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Several years ago I took an interest in gardening. Not so much vegetable gardening, but rather flower gardening. It never really occurred to me at the time, that my flower garden would become one of my favorite hobbies to share with my grandchildren.

Our granddaughters consider grandma’s garden something next to fairy heaven. Admittedly, I’ve done my best to nurture their imaginations within that garden. Whenever they come to help me in the garden we talk about the plants, and how the flowers could be fairy dresses or homes.  

Hobbies are always a good thing to have, but it seems like the days of childhood hobbies are as old-fashioned as black and white television. You seldom hear of kids having stamp or rock collections. 

You can find a ton of gardening books that center on gardening with children. Even so, it’s best to just keep it simple. Whatever season it is, you can find something blooming in the local nursery. That makes it easy to pick out.

If you want to start with seeds in the summer, I highly suggest zinnias. You can’t go wrong with them. Also, they will give you a bumper crop of color all the way until fall.

Another hobby you can take up together is writing.

Desktop publishing has made writing so simple there should be nothing holding you back. Virtually every writing program has a feature that will allow you create a newsletter. Why not make a family newsletter with your grandchildren? 

Depending on how many grandchildren you have, you could have a family photographer, and even a reporter. Then you could cover every family event. 

Have the little ones call you with stories that happened in their day. Have a section celebrating birthdays. You could even have a sports section, that tells of the family sporting events. Treat your athletes as if they were going to the super bowl, because they might one day!

You would not only create several hobbies within one, such as photography and writing–but also preserve your family memories in a very special way. 

Scrapbooking

For the longest time scrapbooking was a hot industry. It seemed like rows just popped up in stores filled with scrapbooking materials. It’s calmed down somewhat now. However, not too long ago, I heard of a new twist on scrapbooking.

It’s like day journaling. You take a picture of everyday things, people, events and even meals. Sort of what most people do now with their phones anyway. Most of the pictures end up on Facebook or Instagram. But, I think there’s a better way.

Blend a little old school and new, by having the pictures developed once a week. Then get together with your grandchild and make a scrapbook together that creates a visual of his or her week. As you’re cutting and gluing, you have the perfect opportunity to talk about everyday life.

Not only do you have the opportunity to spend meaningful time talking, but you are creating something special together that your grandchild will treasure well into her adulthood.

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