Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Summer Fun with your Grandkids

Summer offers lots of opportunities for us to connect with our grandchildren. Here are ten ideas for summer fun:

*Visit a zoo, a children's museum, or some other place where the educational component is hidden in the fun.
*Pack a picnic and head to the beach, the park, or the backyard.
*Go to a U-Pick Berries place together, then clean the berries and serve them with ice cream on the porch. For extra fun, make the ice cream yourselves.
*Pick a sports team to root for together. Get matching t-shirts or baseball caps with “your” team's name on them.
*Have a “lazing on the porch” day. Fix a thermos of iced tea, pick out a good book or two, and spend the day reading, talking, and playing board games on the porch or deck.
*Go to the county or state fair together, or find a local festival to take in. Indulge in "fair food." Ride some rides together, and try winning a stuffed animal or two.
*Get your picture taken together, even if it's just in a photo booth at the mall. Frame one for you and one for your grandchild.
*Go to church together. Teach your grandchild your favorite hymn.
*Go on a scavenger hunt together in your neighborhood. Make a list of things you want to find, identify, and photograph together: five different types of trees, for instance.
*If you live far away from your grandchildren, find a local delicacy that will ship well, and send it to them. Or send them a throw-away camera, ask them to fill it with shots of what they are doing this summer, then send it back to you for developing.

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