Friday, April 13, 2012

Trails & treasure

 I love the way the autumn light stretches its long arms into my apartment. In the morning the sun reaches and touches forgotten places, bringing warmth.
Trails of light. Maybe that's what gave me the idea. Then there was the brightly flowering buttercup tree that I found after pine-coning.
I was wondering how to introduce the little one to her first treasure hunt. Every year at Easter I used to do one for my other granddaughter, until she grew too old. Now, at 3 1/2, I thought Mira might be ready to begin. She was away at Easter, but now that she was back, it was time to start.
'Find something yellow under a cushion': that was the first clue. Cushions flew like sea spray as she tried every one, and then under the very last cushion: a yellow flower.
'Now find more of them, and follow the trail.' Trail is a new word, but it was quickly learned. She ran from one flower to the other, picking them up, dropping them, and picking them up again.
 The trail actually lead out on to the balcony, through the living room, down the hall and into my bedroom wardrobe - but I brought the yellow parcel out again to photograph it for you. Clue: 'the treasure is the same colour as the flowers.' Squeals of delight, and eager unwrapping.
And here it is - the Easter gift. We don't do sugary stuff for our little ones, so I found a book.
It was a hit. We sat down to read. Little Miss Sunshine visits the King of Misery, where she is arrested for breaking the rules: no smiling, no laughter, no chuckles and no giggles. But she takes a marker pen and rewrites the rules. With a little practice, the King of Misery learns new habits and his Kingdom becomes the Kingdom of Laughter.
We certainly had plenty of chuckles, giggles, smiles and laughs as we sat down and read together. And we didn't get arrested! The Easter treasure hunt tradition is now launched. Each year the clues will get harder, until they end up as rhyming couplets. Years of fun lie ahead.

10 comments:

Lynne Holdem said...

Fabulous grandma juliet

Lynley said...

What wonderful fun Juliet. And clever work to make it fit a wee 3 year old.

We have Mr and Miss books here from my children's younger days. They have timeless messages to share and enjoy.

Marja said...

Oh what a delightful time you had.
Your grand daughter is so lucky to have you. I can see her smiling after finding her wonderful treasure

Juliet said...

Lynne thanks for visiting. It's a joy, being a grandmother.
Lynley, thank you. They are a delightful set of books.
Marja, she was smiling from ear to ear. (me too)

Hotly Spiced said...

What a great idea. She must have had so much fun on that treasure hunt. My mother gave my Alfie a book for Easter too. She is not a believer in feeding children junk food! xx

Penny said...

I love your idea for a treasure hunt, Juliet, and will store it away in my memory for about a year (and hope I can remember, ha). I can almost hear Mira's squeals of delight for this book, which I will be on the lookout for.
What joy!

Juliet said...

Hi Charlie and Penny, thanks for joining in the fun. Penny, all these delights are in store for you and Kezzie.

Juliet said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Juliet - great idea for little Mira - she must be thrilled .. grandma is proving good!!

I love the way the light changes through the seasons .. the best times sun wise for me are also Spring and Autumn .. now it's almost too high - but at least it's around for longer and will get warm again soon.

Cheers Hilary

Juliet said...

Hi Hilary, yes Mira did enjoy it. When you are in spring and we are in autumn it feels like a kind of balance - for a while. Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment.