We grandparents know that walking is good for our health. See WebMD. Walking is also wonderful as an activity with the youngest of grandchildren to the oldest of grandchildren. With the newborns, it is clearly exercise for us and fresh air for them. They were too young to complain about my singing to them along the way.
When the grandchildren get to sit up to toddler age is when we can begin having the grandchildren pay attention to outdoor surroundings during walks. This Grandma started learning about Florida trees and plants to be able to share the knowledge during the walks with babies and toddlers. The internet is wonderful for this. Check out the South Florida plant guide. I would let them touch and feel different textures of leaves and plants. I would hold them up and let them feel the tree trunks. I had to expand my knowledge when we visited them at their homes up north. You can easily find similar websites for plants and trees for every area.
On our walks, most of our grandchildren first paid attention to what was at their level when we let them out of the stroller. I then had to learn about bugs! The walks may not have been long then but collections started of grasses and leaves. There are many websites with art project ideas to do with toddlers and school age grandchildren. These are some of my favorite.
15 Fabulous Fall Leaf Crafts for Kids
Hands On As We Grow has projects by age group
As the grandchildren got older, this Grandma switched to looking for shells on the beach for our walks. I bought a few books on sea shells. My favorites are:
Seashells by the Seashore by Marianne Berkes. Buy at Amazon.
Seashells, Crabs and Sea Stars: Take-Along Guide by Christiane Kump Tibbitts. Buy at Amazon.
It was not enough to just find sea shells. We started collections. See previous post “Preserving Memories by Displaying Collections with Grandchildren.”
Then, we graduated to more sophisticated sea shell identification books. My favorite:
Seashells: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar North American Species (A Pocket Naturalist Guide) by James Kavanagh. Buy at Amazon.
We graduated further to journeys to some of the numerous tourist stores that sell sea shells to augment collections. We had so much more to discuss, now that we could talk about the animals who lived in the shells and areas of the world from which they came. Our beach walks became opportunities to collect sea shells for art projects and gifts for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, such as lucite frames outlined by glued sea shells.
Now that our oldest grandson is a teenager, our walks have changed. We discuss life and growing up. I share family history. We discuss life lessons that I can share. Just as our upbringing molded us, we grandparents have the opportunity to mold the lives of our grandchildren. We have the time and freedom to do so. We just have to take advantage of walks. See post “This Boomer Grandma’s Freedom.”
At What Age Will Our Grandchildren Remember Their Childhood Trips and Adventures With Us? See post:
Walking and sharing with our grandchildren help us to create lasting memories. A tradition of a grandparent-grandchild walk is easy to create. See post “Creating Wonderful Lasting Memories for Grandchildren in the New Year 2016 With the Five Things Children Remember of Their Childhood.”
Walking with our grandchildren brings us grandparents wonderful memories too. I remember so much of my time with my grandchildren through our walks. And the cycle begins again with two new baby grandchildren our family will soon welcome with
Joy,
Mema
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