Keeping up with grandchildren who have more energy than sense

If you contact your local Wildlife Trust website you should find many activities for children. We have had a lot of fun over the years - apple pressing, walking in the woods after dark, rockpooling etc. My GS loved them all.

Reported

Sago

I took our very energetic GC on a mini hike.
They had to find a stick to walk with, feathers leaves, acorns, pinecones etc.
They had a lovely time, not a cross word and they were shattered afterwards.

I took my minded children on a "pot luck" walk through the woods in our local nature reserve last half-term.
First task as usual was to find the perfect stick to walk with!
Then at each junction in the paths, they had to take it in turn to decide which path we were going to down.
We followed that path to the next junction then the next child chose which way we went, and so on.

They were surprisingly engaged with this! I think because they could see it gave everyone a chance to be the one in charge, rather than arguing about which way to go 🙂

Making smoothies - make sure the lid is on the liquidiser before turning on! (Been there)
Playing cafes with pretend food. You just have to sit there unless you're ordered out for bad behaviour.

collect leaves
Then make pictures and collages with the leaves 🍂🍂🍂🍁🍁

Those painting aprons are good idea when crafting glue and paint are being used.
Making models with Playdoh (no, don't eat it darling!).

And what Lathyrus said 😁

I wonder how old you are, how old and how many grandchildren there are and how often you’re expected to entertain them. Are you unwell/disabled?
I find I always give a little sigh of relief when they’ve gone, but I do join in as much as I can - these precious times won’t last forever.

I took our very energetic GC on a mini hike.
They had to find a stick to walk with, feathers leaves, acorns, pinecones etc.
They had a lovely time, not a cross word and they were shattered afterwards.

My grandchildren have taken to building various dens out of sofa cushions and blankets. Also playing pirate island with cushions on the floor plus pretending to be a crocodile who snaps anyone who falls in. Granny is the crocodile of course.
My 3 year old managed to create an imaginary aeroplane on the sofa and she was the girl pilot. A toy fan with lights became the propeller and she was very happy.
Outdoors - a walk around allotments ended with grandson sniffing stinging nettles but fortunately dock leaves nearby. So a good learning experience!
Cut out figures on paper and play dough - reading and some writing skills plus counting. Counting 25 Ocado bags ended up with two small children under all these bags with shrieks of delight when legs and arms kicked free. I couldn’t quite understand the need to pile small rugs on top but….
Exhausting sometimes but a great feeling too.

I couldn’t keep up with my very active gd either. I was honest with both her and her parents and little one learnt from an early age that she had to cut me some slack. I took her to the park etc but interspersed it with sit down activities. I probably did let her watch more tv than many people would approve of but it doesn’t seem to have done her any harm. She never seemed to find me boring and was always happy to come to mine.

How about a treasure hunt? Place clues around the house for them to work out and eventually lead to the Treasure such as sweets or a small game. You can organise this in advance and they do all the work. You will be exciting granny not boring granny.

CarolDean - do you have them over, with no help from anyone else?

Children thrive in the outdoors. Staying in due to the bad weather made me GD loopy the other day.

Just do stuff outside if you can- get them wrapped up, let them run about, feed ducks, collect leaves, get a hot chocolate?

Yes, it is tiring but the outdoors will be good for you too!

You may get to meet other GPs in the same position as you, too!

I wouldnt join in. I’d sit on the seat and watch (and try not to look at my phone) and shout out “Well done” occasionally while they clamber about.

I’d keep them longer in the park myself😬