.
We made lots of new friends that day at the lake. I particularly remember four who were named; Sarah, Sophie, Levi and Journey. The kids played and played. We shared our floats with our friends. They shared their water gun with us.
NEW FRIENDS FROM THE LAKE
As the rest of us swam in the lake, our daughter walked their dog on the nearby shore. She talked with Levi and Journey’s Mom. Their dog had come to the lake too!
PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED
After we got home we squeezed in one more Godly Play story. The story was called THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED. Then the kids painted little flower pots. When the paint dried, we filled the pots with dirt. Then, we planted tiny little mustard seeds inside those pots. We watered the seeds, and saved them for each child to carry home. They can watch the seeds grow into healthy plants. After about a week my own little pot was FULL of mustard seed plants!
LEARNING PATIENCE
In the telling of this story, we noticed that many things take a long time to happen. We have to show lots of patience sometimes to begin to see new growth. God always helps us with the growing. That tiny little seed made a BIG tree eventually.
It delighted me when we reached the end of the story. I asked the wondering question: “What do you think this WHOLE place could REALLY be?” My granddaughter quickly piped up with “I think it is The Kingdom of Heaven!” She was definitely right. Her younger cousin is still pondering that one. I could see the wheels turning in his brain.
A MOVIE AND ANOTHER GOOD STORY
For dinner we made some hot dogs (all beef franks) and French Fries with a little bit of fruit on the side.
Our granddaughter’s Dad popped in for a quick visit. We watched Mary Poppins before our bedtime story, which was The Scribble Stones. Granddaughter’s parents tucked her in for the night. It took me about five minutes to get the boys to sleep. We were all so tired, but we had enjoyed another amazing day full of memories.
APPRECIATE A FARMER DAY
Another day dawned and Grandparent’s Camp continued. My husband and I wanted to emphasize the importance of farmers. They help us to sustaining life on earth. So, we invented “Appreciate a Farmer Day.”
For breakfast we had eggs, fruit, toast and turkey bacon. This was nothing unusual; but I quizzed them about what animal or plant on the farm each of these food sources came from. The hen laid the eggs. The tree grew the fruit. Toast came from flour made from wheat. Turkey bacon came from a turkey. The farmer tended to each of these plants and animals. He looked after them daily. We could not enjoy any of these things if the farmer did not work so hard.
They loved thinking about it all. I told them we would go to a place later in the day that would teach us what a farmer had to do to the wheat and corn to make meal for us to cook with.
THE PARABLE OF THE LEAVEN
Our Godly Play story after breakfast tied right in with the theme for the day. It was THE PARABLE OF THE LEAVEN. The woman in the story is making bread. We observed how the bread rose when the leaven was added to the three measures of flour. Our wondering questions tie in with the similarities of leaven to real life.
KYMULGA MILL
After a leisurely breakfast; we got dressed and headed for Kymulga Gristmill. What a lovely and fun place it was. Our tour guide was delightful. He told us the history of the mill.
The mill was built in the 1800’s. There were no nails used. Pegs held the whole building together.
The huge old millstone they used was ordered from France. In those days the millstone came on a ship across the ocean. A man with lots of helpers retrieved the huge stone in Mobile, Alabama. They hauled it in a wagon all the way to Childersburg to start the new mill. Kymulga Mill was the first American mill made from this type of millstone.
The windows of the old building showed us the rushing waters which turned the mill. They were placed strategically near the river behind the building. We walked behind the building later to look closer.
BEES MAKING HONEY
Our guide pointed to the honey bees making hives in the walls of the old mill. No one actually minded them living there. I bought some honey and some corn meal. The cornmeal was gluten-free with a recipe attached which was guaranteed to be delicious! Having cooked and tasted it later; I can verify the truth of that advertisement.
Beside the gristmill stood an old covered bridge. At one time the old bridge was used for a road. Now there is a park on the other side of the bridge. The park has some trails for interested hikers to follow.
The tin roof on the covered bridge had missing nails in several places. Light from the sunshine shown through those empty nail holes. This made bright dots all along the path of the inside of the covered bridge. We remembered the prisms we had seen earlier in the week and smiled.
A PICNIC WITH THE DUCKS
We had a picnic lunch near the water. While there we saw a Mother Duck ushering her baby ducklings through the grass. This made the kids so happy. They loved watching the baby ducks.
After our picnic, we wanted to tell our next story about THE GOOD SHEPHERD. However, it got cut a bit short because an army of gnats decided to swarm us. The bug spray I brought turned out to be suntan lotion. This made the kids hoot with laughter. We cut the picnic short and went home to hear our story.
LEARNING ABOUT THE GOOD SHEPHERD
The Godly Play Story of The Good Shepherd is always a hit with the little ones. My heart skipped a beat when our granddaughter asked “Is the Good Shepherd another name for Jesus?” Thank you Holy Spirit for telling hearts stories much better than I could ever do.
That afternoon we gave the children some magical butterflies. You can set these toy butterflies on a flower to feed. After they eat, you can hold the butterfly in the palm of your hands. The little creature will flutter its wings. These simple little toys were obtained for only $6 at a local Walmart. They were a huge hit with the grands.
That night we were REALLY tired. We all wanted to go to bed early. I read “Sleeping in the Barn” for a bedtime story and we all were fast asleep in no time at all.
FREE PLAY DAY
Whenever we didn’t have time to do everything the grands wanted to do, I told them we would have a “Free Play Day” on Friday. I let them know during that day they could do ALL of the things they didn’t have time to do earlier in the week.
Our Free Day finally came along. They were eagerly waiting to enjoy it. For breakfast we ate French toast topped with the honey we had bought at the mill. We noted it was made from the bees we had seen working yesterday.
At this point, all of my ten stories were told. So, on this day I just asked the kids questions about which story was their favorite and why. In doing this I realized they had paid attention the whole week.
REVIEWING OUR WEEK
They remembered why God had promised us a rainbow. The meaning of the word “heritage” was still with them. They had a great appreciation for Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Each child seemed to realize they too were part of The Great Family of God. They understood why the Holy Family was so important to all of us.
Each of them remembered The Good Shepherd led the sheep through all of the places in the sheepfold, even the dark and dangerous places. If one got lost, The Good Shepherd would even risk His life to go to find that one. The sheep knew his voice. They followed it. I could see that the concept of The Kingdom of God was forming inside their amazing little minds. This was my favorite part of the whole week.
The rest of the day was free to do ANYTHING they wanted to do. They had lists in their heads.
LOVING THE FREE TIME
We climbed trees. The bubble soap got all used up. All kids rode the bicycle and the scooter. My husband and granddaughter had fun helping our middle grandson learn not to use training wheels when he rode the bike.
They took the sidewalk chalk and drew things from our Godly Play stories. Pictures at our feet also recorded other adventures we had shared. I saw a chalk picture forming on the sidewalk of The Kymulga Mill. Our granddaughter drew Noah’s Ark. She actually did most of the drawing, but our grandson loaned his talent when needed to draw the rainbow. Again, for the fifth day; we watched rainbows forming over the walls and ceiling in the foyer and hallways of the house.
A FULL HOUSE AGAIN
About mid-day Big Brother came home from his church camp and spent the night with us. We were all so glad to see him. It was delightful to hear his camp stories. We cooked a large dinner with meat, veggies and apple salad. Aunt E was invited to join us. She and one grandson got really silly talking at the table.
Our granddaughter’s parents came to pick her up. They were taking her on another adventure they had cooked up for the weekend. We hated to tell her goodbye; but we were taking the boys home early the next morning.
THE LAST BEDTIME STORY
There were popsicles for dessert that night. When everyone had bathed and were ready for bed, I read the last bedtime story – “Where Ever You Go” by Pat Zietlow Miller and Eliza Wheeler This was my favorite. The middle grandson LOVED it so much I sent the book home with him.)
Next morning, we hit the road early. By special request we stopped at IHOP for breakfast. This is our oldest grandson’s favorite restaurant and guess what? They have gluten free pancakes. Yea!
We couldn’t have asked for a better week. Middle grandson’s last question was “Can we PLEASE do this again next year?” There was no way to refuse that request. We are already looking forward to it!
SUMMARY
I hope our experiences might have sparked a few new ideas for you and your grands. We all would LOVE to hear your favorite ideas too. Next year is already in the planning stages here.
2022 Gma and Pop Camp was a great success!
Can’t wait till next year!