Grandma Summer Camp Ideas
Like all fun camps, my Grandma Summer Camp includes physical activities, games, crafts, field trips, and adventure.
Strategic planning will allow us to manage Grandma Camp on a budget without losing any of the fun factors. Who knows how to stretch a buck better than Grandma? Camp Grandma, also known as cousin camp, is loaded with fun ideas.
This summer, I planned our first Grandma Summer Camp to create memories and save the children from the dreaded summer boredom! We moved closer to our grandchildren late last summer, just before they started back to school.
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Table of Contents
- What is Grandma Camp?
- Make a plan
- Grandma Camp Activities
- More Grandma Camp ideas
- More Kids Activities
What is Grandma Camp?
Camp Grandma is a wonderful opportunity during summer break from school for cousins to meet at Grandma’s house for so structured summer activities. Does it have to be Grandma? Nope, Aunts, Uncles, Grandpa’s, grown cousins or any adult family member can run Grandma Camp aka Cousin Camp.
Parents with the privilege of sending the kids to Grandparent Camp know the quality time and great times their kids are going to have.
How Long Is Grandma Camp?
The time frame for Camp Grandma is up to you. It could be one week for a few hours each day. You may be like me and have an entire summer planned for the months of June and July.
My Grandma Camp is planned for a couple of days each week for a few hours each of those days. Older children lose interest easier than the young grandchildren. Kids have loads of fun things in their own backyard at home and in their bedrooms, too. They will also want to get back to those things for their summer.
Grandma’s don’t only give the best hugs, we plan the most fun too! Our Grandma Camp this year includes:
Make a plan
Be sure to clear your plans and activities with the children’s parents before telling the grandchildren about them.
The key is to make a plan such as ours for this summer;
- Crafting in my craft room
- summer reading trips to the library
- outdoor adventurous field trips at state parks
- bowling
- kids summer movies
- at least one picnic!
Grandma Camp Activities
Summer Reading
Go to the Library. This is a fun field trip for kids who don’t have many opportunities to visit a library outside of their school.
Take advantage of the free Local Library Summer Reading Program! There are prizes involved! Registration is required at your local library to qualify for the prizes.
If your grandchildren are younger children, you can take them to storytime at the library.
Also See: Free Summer Reading Programs
Plan Field Trips
There are a variety of places to take the Grandchildren on field trips that they will all enjoy.
Summer Kids Movies
Check your local theaters for their Summer Kid Show Series where admission and snacks are super cheap. These field trips will be added to our late summer plans when indoors is better due to the extreme heat here in the south.
Museums
Do a search for Free Museums in your state and select one or two within driving distance of your home. Museums with free admission are typically those with historical memorabilia, so it will be a learning experience.
If you live in Georgia, I have this list of Georgia Museums with Free Admission, which is updated every year.
State Parks
State Parks have family-friendly events year-round. During the summer months, they add even more events geared to children. There are lots of outdoor activities including skills classes to choose from. You may be able to tour a historical site making it a learning opportunity.
National Parks
Check here for National Parks near you. National parks will also have events and activities scheduled throughout the summer for children of all ages.
We are fortunate to have a National Park near enough that I was able to register the youngest grandchildren for a fun one-day Children’s Workshop event. They are already excited and looking forward to the activities and crafts involved.
Local Parks
Local parks are a great place to take the small children for some outdoor exercise. Find one near you with a good playground. Bonus if there is a picnic area.
Kid’s Bowl Free
One of the first things I did for Grandma Camp preparation was to get my grandchildren registered for the Kids Bowl Free program! You can play two games per day every day all summer!
Make Crafts
Plan your craft projects toward the age of your grandchildren. Mine are old enough now to let them do most projects with minimal supervision. They love anything that involves paint and glue!
An easy craft for kids of all ages is to paint things. Here are 13 Free Things Around The House The Kids Can Paint On. Let their creativity pour out of them.
Crafting activities are good for rainy days.
Cursive Writing Practice
My grandchildren requested that I help them perfect their cursive writing skills this summer. Our school system introduces cursive writing in the second grade and then moves on. They are not required to write in cursive, and it is not encouraged. Kids are taught keyboarding these days, but that is a topic for another time. I was thrilled that they wanted to learn how to write a word and then a complete sentence in cursive!
After a quick internet search, I was able to print a complete cursive learning guide. Then I made each of them a notebook to keep up with their worksheets. Update: I later found these Cursive workbooks on Amazon! Cursive workbook for teens and Cursive workbook for kids.
They will put their papers into their notebooks all summer so they can compare their improvements at the end of the summer. Hopefully, we can progress enough to write letters to a relative who lives far away in cursive and have them write back just before school starts back.
Update: My grandchildren are still telling me how they can write in cursive several years after we did this activity in our Grandma Summer Camp. I love it, and they remember it fondly.
Outdoor Activities at Home
So many possibilities to enjoy the warm weather outside. Water activities create the ambiance of vacation time and grandma’s house is a great place to feel relaxed.
Backyard sprinklers have always been a source of fun for kids of all ages.
Outdoor games like Badminton or Cornhole are a fun way for older kids to enjoy some cousin time.
You can find a free nature printable scavenger hunt online. That is a great way to not only have fun but learn in the process.
More Grandma Camp ideas
- List of 50 Activities for Grandma Camp (printable)
- Printable Grandma Camp Schedule and Chore Chart
- 25 Grandma Camp Field Trip Ideas
- 55 Random Acts of Kindness Kids Can Do
Food
Of course, there is food! Grandma notoriously has the best snacks! Of course, it is summer, so watermelon will be involved!
Recipes you can use for your Grandparent Camp
- Homemade Soft Pretzels Recipe. You can make these the day before or make them together as one of your home activities
- Air Fryer Mozzarella Cheese Sticks Recipe. These disappear quickly. You may find yourself making these more than once.
- How To Cook Boiled Peanuts. Yes, this is a southern thing, but Kids love these. They can sit outside to enjoy a bag full.
- Sweet & Salty Chocolate Covered Potato Chips
- Made From Scratch Banana Bread. Great for snacking on or for breakfast.
- Soft & Chewy Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies. Teach the kids to make cake mix cookies and create fond memories too.
- Crockpot Macaroni & Cheese. Let the mac and cheese cook while you spend time with the children.
- Crockpot 2 Ingredient Chicken for Sliders. Easy, flavorful, and affordable chicken for sliders cooks in a short time in the slow cooker.
- 3 Ingredient Sweet & Savory Meatballs. Not just for parties, the children love to eat these and they are super easy to make.
- Air Fryer Cheesy Chicken Tenders. Just pour a helping of Ranch dressing onto the plate next to the tenders and lunch is served.
- Cheeze-It Crusted Baked Chicken Tenders. Just add Ranch Dressing.
- Oven-Baked French Fries. A great side dish with almost any sandwiches.
- Red, White & Blue Cake Balls. The kids love to help make these, and they are easier than you may think.
Don’t forget the ice cream!
Our Grandma Camp this year involves crafting, cooking, trips to the movies, visiting State and National parks, library trips, summer reading, of course, playtime, snuggling on the sofa watching movies at home, and anything else that pops up on our radar!
More Kids Activities
- How To Install A Ring And Hook Game
- How To Make A Water Tarp Game
- Beach Scavenger Hunt Free Printable
- Family Friendly Roadtrip Car Games
- 35 Family Friendly Games for Kids & Grown-Ups
So many great ideas! I still have memories of crafts and days spent at my grandmother’s. We used to play a lot of badminton and croquet and I can remember making flowers out of tissues. She always had something fun planned; even a few week long vacations away in her trailer with my grandfather. Thanks so much for sharing all these wonderful ideas with us at the Summer Time Fun Party. Pinned.
Shirley, what a wonderful gift for your grandchildren & you! I really hope to do this some day! Great ideas!
I would love to sign up for your grandma camp. I think I would enjoy all the activites, too. I like reading, going on field trips, museums are cool, too. And I am most definetly a foody. A handlettering course is on my list for a long time, now, lol.
You’re one cool grandma. Your grand kids must love spending time with you 🙂 Love all your ideas, especially bubble station.
We do all of these things too! Such a great resource for the summer – Pinned! Thanks for sharing on To Grandma’s House We Go! I’ll be featuring you next week.
I love these ideas. I don’t have kids, let alone grandkids, but I love some of the craft ideas for myself too. Your post made me think of my fond memories of sleepovers at my grandma’s in the 1990s, when we often went on very simple “expeditions” (field trips). #WWBlogHop
Grandma Camp is so cool. It’s great that she can spend time with them. cheers
This is the first year I am arranging sleep overs for my grand daughters, just me and them. They are now old enough for this old bird to handle them solo and I really cannot wait to have them.
I remember my summer vacations with my grandparents, we did nothing special at all but it was still the highlight of my year. I want to create those memories for my munchkins as well.
Great post of ideas, thanks!
It looks like your grandkids are going to have a great summer! Thanks for sharing all of your fun summer plans with us.
I love everything about this! We are excited to see the summer movies this year too and I have lots of crafting plans to do with the kiddos. I love your bubble dispenser idea. We will have to check that out!
Grandma Camp sounds like so much fun! I love all of these ideas to keep the kids busy this summer. I was just checking our local movie theatre & I was disappointed the free movies are on Saturdays, I was hoping it would be during the week. I’m sure your grandkids are so happy to have you close now. My kids loving going to Grandma’s House & doing crafts.