You don't have to have a video game console to have fun with your grandkids. Just remember the things you liked to do when you were a kid. It's almost certain your grandchildren will love these activities, too, partly because they're fun and partly because they will be doing them with you.
Remember “Flies and Grounders”? We used to play it as kids. You simply threw the ball to your friend, either in the air or on the ground. You kept count of how many errors you made, and at some point you decided to go play something else. There are dozens of games that you can play with just a ball. I like tennis balls, but small rubber balls or softballs will do as well.
Try a classic game of hopscotch. All you need is a sidewalk or driveway and some chalk. Use rocks or bits of chalk as markers. If you’ve forgotten how to draw the diagram, find a website that will refresh your memory.
Parks that have large areas free from trees and utility poles are best for kite-flying. You might want to use a modern vinyl kite. They are generally easier to fly than the old-fashioned kind that we used to make from tissue paper, glue, and strips of balsa wood. Or try the one-page paper kite.
You can recreate your favorite from your youth, or you can find patterns online. It may not be as much fun as throwing them at that substitute teacher you had in fourth grade, but it just might come close.
5. Try Powered Flight
Remember the fun you used to have with rubber band-powered airplanes? You still can. Find the kits at Hobby Lobby or Cracker Barrel for a few bucks. They assemble in seconds. They may not last past more than an hour or two, but the look on your grandkids’ faces the first time they see one in flight is worth a couple of million bucks.6. Play Hide-and-Seek
Or tag. Or swinging statues. Or Mother May I. If you don’t remember the rules exactly, make them up. No one will know the difference.7. Skip a Rope
You can buy a jump rope at the store, or you can just buy a piece of rope at the hardware store. All you need is a person at each end, plus one person to jump. If you are short one person, you can tie one end to something that is about waist high. This is one old-fashioned activity that I’ll bet your grandchildren already know about. But that’s okay. Amuse yourself by noting how similar the rhymes they use are to the ones you used to say about a million years ago.8. Observe Nature
Find a field or forest. See how many creatures you can see. If you have a grandchild who likes to record things, give him or her a pad to write down what you see. Take along some magnifying glasses to look at bugs or a camera to document your finds.9. Squirt the Squirts
A few grandkids in swim suits and a water hose add up to fun on a hot summer day. It might be a good idea if you put on your swim suit, too.To make it really special for your grandchildren, make it one that their mom or dad enjoyed, or even one that you liked as a child. If you don’t know how to find any of these, try Little Golden Books. There’s nothing more old-fashioned and yet more important for the younger generation than loving to read.
