Grandma camp is a great excuse to be a kid again yourself, grandmas. Oh sure, you have to be the camp director too, but if you plan it right you can jump right in and enjoy every minute just as much as your grandkids do.
When I say plan it right, I mean have just enough planned stuff and just enough free time and flexibility to keep everyone engaged. At least that’s what’s worked for us. The first year I tried to have every 20 minutes to half an hour scheduled with an activity of some sort. Too much! Now I’ve pared it down to four or five planned activities a day interspersed with the things I know my grandkids love to do naturally without much guidance. In other words, free time, but not just standing around time asking what else there is to do. I make sure I have plenty of art supplies, their bikes and balls, books, etc around so they have choices during their free time. Giving them choices seems to be key.
So here’s how I start laying out our Grandma Camp in the planning stage.
1. Decide how many days your Grandma Campa will be. Three days seems to be about right for us. Be sure to get it on everyone’s calendar asap.
2. Pick a theme - I like to use a Bible verse or story as the theme. Pray and meditate over the theme and your grandkids as you plan, and see how God brings creative ideas to your mind when you trust Him to guide you.
3. Think about the categories that you want to use for planning. Here are some categories that I use as I’m looking for ideas: new games to learn (this year we’ll be learning pickleball), adventure and exploration, educational, physical activities (I’m exploring an app I just hear about, GoNoodle for some fresh ideas), art (one of my favorites), musical, acting or comedy (it can be fun to put on a skit for the rest of the family after Grandma Camp), books (my grandkids love reading out loud, so I’m looking for a fun chapter book to integrate into our schedule), something to build (I’m considering making an obstacle course ),
You can probably think about some other categories to suggest and please do! I would love to hear about your plans for grandma camp or what’s worked for you (or not worked) in the past. Have fun planning, take lots of pictures, and share your stories with us!
*We've had lots of questions about these awesome Grandma Camp Shirts! You can find them here . There are lots of other fun designs on etsy even if you're doing Auntie Camp, Cousin Camp or any other stellar Camp Squad!