In this article, the author describes his granddaughter Elly (Elysia), who is just over a year old. While he deeply enjoys her company as a granddaughter--after all, her favorite activity is to pull his graying beard--as an instructor of child psychology, both for early childhood and psychology students, the author is fascinated with observing what he teaches in reality. Two areas have caused the most thought for him: (1) she continually finds everyday objects far better playthings than expensive toys; and (2) she is clearly preprogrammed to develop and learn. The author discusses his observation which drives to the heart of the nature versus nurture debate about learning and development: do children learn and develop due to external reinforcement (rewards and punishments from those closest to them--i.e., their parents and caregivers), or do they learn and develop because "it is in their genes"?