10 Ways to Keep Grandchildren Busy this Summer! -

Here are 10 ways to keep grandchildren busy at your house this summer!

These are solutions to the “I’m bored, Nana” statement we all hear sooner or later. I’d love for you to add some of your favorite ways of keeping your grands busy below in the comment section!

10. Hot weather and water go together like peanut butter and jelly. My friend Tamara (known to her grands as Ra-Ra) has a boat and their family is at the lake almost every weekend. We don’t have a boat but there are still ways to keep cool with water. Whether you have an in-ground, above ground or just a little wading pool, kids love to play in water. If that’s not an option, what about a water balloon fight, or a water sprinkler to run through?

Here’s a flash from the past…..one of our many water balloon fights.

9. Another way to use water is to let the kids paint with water. Whether it’s a paint roller or a artist brush your grandchildren will enjoy this no mess way of being artistic! For more on this see a previous NanaHood post here!

8. One more water suggestion….find a creek or stream and take your kids wading. As a child our grandfather took the cousins to salt the cows with him and he would stop and let us wade in the creek. Martha (my only girl cousin) and I would squeal and giggle while the boys explored and threw rocks. Grandpa taught us to skip rocks on a pond too, which was another fun activity.

7. Have a rock and 4 leaf clover hunt. Make it a contest by saying the one that finds the coolest rock gets to pick the first popsicle when they get home. If anyone finds a 4 leaf clover they get two popsicles, or whatever reward you choose. And just in case you don’t know the story behind the 4 leaf clover… is thought to bring good luck to its finders, especially if found by accident. The leaves stand for faith, hope, love, and luck.

6. Build a hide out for your grands, or let them build it themselves. Whether it’s with a quilt and chairs or in a closet under the stairs, they love having a place to pretend is their “house.” Just don’t let them take food in their hideout without your knowledge. My grands hid food and I didn’t discover it until little bugs started flying out of my closet.

This tent was one we did in the basement, complete with battery operated star lights. They loved it!

5. Perform! Let the kids come up with a play, songs, poems, whatever they want to do. My cousin Martha and I were always making up dances and songs. Host a talent contest (we used to hold ours on her front porch) and all the neighborhood children came over. The ones that didn’t want to be in it were the audience (along with our parents). It was great fun and a confidence builder.

4. Make slime outdoors. It’s a messy activity and letting them create it outdoors makes a much easier clean-up! You can see how to do it here.

3. Chalk art. When the sidewalk or driveway aren’t too hot it’s fun to write or draw on the sidewalk. Here are 50 great ideas from ThisTinyBlueHouse.com I found on Pinterest.

2. Pets love to play with the grands too (or at least all ours do). Let the grands have a dog show. Dress up the dog and parade him around the house or up and down the drive way. It’s fun. Easy to do if you have hats, baby clothes, etc.

Read a book. Whether you read out in the yard beneath a shade tree or on the couch in the house, read this summer. There are tons of great children’s books about summer time fun. I chose some of my favorites books for littles and for the 6-9 age group and put them on a list that you can see here.