Kids and Grandparents: Summer Bonding Ideas and Activities

This summer, we're very fortunate to have my Mama and Papa visiting us, and I realize that we sometimes take them for granted. While they're in town, I've decided we need to plan and do more things with them—especially for our boys, so they can really get to know, learn from, and bond with the elder generation while they have the time. Sound familiar?

I also recently learned that, from Mother's Day to Father's Day, we're now recognizing the importance of that family bond with National Family Month. Time is precious, and it's important that, as parents, we help our kids engage with their elders. Kids can benefit from these bonds with their grandparents, great aunts and uncles, and elder neighbors, who are important role models and connections to the past. To celebrate, I put together a list of fun activities for kids and grandparents to share together.

Please check them out, and share your own by posting a comment!

Fun activities kids and seniors can share together:

• MAKING A FAMILY TREE
  As well as being an educational and engaging project for kids and grandparents, creating a family tree helps put connections and bonds in perspective for the entire family. It also will encourage and spark stories your kids—and maybe you!—have never heard before about how certain aunts and uncles fell in love, about family vacations long ago, or about distant relatives you never had the chance to meet. Lacking the creative streak? Check out this great family tree keepsake box from UncommonGoods.com, which does the artistic part for you.

• WRITING LETTERS
  It's no secret in this digital age that letter writing has become a lost art. Teach your child to appreciate "snail mail," storytelling, and good penmanship by becoming a Pen Pal to their grandparents or another older relative. Kids will learn important communication skills, as well as have mementos and stories from family history to someday share with their own children, and the regular communication is sure to lift the spirits of their senior relatives.

• WALKING
  Depending on the age and fitness of your elder relatives, encourage your kids to take a walk in the park or around the neighborhood with their grandparents or great uncle. As well as being great exercise, a walk outdoors will promote conversation and communing with nature that can build bonds and great memories. Kids and their older pals can spot and learn about different wildlife like birds and plants, or just chit-chat about their favorite things.

• GAMES
  Nothing says summer quite like a classic  game like Scrabble or Parcheesi. Board games are a great way to get your kids and their grandparents playing together—although it might be hard to pry them away from their Nintendo Wii. Try a swap: have your dad teach the kids how to play Rummy or chess, and then have the kids teach Grandpa how to play Mario Kart or use the Wii Fit.

• READING
  Everyone remembers the heartfelt scenes in Princess Bride, where Peter Falk plays grandfather to a young Fred Savage and spends a "home sick" day reading his grandson an epic tale. While it might be hard to recreate scenes like this in real life, having your parents read books to your kids that they read to you as a child (or that their parents read to them, even!) is a fantastic way to expose them to family history and create shared memories. Classics like Anne of Green Gables, The Story of Ferdinand, The Hardy Boys, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Heidi are perennial favorites from generation to generation.

• COOKING
  If they're willing and able to safely, encourage your kids and parents to share and cook favorite family recipes. Baking Grandma's apple pie her way or learning the secret ingredients in Grandpa's grilling sauce are memories the whole family will cherish, while creating wonderful continuity of tradition. Take photos and write down the recipes—or, better yet, have your kids and their grandparents write and decorate the recipe card together—and then bind or publish them at a later date into a special cookbook to be passed down through the generations.

• CRAFTS & HOBBIES
  If your parents have a special hobby they enjoy, encourage them to show and teach your kids about it. Knitting, playing the piano, or dancing the Waltz can all be fun ways for kids to bond with their elders and to gain an appreciation for old-fashioned entertainment.

What's your favorite way to have your kids spend time with—and show their love for—the seniors in your lives? Share it with the Care.com community by posting a comment!