Grammy on the Go
By Karen Shadrach
Do you remember looking forward to your last day of school each year? Such an enormous sense of freedom and looking forward to, what seemed at the time, many long, lazy, fun-filled summer days!
The last day of school is an exciting time for your grandchildren. Help make their day extra special by planning a creative activity to commemorate the occasion. The conclusion of the 2022-2023 school year is here and it is time to celebrate!
You can help them to celebrate by letting them run into summer! Make a paper banner to either hold across the driveway or over the front door. It can be decorated with a fun message such as, Welcome to Summer or End of School. As they come off the bus, or walk up the sidewalk, they will see the cross-over barriers and run through them and into their summer break!
After running through banners into summer, there are a lot of other options to celebrate.
Remember to take a last-day-of-school photo. Then you can compare it to their first day of school to see how much they’ve changed.
Play music! “School’s Out for Summer” (Alice Cooper) or “Summertime” by Bon Jovi. The grandchildren love to dance and sing along to Beach Boys songs, which always remind me of summer.
If the weather co-operates and it is a hot day, you can celebrate with water and set up a sprinkler or slip ‘n slide. Have a bucket of water balloons ready or let them use squirt guns.
Ice cream is a great treat and you can make it special by going to your favorite ice cream shop, or have a few flavors available at home and set up an ice cream bar with all the toppings! Different syrups, fruits, nuts and small candies are always favorites.
Pre-plan a fun outing for them to look forward to all day, such as going roller skating, or playing mini golf or laser tag. Planning to meet up with some of their friends can also make it extra special.
Make them a summer fun box and include summer-like things in the box. Examples are sunscreen, sunglasses, a new bathing suit, chalk, sidewalk paint, bubbles, bug collection boxes, etc.. Another idea is to make the items above into a scavenger hunt and give them clues to find each prize around the yard or house.
Have a picnic dinner that night or go to their favorite restaurant.
Celebrate no more school the next morning by staying up late! Host a sleep over with a friend or just stay over at their grandparent’s house. Plan a campout in your backyard for their first night of summer freedom. Light a huge bonfire, or kick off summer with s’mores around a small campfire.
Plant sunflowers with them for a tradition after the last day of classes. When the flowers are tall, then it’s time to go back to school! Of course, if the plants do not grow well for some reason, the grandkids may argue when it’s time to return.
The last suggestion is to go on a staycation. Pre-plan to take off the next day for Cedar Point or book a room for the night at a local hotel. Try getting one with a pool and free breakfast. Rooms can be less expensive during the week and makes for an easy and exciting party.
Have fun and share in your grandchildren’s reaching the finish line of this school year and completing an important milestone in their lives.
Photos by Karen Shadrach
