It’s that time of year again - school holidays and often grandparents can be the first port of call when it comes to childminding during this time.  Parents can go to work safe in the knowledge that their little ones will be well looked after (and more than likely spoiled) by loving grandparents.  It can be quite exhausting running around after young children but with a bit of careful thought and planning, lots of fun can be had by organising activities that are not only cheap and cheerful but are also an opportunity for the children to gain new experiences and learn new skills.

Be Prepared

Wise grandparents will have the necessary tools prepared to provide hours of endless fun and entertainment.  A craft box is handy to have, containing things like, paints, colouring pens, markers and pencils, paper, card, glue, scissors, bits and pieces for embellishment such as buttons, small ribbons, string etc.  A dressing up box is also a good thing to have, you can build this up over time.  It doesn’t have to be expensive, you can buy things from charity shops and car boot sales and just use whatever you have at home, like scarves, hats, gloves, shoes, beads etc.  A bit of imagination can go a long way and if there’s one thing children have in abundance - it’s imagination,  make the most of it.  It’s also a good idea to have plenty of age-appropriate books and board games for all of you to enjoy.

When the time finally arrives to have your young charges over, there will be no sitting around on your recliner chairs, unless you want to read them a story of course.  This activity may be best for when you’ve exhausted them (and yourself) at the end of the day and you can sit together and relax whilst reading them a book of their choice.  It’s an opportunity for you to practice your voice over/acting skills (who knew eh?).

Crumbs

A popular activity with children is learning how to bake.  Not only do they learn a new skill, they may also get to eat their creations afterwards.  Buns and biscuits are easy to make (I refuse to call them cupcakes and cookies) and there are plenty of recipes online to follow.  It is just a matter of showing them where and how to start and you can just stand back and supervise them, watching them get their hands and faces sticky (and your kitchen worktops) but it doesn’t take too long to clear up afterwards and that’s where the next lesson starts - learning how to wash and dry up.  Well we all have to start somewhere and why not use the lesson to your advantage (even if you do have to do it all again when they’ve gone home).  Once their treats have been baked and cooled and the washing up done, you could have a little tea party indoors or outdoors in the garden weather permitting, or you could play shopkeepers and they could “buy” their offerings to take home for their parents.  This can help them learn counting skills and the value of money (crafty eh?)

Crafty Granny

Which brings me on to crafts.  That box that you have previously, lovingly prepared will now come in handy for all sorts of crafts for them to learn and enjoy.  They could simply draw or paint a picture or they could make things like cards (birthday/Christmas/thank you etc).  Rock painting is a good activity to do, you can all have fun finding nice smooth roundish stones that can be painted any way they like.  Maybe paint one like a ladybird or paint a fancy pattern, write messages on them or anything they can think of really.  Once again their imagination is key and when they have finished they can give them as little gifts if they like.  I’m sure their parents will be thrilled to receive such lovely little keepsakes. Another creative activity to do is to make things out of salt dough. All you need to make salt dough is 250g of plain flour, 125g of table salt and about 125ml of water.  Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl, stir in the water and bring together to form a ball.  Once this is done you can shape the dough using your hands or on a floured surface with biscuit cutters (not cookie cutters).  If you have cutters in the shape of Christmas trees or stars, they could make Christmas ornaments to hang on the tree.  Another idea is to place one of their hands on a piece of the dough and press down lightly to form their own hand print in it.  When they have finished designing their creations they can then be placed on a lined baking sheet and baked for 3 hours on the lowest oven setting (or until they become solid).  Once cooled they can then be painted and perhaps have embellishments added.  If using glitter please make sure you buy edible glitter, not because you can eat the salt dough creations, because you can’t, salt dough is not edible - so don’t let them eat it. It’s because normal glitter is made of plastic and is not good for the environment at all (another lesson to teach them).

Sew Let’s Go

Another thing that children (at an appropriate age and ability) can be taught to do is hand sewing.  This is a skill that will stay with them for life and will come in handy many times in years to come. You don’t have to make anything elaborate, you could just simply teach them how to sew a button on or how to embroider a piece of felt.  I think when I was a young girl we made a felt purse using blanket stitch around the edges and a press stud to fasten it with.  Of course very young children shouldn’t use a sewing needle and older children should always be supervised when sewing. Knitting and crocheting are skills that can be taught, maybe make a simple scarf or small blanket using any scraps of wool you may have.  I was taught all three of these activities as a child and in my experience you never really forget how to do them but if you are a little rusty there are lots of blogs and websites online that can either refresh your memory or even teach yourself if you don’t already have the skill.  They could do a little bit each time you have them and perhaps if making something like a scarf they could give it to their parents as a birthday or Christmas present, just imagine their little faces when they present their gift and the sense of achievement they will feel…priceless.

Board Already?

Board games are a fun way to entertain the children.  From Snakes and Ladders to Monopoly the choices are endless.  You don’t have to spend loads to play them, the children could even make their own simple board games during one of their craft sessions with you, say Snakes and Ladders.  It’s a matter of a piece of cardboard to make the board (you could use the card from a used cereal box) and then draw/paint the snakes and ladders on wherever they want them to be.  This will teach them how to use a ruler, how to count and will also give them a lesson on reusing and recycling - every day’s a school day!

Growing Up

Children love creating things and a good way to get them excited is to encourage them to grow things of their own.  You could have a little patch in the garden especially for them, or you could just have a window box if you don’t have a garden.  You can plant seeds and grow from scratch or you could go to a garden centre and buy seedlings to plant and watch them grow.  Planting seeds is great for older children but it’s a bit slow and so younger ones may benefit more from watching the seedlings grow (and it’s less work for you).  They can grow flowers, herbs or even vegetables.  It’s up to you how much effort you want to put into it but just think how great it would be for them to harvest their own food, learn how to cook it and then dine at the table with you to feast on their own goodies.  I’m sure they will never forget the feeling, or the taste.

Wood you Know it?

A good long walk in the woods is a great way for children to use up lots of their energy and have fun at the same time.  They can learn so many things while walking through the woods.  Have a look at the Woodland Trust website before you take them, to brush up on the many things that they can learn about, there is so much information on this site.  From identifying birds, butterflies and insects to woodland flowers, trees and fungi, you can teach them so much and they will love listening to you telling them all about nature and how to love and respect it.  Make sure you all dress appropriately for the weather, you could take a little picnic and use the opportunity to talk about what they have seen on their jaunt.  They’ll love it!

Park it

You could take them to the park to burn off some energy, take a ball, or their bikes and let them run around to their heart's content - you could join in if you have the energy, or you could just sit on the picnic rug and keep an eye on them whilst preparing the picnic for them to enjoy when they have finally run out of energy.  Then you could all walk around the park and identify the flowers, trees and shrubs you will encounter on the way round.  Who knew learning could be such fun?

Film Time

If you feel like doing something a little more sedentary, watching a film (no movies in this house) that you can all enjoy is a wonderful way of spending time together.  Let them choose what they want to watch, put a picnic blanket on the floor, provide film snacks - popcorn, crisps, sweeties and sit back and enjoy.  You could also make use of your dress up box and get them to dress up for the occasion, perhaps dressing as a film character (depending on what you have collected in your box) or just wearing dress up clothes can make it feel special for them and they can pretend they’re at the cinema.  Easy Peasy.

Memories are Made of This

Don’t forget to take photographs of the times that you are spending together as you can use these to put in a scrapbook that they can make of all the things you have enjoyed doing together.  Encourage them to collect things on their travels with you, like leaves and small flowers etc.  They can add photographs of their artwork and add stickers and embellishments, using their creativity once again, to make a book of the wonderful memories they have been building with you.  A scrapbook will be a fantastic reminder to them in years to come, of the happy times they shared with you and will live on in their hearts and minds for a long time.

Finally, when the day of fun is nearing an end you can sit in your recliner chair with your feet up, and read them a story, safe in the knowledge that their parents will be collecting them soon and you can hand them over…until the next time.