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Activities 5-7: Let the Real Fun Begin
by Lambeth Hochwald
Your little ones are entering, or reaching beyond, kindergarten. Now they're ready to actively participate in some big-time activities ... with you. We're talking making intricate crafts, dropping seeds into the soil, and sewing up a cape or a purse. Engage them in one of our top three activities listed below when they’re visiting and you just may find yourself the talk of their elementary-school cafeteria.
How green is your grandchild’s thumb?
Whether you’re a country or an urban grandparent, gardening with your grandchild is a great way to spend time together and forge a closer relationship. It's license to get head-to-toe dirty, and 5- to 7-year-olds will enjoy digging their hands into the soil and doing just that.
Get started by deciding with your grandchild what you’re going to plant and where -- Will you grow cucumbers or red peppers...or both? Will it be a garden patch or a container garden? You could also slide in a light lecture -- nothing heavy -- on how essential sunlight, insects, and water are to producing food that's colorful, delicious, and healthy.
Explain the rewards of the harvesting process. Mention how cool it will be to munch on salads made with their homegrown tomatoes or how fun it will be to season the pasta sauce with pinches of fresh basil from the family garden. And, beware: Ever-curious kids love touching things...right before they stick their fingers into their mouths. So, pesticide-free plants and seeds are best when gardening alongside your grandkids.
Keep them guessing
You've offered your granddaughter heaping scoops of ice cream every time she arrives at your house for as long as you both can recall. She's on to that routine, so why not jazz it up a bit, and add an aspect of mystery to ice cream treats? The more suspense you build, the more fun you’ll both have.
Start an ice-cream-of-the month club. First, send her a mysterious clue in the mail about your new flavor you've chosen. The hint could read something such as "the new secret flavor smells like this" or "looks like that", suggests Teri Harrison, author of The Grandparents Little Idea Book (Sta-Kris, 1996) and owner of The Grandparent Gift Company. Pick the most peculiar-sounding ice cream flavors -- pistachio, chunky monkey, fudge ripple -- so that you can incorporate word games into the fun and do a little long-distance vocabulary building.
Set them stitching
Now, just as their attention spans start to lengthen, is the perfect time to embark on a sewing project that your young granddaughter or grandson may be into.
Offer to stitch up an outfit for your granddaughter’s doll or suggest that the two of you work on a fabric purse together. Take her on an adventure to the craft store and let her select from the brilliant colors, varying textures and patterns. Pick out stylish buttons and trim and get stitching.
And, your grandson will flip for a cape fashioned after that of his favorite superhero, or a pirate's hat and eye patch just like Captain Jack Sparrow's. Whatever you make, the point is that you’re doing it together. Just be sure to keep a close eye on those tiny fingers as they maneuver under that automatic needle threader.
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