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Friday's Grand Connection Fun
Fall is officially here! I so look forward to cool autumn days and the changing colors!
How do you connect with your grandkids during the autumn months? One thing that I've done is make fall placemats with them. It's so easy to do:
- Snap some pictures of the grands holding pumpkins, sitting in a pile of leaves, or standing by trees that are turning fall colors. Print out the pictures. With the grands, glue or tape the back of each selected picture onto a piece of placemat-size construction paper.
- Help your grand write a Bible verse about changing seasons on each placemat, such as Daniel 2:21: “He changes times and seasons.” Discuss the verse and memorize it together.
- Now, encourage the grands to decorate the placemat with personal drawings, his/her name, stickers, prints of leaves made from a leaf stamp or a homemade “potato leaf stamp” (directions below), words describing things he/she is grateful for, etc.
- Date each place mat.
- Wash several baking potatoes and cut them in half (width). Using a sharp knife, carve out the shape of a leaf (a different shape on each potato).
- On each potato, cut away the potato surrounding the shape so that the shape of the leaves will be about one-fourth of an inch. Presto—you have your stamp.
- Pour paints of fall colors into bowls (throw-away bowls are nice to use). Help your grand dip a stamp into a shallow bowl of paint. Now it’s ready for your grand to stamp his/her masterpiece.
For long-distance grands: Make and mail some fall placemats to the grands. You may want to send them some stickers of pumpkins and leaves and ask them to create a picture with some of them and mail it back to you.
For older grandkids: Go on a picnic with them (of course, little ones would also enjoy this). Give them a piece of "fall jewelry" such as a necklace with a leaf pendant or a bookmark made in the shape of a leaf.
How do you create fall memories with your grands?
Have fun!
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/
© 2009 by Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.
6 comments:
The children had such fun gathering colored leaves and stringing them for Halloween decorations. Blessings, Rita
Mary,I must tell you this funny story about my sister. Every fall she and her children would rake the leaves into a huge pile, then all would hold hands, run and jump in the pile of leaves over and over again. My sister did this with the grand children and great-grandchildren and if she could balance, she would do it today.
Every fall my husband would gather the children and tell them “it is time for your mother to walk in the leaves” and we’d go a local park. If I had my way I wouldn’t even rake the leaves ...just let them be. I don’t think my neighbors would like that. Blessings, Rita
Rita, one of our sons and his wife had a leaf party for their little girl. They raked all of the leaves into the middle of their backyard and the small children jumped in them. It was a lot of fun!
I'm like you and love to walk on leaves. But, I also like to rake them.
When fall arrived my children loved to walk in the leaves because I insisted we have a Saturday in the woods. Now the grown children take their own children for walks in the woods. Also, gathering leaves, spring rocks, crystals and arrowheads were part of the fun. Blessings, Rita
My sister and her children had a special Fall day activity. They raked all the leaves in the yard and made a huge pile for everyone to jump into while holding hands. It was a yearly celebration. My sister took part until she was 75 years old. Now she observes from the sidelines. Isn’t Fall invigorating? Blessings, Rita
Love this tradition, Rita. Thanks for sharing!
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