How to Plan the Best Camp Grandma Summer

By Grandma Sandy | May 28, 2025 |

If the grandkids will be spending more time with you this summer, why not create a Camp Grandma summer program to keep them engaged?

A collage of activities kids can do at Camp Grandma includes arts and crsfts, cooking, and gardening. — **Arts and crafts, cooking, gardening…some of our Camp Grandma activities.**

I started Camp Grandma over FaceTime during lockdown to stay connected with Miss T, who was seven. With summer camps shuttered, I kept her occupied for a few hours a week while her parents worked from home.

Camp Grandma was such a success, it became an annual summer program.

Setting the Stage

It’s hard to maintain Camp Grandma all summer long, so pick your timeframe. I did mine once a week, spanning five or six camp days all together.

Brand your Program

Brand your program, if you can. You can even create a logo for it. I used Canva, a design app. (There is a free version.)

Branded packaging of homemade kits for a remote, FaceTime Camp Grandma. — **Craft kits I made and delivered to Miss T in that pandemic summer.**

Especially in the first year, when I was sending materials to Miss T to craft with me over FaceTime, the logo on the packaging helped to reinforce the Camp Grandma idea.

Camp Grandma logo on bags, certificate of completion, and T-shirts.

It’s also nice to make a certificate of completion at the end of the Camp Grandma program, but certainly none of these bells and whistles are necessary. The main thing is to get to the Camp Grandma summer program ideas!

The Camp Grandma Curriculum

Decide ahead of time with the parents what goals you want to achieve. Some examples: increase reading proficiency and comprehension, grow self-sufficiency, develop creativity, and so forth.

Plan out a program that might include the following:

An excursion
A kitchen activity
A craft project
A science experiment
A plant project
A video activity
An awards/celebration closing event

Going on an Excursion

Getting out of the house is a way to liven up the time spent together. Here are some places to go.

**Kids check off items as they find them on a neighborhood scavenger hunt.**

Around the block. Get out into the neighborhood with a scavenger hunt.
The library. Many libraries have free and fun activities for kids.
An art museum. Kids may groan, but check out my fun art museum tips for kids.
A farmers’ market. Have kids select some produce to prepare at home. Make a salad or cook a dish together.

A Kitchen Activity

Kids love to spend time in the kitchen. This makes the act of preparing food an entertaining activity, while they learn how to read recipes, follow instructions, and gain a measure of self-sufficiency.

Child mixes ingredients to make easy apple crisp. — **Easy Apple Crisp is a recipe even a first-grade child can make, with a little assist from grandma.**

Bake Easy Apple Crisp. This recipe is written with a child cook in mind.
Make lunch together, such as Healthy Vegetable Nachos. Kids can cut the vegetables with a throwaway plastic knife.
Have kids design their own bento lunch. You can find cute food picks at some dollar stores.

A Craft Project

**Miss T is fascinated with her fairy lantern.**

Make a fairy lantern from a mason jar, complete with twinkle lights. For N, uninterested in fairies, we made a Paw Patrol version.
A piñata is an excellent project that you can use later for your summer party. We made a Death Star piñata.
Challenge kids to create from trash. Collect recycle items and see what they can make. N fashioned a troop carrier.

A Science Experiment

Here are some ideas for science projects using basic household items.

Child builds a volcano out oa air dry clay. He'll create an volcano eruption with baking soda, vinegar, and dish soap. — **N builds his volcano in preparation for an eruption.**

Make a volcano erupt with baking soda, vinegar, and dish soap.
Conduct some simple science experiments.
Learn about the science of flight and have an airplane flying contest.

A Plant Project

Kids can gain a love of plants by taking on simple plant projects.

A bug hotel made from toilet paper rolls and stuffed with plant material is a fun way for kids to get out in the garden and interact with tiny critters. — **Invite bugs to a bug hotel made with toilet paper rolls and plant materials.**

Here are some great gardening ideas for kids from an expert at a garden center.
Make a terrarium and watch plants grow in a controlled environment.

A Video Activity

Child interviews grandpa for a family history lesson. — **N interviews grandpa on video to learn family history.**

Kids love to be on camera and love to see themselves in videos. Here are some ways to explore this interest.

Have kids interview grandparents on video to learn more about family history; save the interview for posterity.
Make a “TV ad.” Create a video of your child making a sales pitch for a product or service. I turned N’s video into an ad using iMovie on my phone.
Turn your grandkids into TV cooking stars. Have them demonstrate with real food.

An Awards Celebration

Mom and child in a relay race during a summer party, the culmination of Camp Grandma. — **Mom and Miss T run a relay stepping only on newspapers.**

Close your Camp Grandma summer program by awarding certificates of achievement at a summer party. Post any artwork the kids have done for parents to admire. We like to have games, refreshments, and balloons for a festive summer celebration.

More Camp Grandma Ideas

For more Camp Grandma ideas, check out my previous blog posts.

This Summer’s Plan

Miss T and I are having an informal Camp Grandma this year. N will be at hockey camp.

We will spend a day a week cooking together. Instead of a child’s cookbook, we’ll use as our textbook, the award-winning Start Here, Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook, by Sohla El-Waylly.

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