Babysitting Grandkids? Try These Activities

Whether you see your grandchildren regularly or just a few times a year, trying to find activities that both you and your grandkids enjoy can be difficult.

If you're in a rut and are looking for some new, creative ideas, try some of these options.

Discover New Things

Social psychologist Susan Newman writes in "Little Things Mean A Lot: Creating Happy Memories With Your Grandchildren" that helping your grandchildren discover and learn about new things can be rewarding for both of you. Newman suggests taking your grandchild to the zoo to learn about new animals, or to an aquarium or a museum. She also says even just taking your grandchild for a walk can be a good opportunity to point out things you encounter along the way. Newman also says it can be fun to introduce your grandchildren to new foods. Your grandkids might not be used to eating different cultural foods, so taking them to a Chinese, Korean or Indian restaurant could be a fun outing.

Teach Them A Skill Or A Craft

YourLifeAfter50.com suggests teaching your grandchild a skill or a craft that they can work on with you each time they visit. The Web site proposes to teach your grandchildren how to knit or crochet, and then you can work on creating a project together. You can also do a one-day project, such as painting or drawing or making jewelry with beads or string. For more active grandchildren, you can practice free-throws on your basketball hoop in the driveway or work on perfecting their spiral with a football or playing catch with a baseball or softball.

Do Something Memorable

In her book "101 Ways To Spoil Your Grandchildren," Vicki Lansky suggests teaching your grandchildren how to grow a plant, and then keeping it at your house so they can watch the plant grow each time they visit. She also lists giving your grandchild a disposable camera to capture their visit or outing on film so they'll have a little souvenir from the day and creating special handshakes or songs that you can perform together when they visit.

Don't Overlook The Classics

Sometimes even simple activities around your home can be fun to do with kids. In the age of computer games, video games and personal electronics, Newman suggests playing board games with your grandchildren can be a welcomed activity. The classics such as Candy Land and Chutes & Ladders should do the trick. Or even pulling out a jigsaw puzzle could be a good at-home activity.