What I Learned from Little People - Part Two

               Last week you joined me for Part One of my week devoted to interacting with children, Little People, as I call them. On Tuesday and Thursday, I was a substitute Grandma for two young men whose Grandma died a few years ago. This week I will recount the Part Two of the adventure.

               My daughter and her husband were out of town on business so the rest of the family fought over who would get to keep Emma, my four-year old granddaughter. Several weeks before she had called me to see if I would like to go on a field trip with her class because Mommy would be gone that day. I asked where they were going, not that it made any difference to me, but I love talking to Emma. She is like talking to an adult. She is very logical and is never without a comeback, no matter where the conversation leads.

               She spent the night with me on Thursday night and early Friday morning we left in time to get to her school by 8:30. She knew I was tentative about the directions, but I put on my best face and we made it just fine – and on time. When we pulled into the school parking lot and undid our seat belts she burst out of her booster seat and with great expression, her beautiful eyes sparkling, and her arms in the air, she yelled out, “Grandma, you did it!”

Emma on the Bus
 

               We went to her classroom where the teacher was dressing each child in a blue vest with the school’s name on it and sending them to the bathroom one last time. Once on the bus, Emma very carefully selected our seat. It had to be just the perfect one to be able to see the little screen where movies would be shown. As soon as the wheels started rolling, a Dora the Explorer movie came on and all the kids reached for their backpacks.

Out came the gosh-awfullest assortment of electronic gadgets I’d ever seen In one place. I-pods, Leap Frog games, handheld games, and as a last resort, they played games on their mother’s cell phone. The thing I thought was most amazing was they all shared with each other and especially with the kids who didn’t have a device. Remember, this was a busload of four-year olds. Emma’s I-pod is engraved on the back with, This I-pod belongs to Rock Star Princess Emma, because that is who she thinks she is. She even has an alternate name for the times when the Rock Star Princess thing kicks into high gear, Haley McCaley.



Ariel and Flounder
 

We had a grand time watching Disney on Ice, my Emma rarely taking her eyes off the performers. She especially liked the undersea section Ariel starred in. I spent a lot of my time watching Emma. At intermission the teachers handed out lunch – a peanut butter and grape jelly uncrustable, a bag of apples cut up and ready to eat, a bag of chips, and a carton of milk. Thanks to the organizational skills of Emma’s teachers, the whole trip went off like clockwork and everyone enjoyed the day and came home full of exciting tales to tell whoever will listen to them.

I have one more adventure to share next week and then will summarize some of the things I’ve learned from my time with the Little People I am blessed to know.

Until next time, be filled with joy-

Cathy