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Nana’s Neighborhood
Hey, it’s good to see you…the door’s open… muffins are just out of the oven and there’s a fresh pot of coffee brewing. Why don’t pour yourself a cuppa’, and let’s sit a spell - mind you don’t squish a kitty - I’ve been hoping we could have a chat…
Have you been wondering what your children are doing when they visit my house every Saturday afternoon? Don’t worry, we’re not up to mischief; in fact, it’s just the opposite. Together, we’re creating all sorts of cool stuff, cooking, gardening, figuring out ways to walk softly on Planet Earth, exploring the world, learning to play very well with each other, practicing good citizenship and having loads of fun without spending any money. (*That’s* one of my favorite things about what we do!)
It began more than three years ago during an unusually hot school break. Lacy and Lindsay, the nine-year-old twins who live in an apartment down the street, and their little brother, Ben, were peevish from boredom, so they just dropped in to hang out, hoping to talk me out of a cold drink, maybe get permission to play with Alexandra, my then-infant granddaughter, or be allowed to loll under a shady tree in the backyard, anything to relieve their thermally-induced stupor.
We ended up doing all three - and more!
Alternating between tickling the wriggling, chortling baby sunbathing next to me atop a quilt beneath majestic maples and magnolias and dashing about the lush lawn, the children’s energy magically revived. (Had I laughed any harder at their antics, Lexie would not have been the only one in need of underwear replacement, I tell you!) After a time, like a passel of playful pups, the siblings collapsed, belly-down, contentedly examining the minutiae of surrounding greenery. That was when Lacy discovered the strawberries growing wild and abundant. (Even I was surprised; yes, I knew the plentiful plants were there, but hadn’t noticed that they had not only come to fruition, but were ripe for the picking.)
With Lexie soundly asleep, snugly papoosed in her swing, the children and I scoured the yard and were rewarded with about a gallon of tiny, almost unbearably sweet berries. Returning indoors, we gave the fruit (and ourselves) a thorough wash-up, then smooshed some with our hands (oh, c’mon, you know it’s fun to play with your food sometimes) and blended them with yogurt, droplets of vanilla and ice until we had yummy smoothies as a special, mega-cool reward for our labors. The rest we combined with a splash of lemon juice and snippets of mint, packed the mixture into ice cube trays and put them into the freezer to be used the next time the children came for a visit. And come they did, the very next week and every Saturday since, along with many, many more of the people in my neighborhood.
We now call ourselves the Kids Krafts Klub (please don’t refer to us as the KKK!). Young, or young-at-heart, child, teenager, man or woman, everyone, anyone, is welcome to participate. A few rules do apply and each member, as well as his or her adult/child counterpart, is asked to sign a “contract” (dreadfully formal in my otherwise lackadaisical mindset, but a necessary evil in our unfortunately litigious society and mandatory per my insurance company) agreeing that:
* It’s okay to get mad, but never okay to hit, bite, cuss or be mean;
* We think with our heads AND our hearts before we speak;
* We speak quietly, respectfully and never yell or tattletale;
* We always tell the truth;
* We always say “please” and “thank you”;
* It’s totally okay to make mistakes;
* It’s way cool to get and give hugs:
* Families always come first;
* We always PRRR - Pre-cycle, Reuse, Reduce & Recycle and;
* When in doubt, ask Nana Jan.
Well, here it is November, and we’re very busy with projects focusing on autumn and Thanksgiving. After that, we Klubsters plan to learn more about how seasonal holidays are celebrated around the globe (We’re looking for some information about how folks living in hot climates celebrate Christmas at the same time our seasonal weather turns cold and wintery; can you please help us?) and turn some trash into treasures we can give to our friends, families and neighbors. Next Saturday we’re going to make bird feeders to hang on each and every tree growing around the block, and as soon as we figure out how to take really good photographs, we’ll be adding pictures to our weekly updates. Most of all, we’d love to hear from you and hope you’ll tell us what you do in your communities; maybe you can suggest some projects we can try to make our Klub even better? Please drop in each week to find out what’s happening and discover how very welcome you are in Nana’s Neighborhood.
Y’all come back now, y’ hear!
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16 comments
add your comment »Love it! Here in Australia my family have always had xmas lunch and mostly had cold meats and salads. Home-made ice-cream a must!
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Just be a little patient, dear Annie, and you'll get to celebrate Halloween with us - not one week late, but rather 51 weeks EARLY!!
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i'm sooo looking forward to more episodes in this wonderful series. :::::smile:::::
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Janet, you are the BEST...ever!
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testing again. :)
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i grew up with advent calendars as a child. this year i might go to the marketplace [formerly cost plus] and get another one.
keep up the good work!
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ahh janet -- have been looking for this and just found it! i LOVE nana's neighborhood. you are such a GREAT neighborhood granny.
keep up the good work!!! :)
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I love the idea and in some ways I do this here in Tahiti too. Whenever my children's friends come over we try to make something with recycled bits and pieces. It's especially important in societies where consumerism is so prevalent, and where the coastline gets littred with rubbish very quickly.
Anyway here's a fun christmas craft ideas:
Toilet roll advent calender (I did find this idea on internet somewhere so it's not mine originally). Take 28 empty toilet rolls and stack them in the shape of a christmas tree. Glue together (hot glue or craft glue work well - the latter takes longer to dry). Put a backing sheet (decorated with anything christmassy, even empty chocolate wrappers or old christmas cards) on one side. Fill with sweets, poems or other treats. Make a front cover with 25 little 'doors' cut into it and numbered 1-25. These should align with 25 of the toilet roll holders containing treats so when they are opened each day a treat will be visible/able to be taken out.
Have fun and thanks again for your inspiration.
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Oops...Nana was in the midst of answering the phone, juggling her glasses, the Sunday funnies, an over-filled cup of prune juice, two kittens, and one shrieking toddler in search of her lambie when she inadvertently pressed the "Enter" button on her Google machine twice. Sorry for the redundancy, but double the appreciation, dear Catherine!
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Way to go, Catherine!! You just gave us an AWESOME idea for the Klub's after- Thanksgiving project!!! Make sure to visit Nana's Neighborhood on November 29th when you'll be our "cross-country-but-here-in-spirit, extra special" guest of honor!!
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