Parental Arts
Five Creative Ideas for Connecting With Grandparents From Afar
If the standard FaceTime call has gotten repetitive, here are a few ideas for making the most of virtual time with the grandparents—or any special adult they’re missing now!
- Illustration
- Rob Wilson
Story Time
If celebrities are taking to social media to read aloud to children, why not grandma and grandpa? Create a cozy nook at home where you can minimize distractions and up the comfort factor with pillows and blankets. Grandparents can share favorite books they have at home —or send a few you think your child would like. Set a designated time each day and let the reading magic happen. For older kids, try a book club! Assign one book per week and ask grandma to draft a few conversation-starters for their next call.
A Family Recipe
Maybe your minis are missing grandma’s chocolate chip cookies or there’s a famous family recipe that has yet to be passed down to this generation. Now’s the time. Get your child what they’ll need and ring grandma or grandpa to talk them through each step. Meanwhile, you write down the recipe so you can save it as part of their first cookbook.
A Night At The Theater
Help your minis plan and execute their favorite play to surprise their grandparents. Let them choose the play, help with the script, design the set and don their favorite costumes. They can also create tickets with the date and time and send by snail mail. On opening night, grandparents can dress up and tune in for the show via Zoom or FaceTime.
Pen-Pals
A little good old-fashioned letter writing goes a long way toward helping your child connect with loved ones from afar. Build it into your child’s routine by making it a weekly occurrence. It also counts as a handwriting lesson and is a great way to build empathy and encourage your child to explore some of the feelings they may be having now. Invest in new markers, fun stationary and pretty stamps to get your little ones excited. Encourage the grandparents to write back and your child will look forward to checking the mail!
Lesson Plan
Why not delegate at least one aspect of your child’s home-schooling routine to grandma or grandpa? It could be something simple, like having them help facilitate a recurring daily assignment via FaceTime (while you take a minute to hide in the bathroom or catch up on instagram) or if your grandparents happen to have a certain expertise, they can design an age-appropriate class for your mini as detailed in this New York Times article. It takes a village has never been more true, even if that village is now operating remotely.
If celebrities are taking to social media to read aloud to children, why not grandma and grandpa? Create a cozy nook at home where you can minimize distractions and up the comfort factor with pillows and blankets. Grandparents can share favorite books they have at home —or send a few you think your child would like. Set a designated time each day and let the reading magic happen. For older kids, try a book club! Assign one book per week and ask grandma to draft a few conversation-starters for their next call.
A Family Recipe
Maybe your minis are missing grandma’s chocolate chip cookies or there’s a famous family recipe that has yet to be passed down to this generation. Now’s the time. Get your child what they’ll need and ring grandma or grandpa to talk them through each step. Meanwhile, you write down the recipe so you can save it as part of their first cookbook.
A Night At The Theater
Help your minis plan and execute their favorite play to surprise their grandparents. Let them choose the play, help with the script, design the set and don their favorite costumes. They can also create tickets with the date and time and send by snail mail. On opening night, grandparents can dress up and tune in for the show via Zoom or FaceTime.
Pen-Pals
A little good old-fashioned letter writing goes a long way toward helping your child connect with loved ones from afar. Build it into your child’s routine by making it a weekly occurrence. It also counts as a handwriting lesson and is a great way to build empathy and encourage your child to explore some of the feelings they may be having now. Invest in new markers, fun stationary and pretty stamps to get your little ones excited. Encourage the grandparents to write back and your child will look forward to checking the mail!
Lesson Plan
Why not delegate at least one aspect of your child’s home-schooling routine to grandma or grandpa? It could be something simple, like having them help facilitate a recurring daily assignment via FaceTime (while you take a minute to hide in the bathroom or catch up on instagram) or if your grandparents happen to have a certain expertise, they can design an age-appropriate class for your mini as detailed in this New York Times article. It takes a village has never been more true, even if that village is now operating remotely.