|
Keeping the grandkids happy and occupied can sometimes tax even the most creative mind. Here are a number of activities you might like to think about. They're easy to do and cheap to fund and should keep them happy for hours. If you have any ideas we can pass on to other grandparents use our CONTACT US form to share it with us and we'll share it with our readers.
|
CREATE A CHRISTMAS COLLAGE
A Christmas collage is an excellent craft for a group of kids, as they can share materials between them and often become even more creative when they see what the other children are doing.
It's also a wonderful activity for children who are not overly confident of their drawing / painting abilities. Any child is capable of putting together a stunning collage even if they really can't draw! Sometimes providing simple shapes for them to fill in can help. For Christmas you could draw a tree, a star, bells or holly - or print out one of the Christmas templates from the activity Village here. Templates
Assortment of card, papers, craft foam, fabric, felt, stickers, glitter - get out the contents of the craft cupboard! PVA or white glue and glue stick Felt tip pens.
It's also a wonderful activity for children who are not overly confident of their drawing / painting abilities. Any child is capable of putting together a stunning collage even if they really can't draw! Sometimes providing simple shapes for them to fill in can help. For Christmas you could draw a tree, a star, bells or holly - or print out one of the Christmas templates from the activity Village here. Templates
Assortment of card, papers, craft foam, fabric, felt, stickers, glitter - get out the contents of the craft cupboard! PVA or white glue and glue stick Felt tip pens.
SET UP AN OBSTACLE COURSE
You can help build your grandchild's coordination, control and balance without
expensive Gymbaroo classes! Just build your own indoor obstacle course.
What you need
The idea is simple; just build an obstacle course out of your own furniture and household items. You can do it inside on rainy days, or set up outside if you have a big backyard! Here are some suggestions, but really the possibilities are endless.
expensive Gymbaroo classes! Just build your own indoor obstacle course.
What you need
- Furniture
- Pillows
- Towels
- Balloons
- Household items and your own creativity
The idea is simple; just build an obstacle course out of your own furniture and household items. You can do it inside on rainy days, or set up outside if you have a big backyard! Here are some suggestions, but really the possibilities are endless.
- Line up the dining room chairs to make a tunnel to crawl through. You could also throw a blanket over the top to make it really dark in there.
- Crawl under a coffee table.
- Tie a cord between two chairs for the kids to slide beneath, commando-style on their tummies.
- If you want to do this outside, you can set up a leap frog section with towels spaced apart - kids then have to leap from towel to towel.
- Tie some balloons under the table and crawl through them without moving any.
- Roll up some towels and make a long 'balance beam'.
MAKE A PUPPET THEATRE
|
Kids love puppet theatres. Here's an idea to help them stage their own production using their soft toys.Make a puppet theatre out of a box for hours of entertainment.
You'll need:
|
|
Cut a rectangular shape in the front of the box using the box cutter. You could use a ruler if you like. I chose to make the rectangle cut out high enough so that the children could stand and wouldn’t be seen when holding up their puppets. We’ve had smaller children come to play since who have needed a chair, so keep that in mind.
Cut a door in the back of the box with a box cutter, so that the puppeteers can enter their mini theatre. |
|
3. Cut a piece of fabric into two large rectangles using fabric scissors. Fold over the top end of the fabric (you might like to use an iron for this part) and glue it together using a hot glue gun. When you are gluing the fabric, make sure that you leave enough room for a piece of dowel or bamboo to slide into both pieces to make a curtain.
|
|
5. Attach the curtain rod to the inside of the box using heavy duty tape.
|
6. You might like to decorate your puppet theatre. We painted ours with some leftover white house paint and used a black permanent marker to add some fun embellishments.
7. Bring out the soft toys, sit back and watch the show while you allow your children’s imaginations to run wild! |
GRAMPING WITH THE GRANDKIDSYou don’t need to be outside to go camping. It’s easy to set up a ‘camp’ indoors with a small pop-up tent, or even the old "sheet over the couch or dining room table trick" everyone loved as kids. Add pillows, sleeping bags and cushions and plan an indoor picnic for lunch or afternoon tea.
|
|
|
MY FAVOURITE ANIMALOne person starts the game with a basic part or feature of an imaginary animal. For example, ‘a long green tail’. Each person then adds one new characteristic to the previous person’s description until no one can think of anything else to put on this poor creature! Ideally, draw the animal as you go along and end the game with a descriptive name. You can also play My favourite monster or My favourite cartoon character.
|
