My Favorite Video-Calling Activities to Do with Grandchildren

Whether you live with your grandchildren or are visiting via Zoom or other virtual meeting tools, there are many fun and engaging things that can be done with your grandchildren. These activities can be teaching experiences in many ways. Even the youngest grandchild will do well listening to your voice as you tell stories or read to them. To help get you started, here are some of my favorite activities to do with grandchildren, even if we are not in the same room:

Board Games

It's a little tricky to play board games via a virtual meeting, but it is by no means impossible. Games like Monopoly are more challenging, but Candyland can work well. So do some math and reading games. It helps if both parties have a copy of the game if it's going to be virtual.

In our home, one of our grandchildren lives with us. When we play, there will sometimes be treats out on the board for whoever lands on a particular spot. This can be done with about any game, but we first started the practice with Candyland. All of the candies get a small candy on them.

Science

For virtual activities, an adult or older child (teens) should be present for the experiments, unless you are going to do it on your end for them to observe in regular sessions. There are a lot of fun things that can be studied. One example is how a raw (in the shell) egg reacts to different liquids. We've done soda, vinegar, and water so far.

You can also make a colorful crystal garden. The recipe is available online, and you can color the crystals with food dye. This is about the only reason I ever buy bluing, as it's one of the ingredients. It takes a few days for the garden to be visibly growing, but it's a lot of fun to watch, even as an adult.

Reading

Instilling a love for reading is something that is important for every child. If you can read well, you can learn anything. This can be done several ways. If you can be with your grandchild, it is a lot of fun to read to them while they sit on your lap. If you can't, you can read virtually or record yourself reading and mail it to your grandchild.

If they can read, you can improve their skills by having them read to you. I have to warn you; some books will probably make you wrinkle your nose. One of our granddaughter's favorites is called That's Disgusting. It's something in her age group, and it is pretty disgusting, but it's still G-rated.

Want more content about reading? Check out these blogs:

• Keeping Up with Your Reading in the Digital Age: Part 1 - Audiobooks
• Keeping Up with Your Reading in the Digital Age: Part 2 - E-Books

Flashcards

This one is easy-peasy to do virtually as well as in person. We like to practice multiplication flashcards and have done others in the past. Colors, letters, foreign languages, and other things can be done this way. If in-person, a small treat can be an incentive to continue, especially if the subject is challenging at first.

Activities can be challenging to come up with when you cannot be in the same room. However, a little imagination and the use of technology can make things a lot easier.

Let us know in the comments below, what is your favorite activity to do over video-calls with grandchildren?

Related Content: 

• Making the Most of Video Calling: 10 Games to Play Over Zoom
• Zooming Along – How to Join a Video Call With Family or Friends
• A Fix from Afar: Remote Control Tech Support