My two oldest grandsons, Bubby and Mac, love Scooby Doo and the idea of solving mysteries. So when I visited them in January, I brought along an old magnifying glass we had lying around.

The boys got a kick out of taking a closer look at bugs and rocks—as they previously had with a toy magnifying glass I once brought—and pretending they were on the path to discovering clues that might solve a case of an imaginary Scooby Doo and the gang sort.

When I packed my grandma bag for this current visit, I figured I'd throw in the magnifying glass so they could once again enjoy a closer look at this or that.

As I glanced out the window yesterday, I was happy to see Bubby and Mac using the magnifying glass to check out bugs and such near their backyard batting practice home plate. Their inquisitiveness made me smile.

magnifying glass and boys

Until I saw smoke rising from the ground!

magnifying glass burns

It's been quite some time since I've moved so quickly—or brought fun and fascination to an end so fast.

The boys weren't burning live bugs, just seeds and twigs, so I need not worry they have sadistic tendencies. Still, I do worry how scarred home plate (and possibly Bubby and Mac) might have been if I hadn't glanced out the window at the moment I did.

Grandma's magnifying glass lesson: Boys will be boys and do what boys often do far younger than this grandma—mother to only girls—thought they might.

Grandma's bonus magnifying glass lesson: Leave the magnifying glass at home next time.

Today's question:

Have you had a similar magnifying glass lesson?