Beech Tree News Network

During the summer months, my two young granddaughters have a day with Granny most weeks. Of course, as they have gotten older, our activities have changed. Naturally, they prefer some activities over others, but they play well together. And when they have a good day, I have a good one, too.

 Recently, I’ve been thinking about activities that would interest them. I asked friends and family to share ways they have entertained children. Their responses were:

·       Playing and riding the bike outside, playing with Barbie dolls (and talking about houses and cars), watching movies and DVDs, playing tee ball, and having friends spend the night.

·       Swimming, riding bikes, and taking horse riding lessons.

·       My kids have always enjoyed the library. It offers a lot of free entertainment for children throughout the summer. Swimming and visiting with friends keeps them active. We love summertime!

·       Swimming, day trips to Mammoth Cave, Lost River Cave, movies, and outdoor exploring with friends.

·       Riding bikes and scooters, swimming, and kick ball with the neighborhood kids.

·       Spending time in the pool, going to the movies, time together at the farm – basically time together!

·       Going to an afternoon movie, Vacation Bible School, hayrides and cookouts.

·       Swimming, sleeping late and eating.

·       Summer camps and playing outside.

·       They like swimming, watching fireworks, playing board and card games, and going to theme parks, water parks and carnivals.

I also asked my granddaughters which activities they enjoy. The older granddaughter – age 11 – said: spending the night, watching movies or Netflix, going to the movie theatre, going to McDonald’s, swimming, going to the playground, library visits, riding bicycles, playing games on the tablet or laptop, baking cookies, going to get a snow cone, and going to Jump Zone. The younger granddaughter – age 9 – said: baking cookies, watching movies, going to a friend’s house and spending time with each other. Based on their responses, we’ll likely bake a few cookies and watch some movies this summer.

Most of these activities are a form of playing. Clinical psychologist and writer Kay Redfield Jamison said, “Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity,” and Mark Twain said, “Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do” (https://move-with-me.com/uncategorized/play-quotes/). So on Granny’s day, my granddaughters will undoubtedly play.