Today I spent an hour with my two granddaughters, 6 and 9. Usually, when I know I will be spending time with them, I plan an outing, or take some craft items so we can do something fun together, but today was different. The girls had a day off from school and their mother was called away, unexpectedly so I was pressed into service with very little notice.
When I arrived, the girls both greeted me with, "Hi, Grandma. What are we going to do today?" They looked disappointed when I didn't have the usual project in my bag but then the younger one said, "Don't worry, Grandma. We'll play balloons."
She rushed off to her room and brought back two ordinary looking balloons, and I had to wonder how we would fill an hour with just two balloons, but the girls soon had them blown up and started batting them around the room. Grandma sat on the living room sofa and watched, batting a balloon now and then that got close enough for her to reach without exerting herself too much.
For the rest of the time we were together, we took turns inventing games to play with the balloons. You would be surprised what busy little minds can come up with.They made up one game where they put a chair in the middle of the room and everyone had to see how many times they could bat a balloon over the chair and hit the wall on the other side without it (the balloon) hitting the floor first. Since the chair was quite a distance from the wall, they had to hit the balloon pretty hard to make sure it made it all the way to the wall.
Another game required each person to see how long they could keep their balloon in the air using their hands, feet, and even their heads. Grandma timed the girls, using the second hand on her watch.
My favorite--for the girls, not for me--was to play individual games of handball against the wall. Each girl would bat her balloon against the wall as fast as she could and try to keep it from landing on the floor. They were out of breath after a few minutes of this, and more than ready for a rest. I would highly recommend this one to help kids keep in shape during the winter months when outdoor play is limited. (I knew I couldn't compete with them, but I plan to try this one myself at home when I am sure no one is watching.)
The fourth game, invented by Grandma, I'm proud to say, ended up to be their favorite. It was called Cleaning House. The girls stood across the room from each other and batted a balloon back and forth between them. Each time one of the girls missed and allowed the balloon to touch the floor, she had to pick up a toy, a sock, a book, or anything that wasn't in its proper place and put it away. (Grandma continued the game with the remaining girl from her comfortable seat on the couch until the missing girl returned to the room.) You wouldn't believe how spiffy the room looked by the time their mother returned, and the girls were laughing so hard, we had trouble convincing her that they were cleaning the house.
If you need to entertain some little ones for an hour or two, tuck a couple of balloons in your purse. Balloon games are not only entertaining, but also extremely inexpensive.
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