When my two granddaughters were 8 and 6, I volunteered to take over some childcare for my daughter during summer vacations. I figured the two or three days a week would be filled with playing in the house, swimming, painting, building with Tinker Toys, and playing Slap Jack and Old Maid. As a last resort there was the ever-available DVD collection at the local library.

But I got a little bored. Though I'm all for spontaneous play, I thought we could spend some of our summer focusing on a single topic. Because I was a history major and have a keen interest in maps, geography, and travel, I suggested to the girls that we choose a country to explore, based on what we could find in books, what was available in the community, and, most important, what kids their age could do themselves and would enjoy.

So, for the past four summers, Natalie, Emily, and I have selected a country to get to know.

The first year, I think we were eating at the local Indian restaurant when we decided that India would be our country for the summer. And indeed, our focus was mostly on food. We found a book on Indian cooking and the girls made several drinks perfect for Kansas summers: a sweet lassi yogurt drink, a cold chai milk drink, and cardamom lemon juice. We made several other foods and breads, including our favorite, the quick-cooking poori, a puffy bread deep-fried in hot oil. Like all things fried, it's so good that we still make it from time to time. Now that the girls are older, we should revisit our Indian cooking and be more attentive.

We also looked at the globe and maps and watched an Indian movie, which, alas, only held their interest for a while. We had the most fun trying to make and wear saris. If you do a Web search for "sari," you'll find lots of information about length of fabric and draping technique. So the girls picked out fabric, but unfortunately, winding fabric around a child accustomed to jeans and a T-shirt, and then keeping the sari on, is a trick we never mastered. I think the next time I'm in New York City's Jackson Heights, I'll go into a sari store and ask if children really wear them—and if so, how they manage!

The next summer, our country was Japan. The first step in studying Japan was to go to the public library and find books about the country and craft projects to do. Right away it became obvious that a kimono was a necessary part of our course.

We found fabulous Asian-looking cotton prints and they picked out two kinds—one for the body of the kimono and one for the obi. I started to sew and learned a lot about the very un-Western construction style of kimono sleeves. When the kimonos were finished, the girls' father made them each a pair of gitas, wooden Japanese shoes raised on wedges of wood, with a sandal thong on the top. They looked quite splendid.

We also visited a Japanese restaurant that had a hole in the floor so Westerners with stiff knees could sit at the low tables. We read some Japanese folk tales and tried to learn a few words of Japanese. And we visited the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art to explore its Japanese art collections. Now that the girls are older, this country, too, could be revisited by listening to Japanese language tapes and music, talking to Japanese students, watching Japanese movies, and cooking more Japanese foods.

Then it was on to France. By now, swimming day camps, summer youth theater, and other activities began to make those two and a half days of Grandma Summer School less predictable. Still, we found time to learn a bit about La Belle France.

The first thing we did was visit Au Marche, a Lawrence store that sells many things French. The girls tell me today that that's a strong memory for them: looking at old maps of Paris, smelling the French soaps and French cheeses, and buying French lady fingers (which turned out to be a disappointment, as they were dry and hard, not nearly as exciting as the name implies).

We also got books from the library and some language tapes. Every time we drove, we put the tapes on and learned a few words in French. We also cooked a few dishes—un gateau chocolat and crepes—and we watched the movie "Chocolat," which turned out to be a compelling story full of details about rural French life. Finally, a visit to the Axois restaurant in Kansas City capped our summer adventure as we ate croissants, beurre, et patisseries.

The next summer we planned to study Italy, but after a quick tour of the library's collection we were drawn to books on ancient Rome. We made flash cards of the Roman numbering system, Arabic numerals on one side and Roman on the other. Then I would ask them to make up a number and translate it into Roman numerals. There are lots of excellent books for kids about ancient Rome, and some of the best had maps of Rome and other ancient cities, brief summaries of the political structure, descriptions of the homes and villas, and, of course, the architecture, sculpture, frescoes, and mosaics.

From foam core we made a model of the Pont du Gard with its tiers of arches; this took far longer than the summer months to complete. We made two togas and one female gown, derived from a book of theater costumes. We watched the first few episodes of "I, Claudius," but when Livia got too bloodthirsty and killed Augustus, it was too much for us.

The crowning moment of this summer school was the Roman feast that we prepared and served to ourselves and the girls' parents. Emily found a book on Roman cooking in the adult section of the library and Natalie typed a menu in Latin on the computer, printing one for each guest. The cookbook described the common ingredients available and items that are common to us now but not available then. For instance, Romans used no sugar, only honey. It was challenging to be restricted to the authentic ingredients! Lounging on the floor at low tables with bed pillows for support, with food, wine, and candlelight, we all had lots of fun.

Who knows what we will study next! Summer is coming, and somehow those days seem to get fewer and fewer, so we will try to choose something intriguing and colorful.

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