Tattoo Grandma

WINTER BREAK WITH THE GRANDKIDS

When most of us grandparents were young, there was no such thing as a Winter Break, but for our grandkids, there is. With parents working, you may be enlisted to help keep the little ones active.

My daughter and her husband don’t NEED me to help during the Winter Break, but I want to spend more time with my granddaughter, so this is a golden opportunity.

My granddaughter is eight, going on nine. I thought I might take her into NYC for a show, but the only one this girl has not seen was Beetlejuice, which is apparently a big hit and has no tickets available.

Plan B? Didn’t have one, so I went in search of some ideas.

Treasure Hunt: I love the idea of a treasure hunt because it can be adapted to just about any situation.

·         Museum: do a bit of research to find out what items they have on display. Next, make a paper with pictures or for older kids just words. If you are dealing with teens, you can even have them take pictures of what they find on their phones. Or have younger ones write down things like where it was or a little something about the exhibit.

·         Outside: you can take the children to a local park (I know it’s cold) and have them locate items like a rock that looks like something else or a feather. If they collect rocks, perhaps you can have them paint them when they get home. The older the kids the harder you can make the treasure hunt. On Long Island, we have a place named Connetquot State Park on Sunrise Highway and there are animals living in their woods. You can make it an animal treasure hunt to see how many animals they can see.

·         In both these areas, you can have them search for items that begin with each letter of the alphabet.

Go to the Library: Many libraries have play areas for younger kids and books, magazines, and video games for older kids.

Cook: with shows like Chopped Junior on Food network so popular, its obvious kids like to cook. Again, adjust what you cook to the age of the child. Let them decide what to have for lunch and have them make it.

Here’s a link to Food Network for some other suggestions: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/packages/recipes-for-kids/cooking-with-kids

Play board games: Let each child pick their favorite game and then play them in order of age, youngest to oldest. If the game for the older kids is too hard for the little ones, have them partner with a grandparent and play as a team.

Travel: if you have the money, traveling with grandkids can be very exciting and rewarding both for the kids and grandparents. I live on Long Island, so a trip to NYC is only a train ride away. There my granddaughter and I can go see a show, take in a museum, and even go visit Alice in Wonderland in Central Park. You can take them skiing. You don’t have to ski, it’s fun just watching them on the bunny slopes. Or take them to an ice rink and get them up on the ice.

If you don’t or can’t go far, a day trip to the movies or bowling is often just as good.

It is not always what you do, but it is spending time with your grandkids. Remember, it’s the time we spend with them that they will remember.