WFMW...Interviewing Grandparents

I guess this can be considered a Works For Me Wednesday post! (And head over to Rock in my Dryer for many more Wednesday tips!)

Since I'm fresh off of a weekend visit with mom who is also known affectionately by my children as "Nammy", I wanted to share a home school project that we did...and that can be done by any family, whether you home school or not.

In fact, this idea started as something I wanted to do with our children and the residents of the retirement we visit monthly. I thought it would be fun to have each child in our home school group "interview" a resident about their early memories. A learning experience for the children, and probably something that the older people would enjoy, as well.

We hope to do this next month...but in the meantime, I told my second grader that she should consider interviewing her own Nammy. So, she picked five questions and sat with a paper and pencil, to record her answers.

"What was your favorite toy when you were my age?"
Nammy would think, then list off a few of her very favorites...spawning more memories and stories along the way.

"Did you have any pets?"
Nammy answered this one with a surprise...not a dog or a cat, as granddaughter expected- but a rat! A wild rat that lived in thier attic and came when you whistled!

When my daughter was through with her interview, she wrote a paper based on her answers. She wanted to make it partly fiction since she likes to write this way, so she took the facts and embellished on them. The result was wonderful!

Here is an excerpt: (complete with misspelled words!)
"Right now Ruthy was getting redy too go too the movies with her mom. She was going too see Hide! (Heidi), a Shirlie Temple movie. Her mom payed five cence and they watched the movie together. When it was over, they went home together and then it was time for her faverite job...helping her mom wash the dishes!"

and then later...
"It was time for heer favrite radeo show and she was right buy the radeo and it was alredy on! When the show was over, Ruthy almost forgot abot her pet rat. Everyone looked very hard. They cold't find Snowball the rat anwhere for five days." - based on her grandma's true tale!

So, whether you home school or not, what is important, I think, is encouraging your children to ask questions of their grandparents and great-grandparents. They hold a wealth of information....of history lived first-hand, and hopefully, some extra wisdom.

I remember when I was growing up, I would listen intently as my grandmother told me stories of her growing up years...and I'm so glad I did! Once they are gone from your lives, you cannot get those moments back to learn and glean from their past.

Not to mention that is just plain sweet to sit, cuddled up next to a grandparent, and hear all those stories from his or her own lips... it not only bonds the generations but gives us all a sense of continuity.
And a sense of old-fashioned comfort in this fast-paced life in which we all live.