Planning to have fun?

I'm an organizer and a planner so I like to be prepared as much as possible, especially if I am spending an afternoon with the grandkids and hoping to do crafts.  Kids can't always come up with ideas about what to do so if you have some fun ideas (need to keep the list updated as your grandkids grow older), and the supplies to do it, you won't be left with "nothing to do" when they were so looking forward to spending time with you!  Kids have a short attention span so if they have to sit around while you cut things so they can use them to play a game or start creating something, they will quickly lose interest.  If cutting is part of the fun though, by all means, get at it, but if the fun is doing something with the "cut outs" then I suggest cutting out in advance and reading the instructions on how to play the game or make the craft so you understand it. Sometimes it's best to come up with an idea yourself rather than give them the choice of what they want to do because firstly, they may not be the best about coming up with ideas and secondly, sometimes they only think about what "they" want to do and not about their younger or older siblings (girls vs. boys too).  Have more than one idea in your mind though; just because you think it will be fun, doesn't mean it will be!  Last time I went to visit my grandkids, we played "Roll a Snowman" and the kids loved it!; found it on Pinterest.  I had cut out all of the pieces in advance and brought them with me.  They knew I had "made" the game too vs. buying it, and they seemed equally impressed by that.  I also was sure to use their favourite colours which drew their attention right away.  Try it out!  Next time I go to visit, they likely won't want to play this game again, which is fine, but we had a blast this time around and it didn't cost me a lot of money...just some well planned time and I had fun doing that too.  Of course, sitting around and talking or reading a book is fun too, but you can plan those things too; what book will you read, what can they learn from the book, what questions you might ask them about the book to get a conversation going.  I believe this helps kids to get conversations going in other aspects of their lives, and gets them thinking more about books that they read if we have had a discussion about it. You can get really great ideas on Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/ - and almost every craft supply you need is available at a Dollar Store (vs. more expensive stores like Michael's or WalMart).  My grandkids favourite store to shop at with me is Dollarama; who would have thought! 

So, get your ideas, list of items you need, and have some quality fun-time!  They will never know that you planned it all along...  If you are having fun, that's what it's all about!