Next week the grandkids will be out of school until after New Year’s. Oh, my! What is a grandparent to do? Kids like to be busy – just as long as it doesn’t have anything to do with school. Even with new presents not yet broken in, kids can become bored if they don’t get a chance to get out and about. (No time to rest up next week!) 

Having activities planned during a school break can help make the time together much more enjoyable. To start, some pre-planning activities can be fun too:

• Ask the children to make a list of what they would like to do during their week off. (You can add your ideas, too, like quiet time here and there?) Together discuss the choices and come up with a plan. Make sure each child, if there is more than one, has input into what is decided. They will feel better about participating in something the other child chose.
• Use MS Word or Publisher to create an activities calendar for the week. Clip art or pictures can be added. Find a symbol for the activity and place it in that day’s box.
• Use the internet to research your destination or to find locations and directions.

Having trouble thinking of activities to do? Here are some suggestions:

• Ceramics – find a shop that allows you to paint the item and they fire it for you
• Tea Party – visit a tea room or hold one at home
• Go to Indoor Play Gyms – invite other families to meet you there; go for pizza afterwards
• Bowling – call ahead to see if they have bumpers for young children so they won’t get gutter balls
• Craft Day – create a puppet show: write the play, build a puppet theater from a box; design puppets – give a show
• Indoor ice skating – young ones can use walkers provided by the rink
• Learn about the weather, check the weather against the Farmer’s Almanac’s predictions, make a weather chart out of felt
• Learn about stars or constellations, then visit a planetarium
• Camp-In – build tents in living room with sheets, cook favorite “camp” foods, play cards and other games, tell stories, have a scavenger hunt, learn to tie knots, learn about constellations, look at the stars at night
• Check with your local library to see if they have activities for children during the week
• Take pictures of favorite things, people, and places – create a picture book
• Start a Grandma (or Grandpa) and Me book with pictures and memories
• Find and visit a Children’s discovery museum

In the comment section, tell us about your favorite activities with your grandchildren.