Generosity..."I Do and I Understand"

"I hear and I forget.

 I see and I remember.

 I do and I understand."

        Auggie and I like to do city stuff: take public transportation, make bank transactions inside the bank, plant spring bulbs in areas where our homeless population hangs out, and so on.Today at school I noticed the kids were learning how to count pennies, nickels, and dimes. Recycling seemed like a good after-school activity because it could result in practicing the counting of coins. So this is what we did.

·      *First we searched the apartment’s recycling area and we lucked out! We found two bags full of clean cans.

·     * Next we went to the machines at the back of  Whole Foods and threw the cans one at a time into the shoot. We had a few bottles too and Auggie loved the sound of the glass smashing!

·      *Next we took the ticket to the cashier. Auggie wanted to know what to say to the man, and he learned, “I’d like to trade this in for cash, please.” I asked her to pay him in coins. Luckily no one was behind us so she helped Auggie count the money. We made $3.15!

·    *  I asked Auggie if he’d like to buy something for Walter, the homeless guy who lives in the area and who we saw shuffling by with his cart as we were tossing bottles into the machine. Auggie is one of the most generous kids I know, so he loved the idea! We picked a nice big orange and weighted it. At just under a pound, it cost $1.63. That meant we had enough to buy Walter a hot chocolate, so we did. We were a little short on cash but the guy behind the counter loved our project, so he let us have it for a discount.

·     * Finally we tracked Walter down. I introduced Auggie and they shook hands and he was pleased with our gift. Auggie was pleased too, and so was I.

So that’s what Granny’s do when moms are off racing from here to there with their ta do lists and deadines. Being a Granny is SO MUCH FUN!

*****

Thus a Child Learns

Thus a child learns;

by wiggling skills through his fingers and toes into himself;

by soaking up habits and attitudes of those around him;

by pushing and pulling his own world.

Thus a child learns;

more by trial than error

more through pleasure than pain,

more through experience than suggestion,

more through suggestion than direction.

Thus a child learns;

through affection,

through love,

through patience,

through understanding,

through belonging,

through doing,

through being.

Day by day

the child comes to know a little bit of what you know;

to think that a little bit of what you think;

to understand your understanding.

That which you dream and believe and are

in truth, becomes the child.

As you perceive dully or clearly

as you think fuzzily or sharply;

as you believe foolishly or wisely;

as you dream drably or goldenly;

as you bear false witness or tell the truth--

thus a child learns.

(Frederick J. Moffitt)