Summer Craft Projects for Grandchildren and Grandparents During Hospice Care
Summer visits with grandparents receiving home hospice care offer precious opportunities for meaningful connection and memory-making. While energy levels may be lower and activities need to be gentler than in years past, quiet craft projects can provide wonderful ways for grandchildren and grandparents to spend quality time together, creating both beautiful keepsakes and lasting memories.
The key to successful summer crafting during hospice care is choosing projects that are simple, flexible, and focus more on the joy of creating together than on perfect results. These activities can be easily paused for rest, adapted to different ability levels, and enjoyed from the comfort of a favorite chair or bed. They also create objects that can be cherished by families for years to come.
Painted Rock Memory Gardens
Collecting and painting smooth rocks together creates a peaceful activity that can span several visits. Grandchildren can gather rocks from the yard or nearby areas, then sit with their grandparent to transform them into colorful garden decorations. Use washable acrylic paints and simple designs like flowers, hearts, or the child's handprints. You can also use things like Posca Paint Markers or Pitt Artist Pens if you want to fine-tune your design a bit more. These also work great for signing your rock after you paint it.
This project works beautifully because it requires minimal setup, can be done in short sessions, and creates lasting mementos for the garden or windowsill. Grandparents can share stories about their own childhood rock collections or gardens while guiding little hands in creating simple designs. The painted rocks become special markers in the garden that grandchildren can visit and remember their crafting time together.
To preserve your memory rocks the longest, consider spraying them with Clear Rust-Oleum American Accents 2X Ultra Cover Gloss Spray Paint, coating them with Mod Podge, or coating them with some other UV-protectant product. Be sure to test it on a sample painted rock first to make sure that it won’t make your paint run and ruin your beautiful work!
Memory Jar Decorating
Transform simple mason jars into beautiful memory containers that grandchildren can fill with small treasures throughout their visit. Provide tissue paper, ribbons, stickers, and child-safe glue to decorate the outside of the jars. Once decorated, children can fill them with special items like pressed flowers from grandparent's garden, small shells from beach walks, or handwritten notes.
This craft encourages storytelling as grandparents help children choose what items hold special meaning. The decorated jars become time capsules that children can take home, and making them together creates gentle conversation about favorite memories and special moments.
If you see your grandchildren on a regular basis, you can have a jar that you add to all summer long. You could also use a bigger jar and have the whole family contribute!
Simple Friendship Bracelets
Teaching grandchildren to make basic friendship bracelets using embroidery floss creates a quiet, meditative activity that's perfect for bedside crafting. Start with simple braided designs that young children can manage, gradually introducing more complex patterns for older kids. Grandparents can share stories about their own childhood friendships while guiding small fingers through the braiding process.
The repetitive nature of bracelet-making is soothing for both children and grandparents, and the finished bracelets serve as tangible reminders of time spent together. Children love wearing something they made with grandparent, and grandparents can keep a matching bracelet as a special keepsake.
Pressed Flower Art
Summer flowers from the garden or yard can be pressed and turned into beautiful bookmarks, greeting cards, or framed art. This project combines a nature walk (even if it's just to the porch or garden) with quiet indoor crafting. Show children how to select flowers that press well, then place them between paper towels and heavy books.
While waiting for flowers to press, grandchildren and grandparents can prepare backgrounds for their art projects using watercolors or colored paper. Once the flowers are ready, creating the final artwork becomes a gentle activity that produces beautiful results. This craft also teaches children about different types of flowers and may spark conversations about grandparent's gardening experiences over the years.
Paper Chain Memory Links
Create colorful paper chains where each link represents a special memory or hope for the future. Provide strips of construction paper and help children write or draw one memory on each strip before linking them together. Grandparents can share their favorite memories of the child while helping with the writing or drawing.
This project grows throughout the visit as new memories are created and added to the chain. Children can take the chain home as a visual reminder of their special time together, and the act of adding links becomes a ritual that marks each precious moment shared.
Decorated Photo Frames
Using popsicle sticks, glue, and simple decorations like buttons, stickers, or painted designs, children can create picture frames for special photos with their grandparent. Take new photos during the visit or choose favorite existing pictures to display in the handmade frames.
This craft combines creativity with memory preservation, and the finished frames become treasured keepsakes. Grandparents enjoy watching children's creative process, and children feel proud giving their handmade frames as gifts or taking them home to display special photos.
These summer crafting sessions offer grandchildren and grandparents precious opportunities to connect, create, and build memories that will comfort families long after the crafting supplies are put away. In the gentle rhythm of creating together, love is expressed, stories are shared, and bonds are strengthened in the most beautiful way possible.