Handprint poems, photos, and crafts are very popular gifts to give to grandparents. Grandchildren’s handprints can be the center of fun grandparent and grandchildren fun activities, too.

Last week, Poppy and I took Emily and Kaitlin to the beach for some sun and fun before we all had to go back to school this week (except for Poppy).

This is a digital photo of Emily’s (2 1/2) handprint. Next time I’m going to take a better picture. And, of course, I’ll take one of Kaitlin’s too, one of their hands together, one of Poppy’s and my hands, and one of all our hands in the sand as keepsakes of our fun in the sun at the Jersey shore. I’ll frame each of the 5 photos in a square frame and display them along the stairway hall.

If you have time to get to the beach or have a sandbox, gather the grandchildren and a digital camera and snap away! It will be fun for your grandchildren to compare sizes and differences of the hands in the sand and digital photos.  Let your grandchildren take pictures, too and display them along with your photos.

For more fun, take different objects and press them into the sand, then vary the distance and lighting for added effects. It is also a good lesson in cause and effect besides making comparison.

Enjoy your time together while you can…it goes so fast!  Whenever you are with your grandchildren, it is always a Grandparent and Grandchildren Day…a special day.

If you haven’t visited the Legacy Project’s website, you should. There are intergenerational activities for grandparents and grandchildren to do together. You will also find a Grandparents Day activity kit with ideas and tips to bring grandparents and grandchildren closer together including parenting tips to help build stronger relationships. Read about and write your own Life’s Statement and share it with your grandchildren. You’ll be glad you found the Legacy Project’s website.

OVERVIEW

The Legacy Project explores who we are, where we’ve come from, and where we’re going – as individuals and as communities. It is a “big picture,” multigenerational education initiative that builds on and enhances the education children receive in school, and provides avenues for lifelong learning for all ages.

The Legacy Project offers opportunities for children and adults to think, to learn, to dream, and to make a difference in their own life and our world.

To borrow a common phrase, the Legacy Project not only looks at the trees, but also the forest. We bring together diverse ideas to explore current issues like the importance of building intergenerational connections and the ideas passed from one generation to the next; who children are now and the dreams for who they will become; the lifelong learning potential of adults; our connection to and impact on the environment; the kinds of communities we want to create; and the choices we make every day that have both short-term and long-term consequences on personal and social levels.

Read more…

• Legacy Project Overview
• For Grandparents
• Grandparents Day Activity Kit

National Grandparents Day is celebrated every year on the Sunday following Labor Day. Grandparents Day is meant to be a family day bringing the generations together enabling the younger ones to appreciate their grandparents and their accomplishments. Some families enjoy small, private gatherings while others hold family reunions and celebrate their heritage.

During the preparations for Grandparents Day and during the day itself, be sure to record all with your digital camera capturing everyone interacting. Remember, we all are grandchildren so this is a great day for everyone to get involved!

Then when it’s all over, create a Grandparents Day Memory Photo Book using the free software at Picaboo.

For Grandparents Day, include children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren in planning activities such as storytelling, board games, scavenger hunts, and crafts. Grandparents Day also presents a great opportunity to share old family recipes, stories, songs, dances and other talents, teaching the young to carry them on to future generations. Be sure to record each activity with high quality digital photos for your Picaboo Memory Book.

Picabooprovides you with the free online software to create your family’s personalized Grandparents Day photo memory book using digital photos taken during your Grandparents Day celebration. You decide on the amount of pictures, page layouts, color scheme, backgrounds, etc. When you’re happy with the results, order your new Grandparents Day digital photo album and Picaboo does the rest. Picaboo will mail your digital photo memory books to you.

Grandparents and other family members will certainly enjoy their Picaboo Grandparents Day Photo Memory Album keepsake for a long time into the future.

The following handprint gifts can be easily made by grandchildren as gifts for Grandfather, Grandad, Grandpa, Poppy or any special person to give on Father’s Day. Add one of the 10 Handprint Poems or other special poems for grandfathers found in Nana’s Corner Poem Directory to complete the gift.

Grandchild’s Salt Dough Hand Print

What You Need:

• 1/2 cup salt
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup water
• wax paper
• large bowl
• rolling pin

Directions:

1. Mix 1/2 cup salt, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, and 1/4 cup water in a large bowl.
2. When mixed, add 1 cup white flour and knead well.
3. Form dough into a softball-sized shape and roll out with a rolling pin.
4. Press your child’s hand into the clay (with fingers spread).
5. Bake at 250 degrees F. for several hours.
6. After it’s cooled, your grandchild can paint her handprint using acrylic paint.
7. Label the handprint with your grandchild’s name, age, year the handprint was created, etc.

You can also etch into the clay before baking something like “Hands down best Granddad”, “Handy Granddad”, etc.

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The following 10 Handprint Poems can be used in creating gifts from grandchildren to their grandparents for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparents Day, birthdays, anniversaries, or any day grandchildren want to make their grandparents feel special. Grandchildren can add one of the poems and their handprints, with the help of an adult if needed, onto unique gifts, such as sweat shirts, T-shirts, tote bags, aprons, pillow cases, notecards, ceramic plates, coffee mugs, framed art work, etc. with colored permanent markers, acrylic paints, or fabric paints depending on the object used. Everything you need is available at your local craft store.

Note: Painting a flower pot (see Bouquet in a Pot for terracotta pot painting instructions)

Here is an idea for art work from a young grandchild: On card stock, paint a flower pot and stem with leaves, then lay the grandchild’s hand in paint (wiping off excess paint) and place it carefully on the paper at the top of the stem. The hand will be the flower. Add a handprint poem such as poem #9, date it, laminate it, frame it with decorative paper, and attach it to magnetic strips for hanging on the grandparents’ refrigerator. It will last for many years to come!

Handprint Poem #1

I miss you when we’re not together
I’m growing up so fast
See how big I’ve gotten
Since you saw me last?
As I grow, I’ll change a lot,
The years will fly right by.
You’ll wonder how I grew so quick
When and where and why?
So look upon this handprint (these handprints)
That’s hanging on your wall.
And memories will come back of me,
When I was very small.

~Author Unknown~ (more…)