The Simple Stuff: It’s all in a Grandma’s Day

I’m fortunate to see my grandkids at least once a week. Sometimes we do big projects and sometimes we do little things. Often, I try to introduce a learning element. It’s all in a grandma’s day.

Building Small Motor Skills

Little N, in kindergarten, needs to strengthen the small muscles in his hand so he can be a more proficient writer. He has wipe-off workbooks that we can use to practice the alphabet. But that seems too much like homework to me.

Tracing for Hand Strength

So, we are tracing pictures! Place tracing paper over a simple book illustration, give the child a pencil or pen, and have them trace an image of their choice. You may need to hold the paper in place while they work.

We used Hop on Pop because the artwork is simple and clear. We’ll do a tracing every time I see Little N.

I feel there should be some end goal for this project, so I’m trimming the tracings and turning them into greeting cards that Little N can give to his family for birthdays or other occasions. To make the cards, glue the tracing on folded cardstock using a glue stick. Little N may want to color his tracings, which will give him more hand-strength practice.

You could also turn skinnier images into bookmarks, gluing the traced illustrations onto narrow strips of cardstock.

A Game of Connect the Dots

We are also playing connect the dots. Remember that one? You fill a page with dots in rows. Each person takes a turn connecting two dots with a horizontal or vertical line. The person who adds the fourth line to close a box wins the box. The one who ends up with the most boxes wins.

Little N doesn’t quite get the concept, so I’m helping him to win. Soon, he’ll develop a better understanding of how the game is played and create his own strategies for winning.

Having Supplies on Hand

If you have nothing planned for the grandkids when they come to visit, your grandma’s day could go smoother if there are craft supplies on hand.

Paper Crafting

Recently, when the kids were bored, Miss T asked to use my paper punches, glitter glue, and glitter cardstock. Left alone, she turned out some fabulous cards. She’s giving them out at Easter.

Just having stuff for the kids to work with can make all the difference in how well they entertain themselves.

Embroidery Materials

Miss T wanted to embroider but she couldn’t remember how. I had taught her via FaceTime, as one of our remote Camp Grandma craft activities two years ago.

I keep embroidery materials in the craft room so I ironed on a pattern for her onto a dishtowel. I demonstrated the backstitch and we embroidered together companionably until she embroidered her skirt to the dish towel.

Video Entertainment

It’s very rare when I allow the kids to just sit and watch a video on my iPad. However, Miss T always wants to be entertained while she’s doing a project, which is okay, as long as she’s focused on her work and the video is in the background.

I like the BBC’s CBeebies bedtime stories, read by celebrity actors and musicians. Although they feature picture books for younger children, the stories are well-read by the narrators and the selections represent quality children’s literature. I’d rather this kind of entertainment than some of the shoddy made-for-kids story videos that are so readily available.

If you listen to just one of the bedtime stories, make it Jazz Dog by Marie Voigt, read by Robbie Williams. The production is an utter delight, complete with music, and the sweet story is about togetherness and inclusion.

Easter Prep: Part of Grandma’s Day

Recently, we made a few cascarones, Mexican confetti eggs, which is an easy project. To prepare in advance, when you’re cooking with eggs, crack them carefully along the top of the egg so most of the eggshell remains intact. Rinse out the shells, dry, and save in an egg carton until the kids need something to do.

Instead of decorating with tempera paints as we have in the past, we used colored markers for convenience. Then, the kids got creative, adding glitter glue.

We make our own confetti with colored hole punches and by cutting up snippets of cardstock and tissue paper scraps.

Miss T learned to make them originally as another remote Camp Grandma craft activity that we did over FaceTime two years ago. These cascarones aren’t just good for Easter. Make them any time the kids could use confetti to shower upon each other for some simple fun.

In addition to Easter baskets and an Easter egg hunt, I’m planning to make the chocolate Easter Egg Nests with the grandchildren to set at each place for Easter brunch.

Playing Games

The grandkids have a huge collection of educational games at home. In fact, my son goes to great lengths to research games to find the best ones.

We just have a few at our house: an older version of Guess Who, Bingo, and Battleship, but it’s another option for entertaining the kids when you don’t have anything else planned for the day.

I bought these games during the height of the pandemic, having selected them as games we could play over FaceTime. We simply divided the parts between our two houses. If your grandkids are too far away to visit, you might try distance game playing, too.

A Word about Battleship

Some people may not like to introduce a war game, but it’s a great way to teach kids strategy and to understand how to pinpoint something by its coordinates. Also, the kids now understand the terms, “vertical” and “horizontal.” I use the terms to describe which way I’m guessing their ships are positioned.

Although meant for seven years and above, Little N, at five, can play it masterfully, too. I play a “half-court” game on my end, to give him more chances to win.

Count the Cars Guessing Game

One game we play requires no equipment at all. It’s a good game when it’s close to pickup time and kids are waiting around. We just sit at the big picture window and count the cars going by. We guess how many cars will pass (going one way only) until mommy or daddy arrives. The one whose guess comes closest to the actual number wins.

We are still playing with the story cards I made recently. This game is designed to enhance Miss T’s creative writing skills. We’ve gone six rounds; 14 to go before we celebrate with our ice cream party.

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