let’s go! GRAND summer fun! (week seven) let’s eat, move, create & explore!
- Our Grand Lives
- Jul 24
- 9 min read
Updated: Aug 11
Thursday, July 24, 2025
HAPPY THURSDAY, EVERYONE!
Thanks for spending part of your day with us!
If this is your first visit to our blog - WELCOME!
And, if you are returning - THANK YOU!
It’s a JOY to have you here!
We’ve definitely been feeling the impact of “yo-yo weather” here in Minnesota
these past few weeks!
We’re never quite sure what the day will hold…
We’re changing clothes midday,
we’ve had to be flexible with plans often changing at the last minute
and the umbrella is always nearby!
Yep, it’s been a yo-yo kind of summer so far!
Despite the uncertainties our weather has brought this season,
it hasn’t diminished the memories we’ve made along the way.
Welcome back to another week of
We’ve got two more weekly posts devoted to this summer series,
where we share activities we've loved…
those that, for us, give us a bang for our buck!
We hope you agree!
Today, we’re back with Week Seven and this brand new post
filled with more GRAND Summer Fun!
This week we’re taking a step back in time
because all of our featured activities
are ones we’ve shared before, in one way or another!
Sometimes it’s fun to revisit a favorite activity
and rediscover all it offers! Right?
Time spent with our grandchildren is always worth celebrating!
This week’s featured ideas included…
LET’S EAT! French Toast Muffins!
LET’S MOVE! - A Color Walk!
LET’S CREATE! DIY Chalk Painting!
LET’S EXPLORE - A Bug Playground!
And, of course, you’ll find a few Instagram FAVES along the way, too!
LET’S GO!
French toast is always a treat for Laura and her family!
These muffins are a simple alternative to the original
but with the same taste and texture!
ADDED BONUS?
You and your Little(s) will have fun making them together!
These photos sure bring a smile to my face!
Last year, Little L and I made these muffins for her mommy on Mother’s Day!
She was able to help, no problem, despite her purple cast!
INGREDIENTS (these quantities made 8 generous muffins)
• 3-4 slices of bread, cut or torn into small pieces
NOTE - We used cinnamon bread… yum!
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (IF NOT using cinnamon bread)
• 1/2 cup blueberries (if big, cut in half)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin tin with butter or cooking spray.
2. Crack the two eggs into a large mixing bowl and whisk them together. Then add the milk and the vanilla. If you are not using cinnamon bread, add the cinnamon, too. Whisk all these wet ingredients together.
3. Tear or cut the bread into bite size pieces and add to the bowl with the wet mixture. Stir together, coating all of the bread. Let the mixture sit and soak for 5 minutes.
4. Gently, fold in the blueberries. Distribute the mixture to the muffin tin, filling each section about half full. (We were able to fill about 8 sections.) We also added a few additional blueberries to each muffin.
A little cutie might have been trying to nibble a blueberry or two!
5. Bake your French toast muffins for 20 minutes. Check to see if the eggs have set and bake for a few additional minutes, as needed. When done, remove from the oven and let the muffins sit for 5 minutes before removing them from the tin.
Little L can hardly wait to “taste test” these!
6. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar, maple syrup or on their own… all delicious options!
Did you know that National Freezer Pop Day is celebrated each July 8?
In honor of this date, we shared this GRAND Tip on Instagram!
Grandparents! Remember how sticky and messy your children got when eating popsicles on hot summer days? Recently, Laurie brought some popsicles to her Littles during a humid Minnesota day and her daughter pulled out these popsicle/ice cream bar holders.. PRESTO! Clean kids with no sticky fingers!!! Times are a-changin’!
Here’s a fun memory that Laurie is sharing today!
Last year, Little D and I spent an afternoon celebrating summer in this special way!
We created a Color Hunt Cup to take on a walk with us!
Tape strips of colored paper onto the edge of a plastic cup, as shown.
Then add a piece of double sided tape to the other end of each strip. You are ready for your Color Hunt Walk!
As you take a seasonal walk outside together, have your Little hunt for colors and when one is spotted, your Little folds that color strip to the outside of the cup and secures it with the double sided tape. Your Little can add the color items to the cup as they are collected!
Once you get home, your Little can create a museum
of the collected artifacts!
Your Little’s Color Hunt Cup can be used over and over again!
Use it during different seasons of the year
and then compare and contrast your findings!
Last July, both of our families really got into the Summer Olympics!
We spent two weeks hosting our own Olympic events
from volleyball to golf to fencing and more!
One of the highlights was our track and field events,
including running hurdles!
We made our hurdles out of pool noodles and skewers (you can use dowels or sticks in place of the skewers), depending on how tall you want them to be). Make lower hurdles for your young Littles and higher ones for older Littles. You will either cut pool noodles in half (for wider hurdles) or in thirds (for narrower ones).
Once made, space the hurdles several feet apart in your yard and then your Little(s) can get some excess energy out while practicing their track and field skills! You can even time older Littles and set up a competition, too!
You can find this IG post from last summer here.
(We love our video of two-year-old Little L “running” the hurdles!)
If interested, you can find all of our Olympic content from last year
Littles of all ages love to create with colored chalk!
This idea takes that activity to the next level!
We’ve got one of our favorite recipes to share… DIY chalk paint!
You only need two common kitchen ingredients plus water,
it’s non-toxic and it washes away quickly
with the help of a hose or a summer rainstorm!
A perfect combination for Little inspired masterpieces!
MATERIALS NEEDED
• cornstarch
• water
• liquid food coloring (not gel - it might stain surfaces)
• a muffin tin, paper cups or small bowls.
• measuring spoons and/or a spoon to mix
DIRECTIONS
1. Decide ahead of time how many colors you’d like to create. We planned for six! Then, mix equal parts of cornstarch and water in each section of the muffin tin (or in small cups/bowls). We started with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch and 2 Tablespoons water for each color of paint. Stir until the mixture is smooth and the cornstarch has dissolved. Add more cornstarch (if mixture is runny) or more water (if mixture is too thick) as needed until you have a smooth consistency.
NOTE: Add the water to one container of cornstarch at a time and stir before adding water to another container. This will prevent the mixture from hardening.
2. Add a few drops of liquid food coloring to each container. Add more drops, as needed, until you get the desired color. You could add drops of two kinds of food coloring to make one of your colors, too… your Littles will have fun discovering what happens when colors are mixed together!
3. Now your Little is ready to paint with your DIY chalk paint! Let your Littles create using brushes and the sidewalk or driveway as their canvases! Your Littles can even paint garden rocks! We recommend having some paper towels nearby... just in case!
NOTE: Stir your paint occasionally as the corn starch has a tendency to settle on the bottom. This will also keep the colors more brilliant.
4. The paint colors will look more vibrant as the paint dries and clean-up is super easy! Rain will wash away your Littles’ artwork or together you can use the garden hose to spray the creations away!
NOTE: If you’d like to keep the chalk paint to use on another day, you can cover and store the paint up to a few days. Stir well before using once again.
SURPRISE! This DIY chalk paint is very versatile!
Too hot to paint outside on the driveway?
Provide pieces of black construction paper
and let your Little paint away!
Littles love dirt and exploration,
and here’s a fun activity Laurie and her grandkids had fun with last year!
Your Little(s) will have fun planting grass seeds in this special planter
and then, once the grass grows,
they will be equally tickled to give their “friend” a haircut!
How does YOUR garden grow?
Check out this IG post for photos
and this blog post for detailed directions!
During the last week of school,
this was an annual event in Laurie’s kindergarten classroom!
A few years ago, she gave it a try with older Littles in her extended family!
Making the Bug Playgrounds!
Set out scrap paper, glue, tape and scissors. Demonstrate how to make a loop or tent by folding and twisting the paper and then let your Littles create a “playground” for the bugs in your yard! Encourage them to fold, twist, cut, curl to make dramatic feats for the bugs to try!
Our younger Littles were happy after one page was completed. They also needed help with the taping and gluing. But the older Littles really took to this. As you can see, their playgrounds kept growing and growing!
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math)
at its best!
The finished playgrounds!
Recess Time for the Bugs!
When your playgrounds are finished, follow these next steps!
1. Take your playgrounds outside, and spray them lightly with sugar water.
2. Sprinkle some crackers or bread crumbs on the playground.
3. Time to be patient... wait and observe!
Definitely… Worth the wait!
Last summer, Laura and her great nephew created
their own version of a. marble run!.
Take play dough and roll it into snakes of different lengths. Arrange them on a cookie sheet and press down gently to create a maze for a marble to run.
Tilt the cookie sheet so the marble(s) roll down.
For an added challenge:
Change the play dough snakes to create new mazes
OR
to make the maze run faster!
Watch the IG video of the maze in action here
and this blog post for detailed directions!
Thanks for taking this trip down memory lane with us!
We loved doing these activities with our Littles
and we love looking back at these sweet photos, too!
We hope that one or more of the ideas we've shared
got you thinking about all the fun you and your Littles can have together, too!
If you missed any of the past six weeks of ideas
filled with GRAND SUMMER FUN
you can find these past posts by scrolling down our Home Page here.
We want to THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts
for reading, commenting, subscribing and/or emailing.
If you’d like to follow us on Instagram or Facebook,
Next week, we’ll return with two new posts,
the final edition of this summer's series, Let's Go! GRAND Summer Fun!
and then our monthly Life Lately recap, as well!
Yes, while this summer’s weather has definitely had its ups and downs
we also know that life, in general, can be like a yo-yo…
One minute you’re up and the next you are down!
Yet, it’s often in those difficult moments when we learn the most,
especially to appreciate all we’ve been blessed with!
May the week ahead
- with all its ups and downs -
bring you moments of peace and fun
and memories that make you smile!
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING SITES FOR FEATURING OUR POST!
A Morning Cup of Joe from The Cottage Market
Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot from Women Living Well After 50
Thank you for featuring this post on your sites!
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These are grand activities. The littles look like they are having fun. I still like sidewalk chalk. But still to this day I can't stand the feel of playdough. Lol.
Thanks bunches for sharing with Sweet Tea & Friends this month sweet friends. I'm so happy you're here.
We're currently having a lot of rainy days, but also hot days. We had some flooding in our basement, so we will be busy next month, getting a few repairs. I am loving the summer fun that you are having. Also, I love the muffin recipe. I am going to give it a try. Thank you for sharing with us at The Crazy Little Lovebirds link party. :)
Steph@CrazyLittleLovebirds
Yes! The weather has been wonky- soo so much rain in June and so much hotness and mugginess in July.....hoping for a hot and sunny August here :)
The muffins look delicious and the hurdles so much fun! Who is having the best summer? You or the grandkids?
Our weather has been so hot and humid! We've had some storms in between, but it's still so muggy! So many fun activities again this week. I love the color hunt cup and the bug playgrounds. What brilliant ideas.
I think Little L did an amazing job on those muffins! Yummy.
Wishing you lovely ladies a fab week. 💕 😊