Indoor Fun With the Grandkids

Friday’s Grand Connection Fun
by Mary May Larmoyeux

Well, it’s already Friday … and time to have some fun with the grandkids.  One of our grandchildren will be spending this weekend with Pops and me.

Although it’s not supposed to rain in the next few days, it’s going to be cold. So, I’ve been looking for some things that we can do together inside.

Here are a few ideas:

Make a doll couch.  By using cardboard, scraps of fabric and stuffing (such as an old towel), making a doll couch can provide hours of fun and imagination for older children. This You Tube video gives step-by-step details: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAcP6ML3Li0

Play storybook bingo. Make a bingo card by drawing 16 squares on a piece of paper or cardboard. Ask the players to list common words that they can recognize. Then cut the words out and place them in a small bowl. Before you begin reading out loud, select a word from the bowl. As you read, the kids will listen for the word that you drew, and they will cover the appropriate square (with a marker from another game, coin, etc.) when they hear it. You may want to play straight-line bingo (cover four squares in a straight line in any direction) cover the card, etc.

You also could use a deck of word flash cards for very young readers. If you do this, you will simply draw the “bingo word” from the stack of cards.

This activity can easily be done with grandkids who live out of town. Mail them the bingo card and markers, read a story on the phone, and play bingo together.

Storybook Bingo is one of the rainy day activities that I found on a family education website. They have a long list of activities that include games, reading and writing activities, science activities, gardening, kitchen fun, dance and movement, and more.

Make a Bear Hospital. Our granddaughter had a great time pretending that her stuffed bear was a patient and she was the doctor. This is easy to do and good for the imagination.

Go on a Scavenger Hunt. We can download scavenger hunts from the Internet and enjoy them with local or long-distance grandchildren. Just mail a copy of a downloadable scavenger hunt to long-distance grandkids, and follow up with an e-mail or phone call.

I enjoyed looking at scavengerhunt.org and printed the free sample downloadable scavenger hunt. It's made for older children 10-14.

Visit a library online. Many online libraries have activities for kids.

Work a simple jigsaw puzzle together. This is always a fun activity to do and great for the entire family.

Hummmm so much to choose from. Right not, an indoor scavenger hunt, storybook bingo, and making a bear hospital sound good to me.

Please share some indoor activities that you do with your grandkids in a comment below. Or, e-mail mary@marymaywrites.com and I'll be glad to add the comment for you.

He is able,
Mary
Mary May Larmoyeux
www.marymaywrites.com

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Article and picture © Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.