Title: “Grandma’s Tincture of Time”
Exhibitor: Mary Ballard
Description: Grandmas can cure the blues, stay young, and forget themselves by
using a “prescription” for teaching, tolerating, and touching their grandchildren. With today’s economic and educational situations, many homes have both parents working. Year-round school programs leave young children to be either left in day care or on their own. Grandparents have unmeasured knowledge and resources that can teach children independence, self-esteem, and spirituality. Grandchildren will forget about the expensive toys and gifts from us, but the time, teaching, tolerance, and touching we give will never be forgotten. You can make a difference.
How To’s: Teaching
Helpful Tips
! One project can be simple, yet productive. All those extra fabric scraps that you’ve been saving to make quilt blocks can be used exactly for that but let the grandchildren do it. Use a pre-measured cutting board (such as an Olfa Board) with a rotary cutter. Show the children how to use the equipment safely. Explain the measurements and demonstrate how to make that sized block. The rest is history. They will have all the blocks you can get from that piece of materials in no time at all. It is fun for them also is to put the blocks together, arranging them according to color and print. These children are very creative. The grandchildren learn to work with colors and numbers besides learning a productive skill. The finished project goes on their bed so they can be proud of a learned skill and a big accomplishment.
! Reading takes time and patience. At our house we have reading contests to see who can read the most pages during the off-track time. The children all read on their own level. The reward can be monetary, a special place to visit, a special activity, or a new book. This activity helps to keep up reading skills and instill a lover for reading in their lives.
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Teach the children how to sew on a button, how to use an iron without burning
themselves or the fabric, or how to make a money doll out of work socks.
Grandpas can take the time to teach children how to mow the lawn, plant
gardens, paint fences, build bird houses, or catch a fish.
The list is endless, and the audience is receptive.
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Grandchildren are always curious about how things are made. They like to be creative in the same things that adults are creative. Sometimes letting them show and do their own creations may interrupt our household cleanliness and routing. We need to encourage this creativity, and in doing so may need to be tolerant of the messes that may be made.
Making homemade bread always draws my grandchildren to beg for some dough to make “gingerbread men cookies.” Many a family meal has been blessed with those “gingerbread men.” They are either hard as rocks or at other times so fat that the questions of what they are is present.
Flour gets all over the table, the floor, and of course, the children. Dirty dishes stack mountain sized, but the joy and look of pride and accomplishment on the faces of those grandchildren is priceless.
The use of play dough, markers, or finger paints provide other creative opportunities, but can also test our tolerance. If we allow these creative moments to pass by because of a mess, we may regret it forever. No matter how expensive or unique some things in our home are, it is “stuff” with only earthly value. The creativity and self worth of a child is eternal.
Grandparents need love and respect from their own children and grandchildren. One way to obtain that love and respect is to give it to them. Giving hugs shows these precious people that they are loved and accepted. You can never give too many hugs.
Even grandmas will have occasions for disciplining the grandchildren. Gently holding the face with both hands for effective eye contact works wonders to calm an angry reaction in a child. A hug and a reassuring “I love you” helps to make disruptive behavior disappear.
Grandmothers can tough their grandchildren’s hearts and teach them love for others by making the grandchildren part of an act of service. On occasion when I’ve had grandchildren at my home, I’ve made extra servings of our meal and involved my grandchildren in helping to deliver to neighbors or to someone in need. I’m always asked by the grandchildren why I do this. This presents a great opportunity to teach the great principle of charity.
At our family campouts we try to have some sort of humanitarian project. One year we made school kits. The bags were made before leaving home, and the supplies were purchased during the month prior to the activity. The chalk boards were also cut out and made ready for painting before leaving home. At came, prior to the service activity, a short story was told to the children about an impoverished community in Africa. This story helped the children understand that all children around the world were not as well off as we were. We then painted the chalk boards, let them dry, then painted them again. When the boards were finally dry, we made an assembly line and filled the bags with school supplies (paper, chalk, erasers, etc.). After the campout the grandchildren were involved in taking the bags to the Humanitarian Center.
With some planning, quilts could be tied at family campouts.
- Pray: Pray to Heavenly Father for the health and strength to be able to carry out these activities with the grandchildren. Pray that you will be loving and kind, fair and friendly, and that you will be open to the promptings of the Holy Ghost when a teaching opportunity presents itself.
- Plan: Grandchildren can become bored of the only thing to occupy their time at Grandmas is TV. Plan ahead what to do and how to do it. Share that plan with the children. They love to know what is going to happen next.
- Prepare: Have the resources that are needed for the project ready to do. Divide the supplies in individual packages. This will stop any quarrels about who gets what.
- Fun: Have fun. Make it fun. Be fun.