B a r b a r a s h e r I l L u s t r a t I o n s b y r a L p h

T
Y P E S O F
A
T T E N T I O N
E
N C O U R A G E D
Open and focused
M
A T E R I A L S
Mismatched teacups and saucers
D
I R E C T I O N S
Keep an eye out at garage sales or go to secondhand stores and Asian market-
places and look for single cups with lovely little designs on them. Your aim is to
gather a small collection of inexpensive cups, each one with interesting details.
Better yet, grandma and grandchild can go on a grand shopping tour
specifically to find the perfect teacups. They can explore different second-
hand shops and stores together so they both can find the exact ones that
catch their eye. Then they can not only have conversations about the cup’s
details but also reminisce about their day.
Once you’ve found the cups, set up a tea party table. Don’t forget to
invite stuffed friends and favorite dolls. This not only enlarges the guest list
but also gives you an excuse to have a larger variety of cups and saucers.
Introduce conversations like the following at your next little tête-à-tête:
“Look at these little violet flowers on my cup; they’re so pretty. I
love that teensy dot of yellow in the middle.”
“Mine has teeny roses on it like the kind Mommy grows.”
“What does Teddy have on his?”
“He’s got a baby octopus on his!”
“He does! I wonder what it would be like to have eight legs.
“Hmmm. How would you know which ones to cross?” (Many little
ones, I’ve noticed, have no problem thinking that they should
know the answers to everything and are quite willing to tell you.)
“Do you remember that store where we got this one? That
saleslady was so funny!”
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Attention Games
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“Remember when we were eating lunch and we saw that little dog
outside the window?”