About a year ago I was inspired by a glorious picture of colorfully painted rocks in a garden. It got me thinking about how fun it would be to have a multitude of colorful rocks in my own garden painted by my granddaughters.
I had already made an outdoor tic-tac-toe game for my granddaughter and nephews. It became a huge hit with the kids. My granddaughter, who was just three at the time, actually loved hiding and finding the ladybugs and bumblebees in the garden each time she visited.
My nephews, who are older, enjoyed playing tic-tac-toe with them.
Searching for rocks and painting them has become a favorite activity for my granddaughter and me. We go rock hunting and paint a rock or two every time she visits for and overnight.
Some of the rocks stay with me and some go home with her to her own garden. She loves the ladybugs and bumblebees from the tic-tac-toe game so much that she frequently wants to paint more of them herself. She also likes to paint rocks for her mom and dad.
What started as a simple, fun activity has turned into a "thing" with us. It makes this grandma very happy. We are building memories together. Our rock hunting time together is fun and she now talks about her rock collection.
Our rock painting sessions are fun, too.
Here are my suggestions for fun, successful rock painting sessions with toddlers:
1. Plan ahead. Gather the materials you will use in advance.
2. Keep it simple. Use no more than three colors of acrylic paint at a time. Use a different paintbrush for each color.
3. Manage the mess. Cover your painting surface with paper. I like to save and use the large sheets of newsprint I get with my TJMaxx or HomeGoods purchases.
Use a smock to cover your grandchild's clothing.
Use paper plates for the paints.
Buy cheap paintbrushes that can be tossed out, if necessary. Check your local dollar store
4. Manage time. Toddler attention spans are short. Keep the painting sessions short.
5. Encourage creativity. Don't try to control the outcome. Just let your toddler paint and have fun.
"Repetition" is the word to remember if you are a grandma wanting to build lasting memories with your grandchildren. Choose activities to do over and over again that can become your thing to do with grandchildren.
Activities like rock painting are fabulous because:
-you can do them together,
-they are not age-dependent
-your grandchild has a physical object to help remember the activity.
In my case, I'm hoping to have a large collection of colorful rocks in my garden that we can admire together for a very long time.
Winter has been pummeling the United States and I as write this, a majority of the country has snow cover. Brrrr.
As the frigid temperatures rise you may want to get outside with your grandkids to explore the environment, release energy, and get the cobwebs out.
Today I want to share six fun ideas for activities to do with grandkids outside in winter.
1. Be winter seasonal detectives.
Take a walk and search for all that you can find that is unique to the winter season. This is an opportunity to compare winter to the other seasons of the year in your community.
2. Search for animal tracks.
This is particularly fun after a new snowfall when the snow has been undisturbed by humans. Take pictures of the tracks you find with your smartphone. When you return home, draw the tracks on pieces of paper and research the animals that made the tracks.
3. Gather natural elements for an art project.
Leaves, sticks, stones, and seed pods all make interesting additions to art projects. Use what you gather to make landscapes or animal drawings when you get back inside.
4. Snow Art.
Fill squirt bottles with colored water. Use the squirt bottles to make colorful designs in the snow. Choose primary colors of food coloring so your grandkids can have fun mixing colors in the snow. Spray bottles filled with colored water will be fun, too.
5. Make natural windchimes.
Gather some sticks and stones you can secure to string for natural windchimes. Your grandkids can then choose treas in your yard to hang the chimes from. Check out this rainbow-colored windchime made with sticks.
6. Make a snowman.
You can make your snowman unique by dressing him using only natural elements you can find nearby. Be sure to take pictures.
1. Hot Chocolate
Of course, once you come inside you'll want to have some hot chocolate. Be sure you have all the ingredients for yummy hot chocolate embellishments on hand, too. You can never have too many marshmallows.
2. Make Salt Snowflakes
Salt snowflakes are a fun art project for any age.
Read the Salt Snowflakes blog post.
Watch the How to Make Salt Snowflakes video.
3. Make Cotton Swab Snowflakes
Snowflakes made with cotton swabs are quick easy.
Read about how to make cotton swab snowflakes.
Watch the Cotton Swabs Snowflakes video.
Have fun, grandmas!
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