May
4
2018
Honorary Grandparent For A Day
Posted in Daily Living 4 Comments
The invitation was given to me weeks ago.
The day finally came.
The day that I was invited to be an honorary Grandparent for a special little boy.
This little boy comes to my house with his mom on our Bible study day.
This little boy has grandparents that live out of state.
It was not possible for them to come for this hour long event.
When his mom asked him if he would like to bring a special friend, he said that he would.
He wanted to ask me to be his special friend that day.
The day arrived.
I considered it an honor to be invited and a privilege to be able to go.
We were asked to bring a game and some favorite books to share with the child.
I did just that, choosing things that my own children loved.
All the grandparents and honorary grandparents were assembled in the lobby.
We had to be signed in, after telling which child we were there to visit.
It is a pleasure to walk into this school since it is the same school where my daughter teaches.
I am known as her mother and that is fine with me.
We were led down the long hallway to the kindergarten rooms.
The teacher, so young and sweet, gave me a hug.
She, too, knows my daughter.
It was good to be in her classroom.
The little boy saw me right away.
He motioned to a red folding chair that he had positioned right next to his desk.
He introduced me to the other three children at his table, all of whom were girls.
He wanted to know if he could hold my pocketbook and my other bag for me.
This was his territory.
This was his classroom.
This was his teacher.
This was his special day.
And I got to be a part of it.
There was a schedule on the screen in the front of the room.
The first thing we were to do was participate in a scavenger hunt.
Grandparents and honorary grandparents had to read the description of what we were to find.
It was a way to see the classroom, the artwork, and the plants in Styrofoam cups.
We were to see the caterpillars that were in a jar.
We were to see the question of the day, which the child was to answer for us.
We were to be introduced to three people.
We were to reach out to people we did not know.
There was a lot of moving around the room.
There was a lot of handshaking.
It was a wonderful way to get acclimated to the surroundings.
It was a wonderful way to put everyone at ease.
After we all sat down and were so sweetly welcomed by the teacher, she pointed to two people.
Her own grandparents were sitting in the back of the room.
The children were thrilled.
They probably never imagined that their teacher had grandparents, too.
It was time to begin our game.
I brought this wonderful game called, No Peeking.
I called the little boy’s mom the night before to make sure it would be fine for him.
The premise is to finger certain objects and guess what they are while blindfolded.
The blindfolds are really cardboard masks.
One mask looks like a lion and one mask looks like a king with a crown.
I knew that my special friend would choose the lion.
He thought it was great fun to finger objects and get three guesses.
It was harder than he thought.
He loved playing the game.
Even the teacher came to look at what we were playing.
A little girl at his table wanted to play, while her grandparents watched.
I gave each child some hints as they fingered the cardboard objects.
They held things like a spoon, fork, flower, and star.
It sounds easy but, without seeing the object and relying only on touch, it is quite hard.
Objects feel like other things and many guesses were wrong, including mine since I played, too.
We then watched four short plays, that had been filmed on the day they were performed.
Each child had a part in a famous children’s story.
My special friend was in The Little Red Hen play.
I filmed it for his mom; and noticed later that he gave me a thumbs up sign.
The children sang songs for us.
Then we were asked to participate in a movement song with them.
There was wiggling and hand motions and funny movements.
It was great fun; my special friend seemed pleased that I danced along with him.
Our afternoon was coming to an end.
The teacher reminded the children that they had something special in their desks.
They made something for their grandparents or special friend.
My special friend handed me two wonderful works of art.
My heart was full as I looked at the flowers he made with his hand prints.
My heart was full when I read the words he wrote to me.
I was touched when I saw the drawings he drew for me.
It was not until I got home that I saw something that made my heart melt.
I was given two pictures from my special friend.
One said, I like playing at her house.
The other said, I like going to her house.
It was the second picture that touched my heart the most.
The picture shows his mom’s car driving towards my house.
He drew my house with many windows.
In front of my house, he drew my front door.
What is so beautiful is that my front door is wide open.
That is the way this precious little boy sees my house.
The door is always open.
People are always welcome.
That is what he sees; my heart is full of joy.
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. (1 Peter 4:8,9)
Hospitality to a child is quite simple.
Many think that hospitality has to look a certain way.
Many think that everything has to be perfect before we can invite people over.
However, to a child, hospitality means having your door wide open.
Thank you, my special friend.
My door is always open.
Thank you for the reminder.
Thank you for the challenge.
Oh, having hosted dozens of Grandparents or Special Friends Day, I can attest to the spirit of the day. Our little ones draw what is in their hearts but sometimes it takes a keen eye and warm heart to interpret it!
Cathy,
What a special day it was! His precious picture warms my heart and challenges me to keep my door wide open.
Gina
Beautiful Gina, what a special day!
Thanks, Sherie!
The day was very special!
Gina