Young grandchildren have a lot to teach us about the wonder of nature. By sparking their imaginations with some terrific do-together activities, you can enjoy their boundless enthusiasm and curiosity about the great outdoors. You might plant a garden together; make a crayon rubbing of bark, leaves, and other found objects; paint rocks; or lie back and watch the clouds.

Below are two activities you can enjoy while visiting a grandchild or when they visit you. Enjoy your littlest explorers this June!

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Grandloving Activity Idea: Sticky Sock Sketch

A fun spring or summertime activity is to take an "old sock nature walk."

Ages: Eighteen months to five years

You'll Need to Tuck in Your Suitcase:
* Two pairs of old cotton sweat socks
* A small magnifying glass

Here's How:
* You and your little cherub can put on the old cotton socks and run around outside to see what will stick to the bottoms.
* Use the magnifying glass to inspect the burrs, twigs, and treasures you've gathered.
* It might even be fun to make a collage of your treasures--or to try planting some of the seeds that stick!

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Grandloving Activity Idea: Peanut Butter Pinecones

As soon as your nature lover can hold a small butter spreader, she'll enjoy making this simple bird feeder and watching all the birds that come to visit.

Ages: Two to five years

You'll Need to Tuck in Your Suitcase:
* A jar of peanut butter
* A pinecone (or better yet, find one on a walk when you're visiting!)
* A butter spreader

Here's How:
* Be prepared for gooey fingers, but it's perfectly acceptable for your grandchild to lick them!
* Using the spreader, have your granddaughter smear peanut butter onto the pinecone.
* Roll the cone in birdseed and hang it outside near a window for good viewing from inside.
* Be prepared to attract a few squirrels as well as birds!
* This can provide a good conversation piece when you are back home and are talking with your granddaughter or grandson. Find out who has been "visiting" the feeder since your visit!

As summer fun gets under way, we just wanted to remind all of us how important it is to watch children around water. Even if your grandchild is thought by his parents to be "water safe," you must be right there at all times to make sure everything goes right. Unplug the phone; get the treats, sunscreen, lots of water or juice for drinking, and whatever else you might need; and provide the constant supervision that your little ones require to be safe.

Now for the fun tips! You might try getting out a clean paintbrush and letting your grandchild "paint" the rocks, house, or sidewalks; popping some sponges and a bit of soap in a dishwashing tub and having a "wash the toys" day; letting your little one explore in the kitchen and come up with some novel water toys for a little pool outside; or suggesting that they draw on a coffee filter or paper towel with water-based markers and then squirt them outside on a clothesline for a beautiful watercolor effect.

Let your imagination take flight and you'll make the most of these precious outdoor moments with your young grandchildren!

Back by popular demand — enough ideas for long-distance grandparenting to last a whole month! Keep up the weekly tradition you started in May and pop something easy and fun in the mail to your young grandchild. Here are some creative ideas from our book, Grandloving, to inspire you in June!

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Grandloving Activity Idea: Colorful Collaborations

You and your grandchild might enjoy making a nonsense picture together through the mail!

Ages: Three to five years

You'll Need:
* Paper and crayons or markers
* An envelope to mail your artistic treasure back and forth

Here's How:
* You can begin by making a few lines or shapes on a blank piece of paper.
* Mail it to your grandchild with a message that you'd like to know what he sees in your drawing.
* Then it's his turn to add to your lines or shapes and send it back to you.
* Now it's your turn to let him know what you see in the changing drawing.
* Once again add your mark and send it back.
* The last one to add to the drawing should be sure to post it for your next visit together; it will be a wonderful conversation piece.

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Grandloving Activity Idea: Balding Grandpa Grows Hair

Kids love to watch things grow, and with this project they'll even get a chance to give "Balding Grandpa" a haircut! (Supervising the use of the scissors of course!)

Ages: Three to five years

You'll Need to Send:
* One half a teaspoon of annual grass seed
* Enough dirt in a small plastic bag to fill a 12 oz. frozen juice can
* "Balding Grandpa's" body!

Here's How:
* You can either draw "Balding Grandpa" on paper or create him out of scraps of cloth--just be sure his head is cut off straight across the top where his hair would normally begin to grow!
* "Balding Grandpa" should be 5" tall.
* Have your little gardener put the dirt in a juice can, plant the seeds in the top, water well, tape "Grandpa" onto the front of the can, and set him in a sunny window.
* It won't be long before "Balding Grandpa" becomes "Hairy Gramps" and will need that supervised haircut!

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Grandloving Activity Idea: Paper Plate Pals

Summertime means picnics and paper plates. Here's a super, simple-to-make project to send that plays on this theme. Ages: Two to five years You'll Need to Send:
* Paper plates with a triangular wedge cut out of each plate
* Some samples of what you've been able to create might also be fun to send Here's How:
* The goal is to create a creature using one plate and one triangle. It's okay to use pens, crayons, cotton balls, and glue.
* You could add a few hints for your grandchild, such as how to divide the triangle into two smaller triangles to use as ears or into thin strips for whiskers or tails.

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Grandloving Activity Idea: "Giggle Maker" Sock Puppets

Don't throw out those old outgrown socks--turn them into adorable hand puppets in less than a minute!

Ages: Birth to two years

You'll Need:
* Old socks
* Scissors
* Permanent felt marker(s)

Here's How:
* These couldn't be easier... all you have to do is cut five finger holes through the end toe stitching.
* Draw a bold face where the palm of your hand falls.
* Fingers then become squiggly "bangs of hair."
* Send with a love note for the grateful parents as well as your much loved grandchild!