Grandma’s Camp – Memories made here!

No parents allowed!  That’s so Grandma can get down and play with her grandkiddies, act silly, sing and just have fun with no one to tease or chide.  Oh, the kids may still brush their teeth, but outside, it’s no holds barred.  Get dirty, play in the mud or pick the flowers….it’s all allowed in Grandma’s garden. And don’t worry, lessons will be learned…

Lynn Paterson holds Camp Grandma each summer

Interesting children in the joys of gardening can be fun. They’re eager to learn and amazed by seeds sprouting and flowers blooming.

 

Ann Elias‎ makes fairy gardens with her granddaughter. “The new garden is officially” Hailey’s Secret Garden” now”

How to plan Grandma Camp

• Send some fun invitations!
• Grandma’s Camp is usually 2-4 days, any more and you’ll be exhausted!
• Choose a theme and plan around it:
  • A book you’ve read together, Secret Garden?
  • Build a bench or a project
  • Plant a vegetable garden
  • Plant a Stack a Pot
  • Pirate’s Treasure
  • Campout, make a firepit, cook hot dogs and s’mores
• Plant seeds, Radish, Sweet peas or Zinnias
• Harvest the garden and make a garden pizza
• Night Time Bug Hunt, if you dare…
  
• Pick flowers and arrange in vases
• Make hopscotch with stepping stones, then show them how to play! What?

 

A horse made from a tire makes for a fun ride

Plans for  Pony Tire Swing  …Grandpa?

Jeanne Sammons and her crew, making a penny ball

Glossy garden art using bowling balls

Lynn Paterson’s clever warning sign

 

Kay Bassett’s granddaughter had fun growing easy sunflowers

 

Jeanne Sammons made room for some hoppin’ logs…easy!

 

Michelle Legler’s grandchildren have fun learning about chickens…and the names of flowers

Create a wildlife habitat
Provide water, bird seed feeders, and a small pile of brush for birds to hide in. Plant flowers like butterfly bush and sages and lavender to attract birds and bees. Arrange these a certain distance away from a cozy comfortable spot where you can sit with your grandchild and watch the creatures come and go. It will become a tradition to come here and talk. Bring out cups of tea on a cold day.

Jeanie Merritt made a hand print stepping stone with her granddaughter

Jeanie Merritt says, “A stepping stone my granddaughter Kayli made me a few years ago, with some help from Mommy… Next year at ” Mamaw Camp”, when all of my grandchildren come for three days( NO parents) of fun, crafts, making cookies, and going to the movies. I think I may make this one of our projects.. a stone for all 8 grandchildren, well, Tyler and Jacob are in college and high school now, We might have to make theirs!”

No matter how young, kids like dirt

Nancy K. Meyer’s marks the spot where fun begins!

Nancy Anne’s grandchild spends barefoot days…

Small scale gardens get kids interested! Fun, and this tiny trellis was easy to make and grew sugar snap peas the never made it into the house. They were all eaten right in the garden!

Plant a child sized garden
With your child, mark out a plot about four feet square in a sunny spot and build a trellis fence on two sides. Mix up a bag of concrete together to make a small pond or birdbath. You can just shape it with your gloved hands. Go to the nursery and let your grandchild pick out some blooming flowers. Plant seeds like sugar snap peas and zinnias, radishes and marigolds. Hang a bird feeder nearby and you have your own little wildlife habitat. Make a sign with your grandkids, saying ‘My Garden’ or with their name.

Sue Jordan ‘s sign pole welcomes her grandkids to her garden

Sue Jordan’s playful, cute and cautionary sign

The ‘camp roster’

Things Grandma says

• “Anything your heart desires, dear”
• “When Grandma was your age…”
• “If Mom says no…”
• “Well, why the heck not?”

Sydney Minor created a reading nook

Tammy Hale’s swing awaits

Myrtle McCombs’s whimsical children’s garden

When you create a children’s garden, you can do whatever you like in it, no matter how U-Neek or whimsical.

Kids in the garden: 11 projects!

Lisa Wunderly’s little Tic Tac Toe garden

Jeanne Sammons’s whiskey barrel bands ‘Sphere’ can be rolled around the garden

Rusty barrel hoops and spheres in the garden

Katrina Lounsbury’s granddaughter learns to stop and smell the flowers

Jackie Muller’s Grandma Camp has a sign saying so,…

WHY NOT make your own sign and begin your Grandma Camp sessions this summer! The children will only be young enough for so long…  What other activities would you add to your Grandma Camp!? Let us know in the comments

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“Don’t pass up any teaching moments when your children are young. When they become teenagers, shut up, because they don’t listen to you anyway.”