Spring is a wonderful time to explore the way nature seems to wake from its winter's nap and start growing again. For grandparents, the renewal of life is seen in each grandtoddler's springy step or in each marvelous new grandbaby on the way. Grandchildren, with their own kind of wisdom, are more interested in the here and now -- spring's new buds and blossoms, the sounds of birds returning, and the delightfully deep puddles that come with April showers.

Now's the time to enjoy spring in all of its shades of meaning. You might try exploring outdoors with a preschooler grandchild with a measuring tape, charting the growth of tulip shoots and tree buds. Or chart the length of the days -- noticing how each day is getting longer during this time of year. For morning snuggles indoors, try taping construction-paper bunny paw prints to the carpet marking the way from her bed to yours!

Grandtoddlers will love gearing up for baseball season with this indoor game. Thread a cord through a nerf or tennis ball and tack the end into the top of a door frame for some chaseless indoor catch.

And all grandbabies will enjoy having a long sunbath--indoors or out, depending on the temperature -- with diaper off and toes free.

Most of all, let yourself get caught up in your grandchild's enthusiasm about the dramatic changes of spring. It's a wonderful time to dust off your outmoded ideas about stodgy grandparenting relationships and get down to your grandchild's level for some interactive fun.

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Grandloving Activity Idea: Springtime Nested Treats

Your grandchildren will love not only the process of making these yummy treats, but eating the finished product as well.

Ages: Two to five years

You'll Need:
* A bowl
* Cookie sheet covered with wax paper or tin foil
* 1 cup flaked coconut
* 1 ounce unsweetened baking chocolate
* 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
* Small bowl of sugar
* Jelly beans

Here's How:
* Grandparents, melt the chocolate in the microwave on medium for two minutes and stir until smooth.
* While you're doing this, your grandchildren can be measuring the coconut and condensed milk. You can then add these to the hot chocolate and stir until it is well blended.
* When the mixture is cool enough to be safely handled, show the eager cooks how to roll about a tablespoon of the mixture into balls and drop them onto the covered cookie sheet.
* Next, have them dip their thumbs into the bowl of sugar and then press their thumbs into the center of each "bird's nest."
* If they can stop licking their gooey fingers long enough, have them fill their nests with the jelly bean "eggs"!
* Refrigerating the nests for thirty minutes will help firm them up.
* This should make about twelve nests to help celebrate Easter or the arrival of spring.

> Be sure you are the one to microwave the chocolate, as it will become very hot.

Even if you can't be with your grandchildren this spring, you can still show them that they are in your thoughts and heart by sending some creative activities in the mail. These special ideas make the most of the springtime fun and are designed to make you feel as close as next door.

For preschooler grandchildren, you might try buying some alfalfa seeds at a health food store, popping them in a plastic bag that has some small holes punched in it, and sending it to your little one with instructions to add water to the bag and watch for new sprouts! Or send some forget-me-not seeds for some unforgettable fun that they'll always associate with you.

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Grandloving Activity Idea: Sticky Sock Sketch

Encourage your little one to take an "old sock nature walk."

Ages: Eighteen months to five years

You'll Need to Send:
* A pair of old cotton sweat socks
* A small magnifying glass

Here's How:
* Ask your little cherub can put on the old cotton socks and run around outside to see what will stick to the bottoms.
* Tell her to use the magnifying glass to inspect the burrs, twigs, and treasures she's gathered and report back to you by phone or fax.
* It might even be fun for her to make a collage of your treasures or to try planting some of the seeds that stick!

Passover is a time of remembering, of tasting the bitter herb and reminding ourselves of the meaning of unleavened bread. But luckily for the children, there are moments within the Passover ritual — as in all Jewish rituals, it seems — for true fun.

Before your littlest grandchild dashes from the Seder table to find the Afikomen, you might decorate a special cover with a new handkerchief and some fabric markers. Or you could make a new and very special Seder tablecloth on which you trace the hands of all who shared the meal (if you use it year after year, your granchildren will enjoy seeing how they've grown!).

However you make it special, we wish you and your little ones a very Hag Sameach — Happy Holiday!