Studio 5 contributor Sherrill Vanderstek has some ways you can make it happen.
Here are some great ideas of fun activities you can do at Grandma’s house. The kids will love them!
Explanations of Activities with Grandchildren
• Play Dough. Roll out the play dough with a rolling pin and use all of Grandma’s cookie cutters to make some fun shapes. (Pretend making cookies.)
• Hide the Thimble. Use a thimble of something bigger and more colorful for younger grandchildren. Hide it in a room and have the grandchildren find it. Take turns hiding it.
• Pipe Cleaners. Give grandchildren a pile of pipe cleaners (different sizes and colors) and let them create something by bending and connecting them.
• Finger painting with Pudding. Make instant pudding and lay out finger paint paper. (shiny paper that is heavier than regular art or computer paper) Use aprons or old t-shirts because this can be messy. Put pudding in a paper bowl and then use fingers to create painting. Cleanup is fun because it is a matter of licking fingers and eating the leftover pudding!
• Bee-Party for Grandchildren. Make beehives out of yellow buckets turned upside down. Decorate with bee stickers. Food is all related to bees and honey. (Little Debbie Honey buns, honey on toast, Honey Nut Cheerios) Game – Make a bee cut-out and hide it in a room. Make a buzzing sound when it is found. Show the Bee Movie.
• Princess Party for Granddaughters. Find cute princess dress-up items at dollar stores (crowns, sashes, jewelry, wands, hair items, gloves, etc.) Let them dress up and read them a princess story. Make princess foods such as Arial’s “water” melon, Belle’s biscuits, Cinderella’s chiffon cake, Jasmine’s juice, Snow White’s dwarf-size pizza (use Bagel Bites). Watch a favorite princess movie. Have a Sleeping Beauty sleepover.
• Camouflage Party for Grandsons. Find camouflage items at dollar stores or party stores (plastic helmets, dog tags, pencils, prizes). Have a small obstacle course making things to climb, jump over, crawl through boxes, hula hoops, broomsticks, ropes, etc. Play the camouflage game. Place about 20 objects through the room that are not in their regular location (ex: an orange on the TV, a dishtowel on the back of a chair, a book under the chair, etc. Find all of the things that are out of place. Food can be dehydrated soups, drinks, crackers, etc. Put in a little pack made from a plastic bowl with a spoon and cup. Watch “Kung-fu Panda” if older boys, watch the animated “Little Soldiers.”
• Holiday Activity – Halloween Party. Send out invitations for grandchildren to wear costumes. (Grandma wears costume also. Take pictures and make Halloween cardboard frames for the pictures. Play games such as Pin the Wart on the Witch. Practice trick or treating. Food can be mashed potato ghosts, bat-shaped meatloaf or cheese toast, gummy worms in Jell-O, etc.
• Holiday Activity – Valentine Party. Decorate cookies or cupcakes. Do crafts according to ages – bookmarks, valentine’s pouches, valentine placemats, or candy necklaces. Make Valentine cards for parents. Make lunch or dinner using heart shapes for cheese toast, mini meatloaves, jigglers, etc.
• Holiday Activity – Easter Egg Hunt and Party. Play games such as drop bunny tails in a small Easter basket (use 10 cotton balls). Fill large egg with jelly beans and guess how many are in the egg. Decorate egg-shaped cookies. Make individual pizza in egg shapes (have crusts already made and slightly precooked). Make egg-shaped jigglers. Have an Easter egg hunt. Make sure the eggs are hidden before the grandchildren arrive.
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