Category — Free Ideas

During the winter months many birds benefit from fat in their diet so why not make a suet bell or suet pine cone bird feeder with your grandchildren.
You will need:
Fat (lard or drippings from a roast or bacon ). If you don’t have enough fat you can add unsalted peanut butter.
Filler (bird seed, dried fruit, cookie or cake crumbs).
For each ½ pound of fat you will need 1 pound of filler.
Paper cup
String
Make a small hole in the bottom of the paper cup and insert the string. Be sure it is long enough so you can hang the bell on a tree branch. Tie a not on the inside of the cup so the string won’t pull through. Leave some string hanging inside the paper cup.
Melt the fat in a heavy saucepan and add filler. Mix well. Let the mixture cool slightly then pour into paper cut. When the mixture has hardened tear off the paper cup. Hang on a branch and see what birds come.

There are lots of activities to do once the suet bell is hung.
1. Predict and count how many birds will come in 10 minutes.
2. Predict and count how many different birds will come.
3. Take a picture of a bird eating the suet bell and write a poem or a story.
4. When your grandchildren leave, keep an eye on the suet bell and call or write them about what you’ve noticed. How long until it was all eaten.
5. Make 2 bells, one to keep at your home and one for your grandchild to take home. They can call or write you about what they have noticed.
For a pine cone bird feeder, I used the same mixture and spread it all around the pine cone. Hang with string or wire.

More Bird Feeder Ideas

Wouldn’t this be a darling apron for your granddaughter. You could have matching aprons because they come in adult sizes also and they’re reversable too.
See More Aprons From Bodumzup

20 IDEAS for grandparenting long distance.

Who cares if it's a mess, the grandkids are all here!

This calendar has fun activities to do each day counting down to Valentine’s Day. Many of them are service oriented. You could even make up some of your own ideas.
PRINT COUNTDOWN CALENDAR

Everyone has a story to tell. Help your child develop their writing skills while telling about their life.
How to get started:
1. Make a “memory chart” by dividing a sheet of paper into three columns: people, places, activities.
2. Using the chart write a memory to go with each person, place or activity.
3. Organize the information. It can be done sequentially by months or seasons of the year.
I read about this idea in the Home & School Connection sent out by Granite School District each month.

Send A Free MLKJ Holiday Card
Take a Quiz for Kids
Take a Quiz for Adults
I Have A Dream Speech Fill in the Blanks
More Activities

I Have A Dream Speech, August 28, 1963
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I had so much fun with my grandchildren making snowman sandwiches. I had 3 different sizes of circles for the kids to cut their snowman parts. I used an empty soup can, a small funnel and a lid from a peanut butter jar. They pressed the shape into the bread to make the 3 parts of a snowman. Then they spread tuna salad, peanut butter and jam on the sections. The face and buttons were raisins, olives and cashews. We also made snowmen from oranges slices. I sliced the orange and let them create their snowmen. You can also use cookie cutters and make different sandwiches throughout the year depending on the season.

This is a fun and easy activity that can be played almost anywhere. It helps your grandchildren with their SPELLING. It’s a version of “hangman”. Using a pencil draw a snowman on paper. Be sure to include the eyes, nose, mouth, hat, and scarf. Think of a word and write one blank per letter. Have your grandchild begin guessing letters. For each incorrect guess, erase one part of the snowman. Can your grandchild figure out the word before the snowman melts. I found this idea in the Home & School Connection newsletter that Granite School District sends out monthly.

Instead of throwing away your Christmas and holiday cards and leftover pieces of ribbon, RECYCLE them into thank you notes and gift tags.
With your grandchildren you can cut out pictures from the cards and glue them on cardstock to be used like a postcard. Then send it as a thank you note. You can also make gift tags to save for next Christmas. There are many pictures on cards that can be used for tags all year ‘round.

You’ll need:
Paper for the antlers & nose (you can cut them out of colored paper or use white paper & color with crayons or markers).
black marker to draw eyes
Paper sack (lunch size)
Rolled oats
Glitter
Directions:
1. Color and cut-out antlers, nose & eyes.
2. Fill the bottom of the paper sack with rolled oats mixed with glitter.
3. Fold the top of the paper sack down and into a point.
4. Glue antlers, nose and draw eyes.
4. Glue down so it’s secure. Don’t forget to include the poem.
5. Keep until Christmas Eve.

Poem
On the night before Christmas every year,
You leave Santa a snack but not his reindeer.
So this year on Christmas Eve,
Don’t forget a reindeer treat to leave.
Sprinkle the reindeer food on your lawn,
Then Christmas morn it will be gone.
The magic glitter and oats did surely guide,
Santa’s reindeer to your house on his long ride.