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Planting the Seed

Grandparents and Toddlers

By Laurie Dove

These basics will allow children to draw, cut, paste and color. They can make pictures, paper chains, snowflakes, fans and greeting cards. Grandparents also can add coloring and activity books, which encourage side-by-side activity the grandparent can color one page while the grandchild colors the other.

To bring some variety to the craft box, add stickers, used calendars and catalogues or greeting cards. One grandparent uses greeting card pictures to create an "ABC" book for each of her toddler grandchildren.

Leftover fabric scraps, yarn or string, as well as clean, dry egg cartons, single socks, cotton balls and small boxes can become treasures to the imaginative toddler. And, they do double-duty: not only do they encourage a toddler's creativity, but also reinforce a recycling habit.

A trip to the local discount store can bring the addition of wooden thread spools, pasta, colored feathers and foam or wood shapes. Pipe cleaners are perfect for bending, bundling, coiling and twisting into countless shapes.

With a craft box all set, the most important part is yet to come: sharing hobbies with a grandchild. It's also a good time to share bits of your past with toddlers. Tell them about the crafts you made as a child. Show them paper dolls or paper airplanes. Tell them about their great-grandparents. But most of all, simply enjoy the quiet pleasures of crafting together.

Experienced grandparents, like Patterson, have seen their early efforts pay off.

Many of Patterson's grandchildren, who range in age from 18 years to 18 months, have gone on to show an interest in and talent for writing. Patterson's oldest grandchild is entering college next fall with plans to become an English teacher. The next in line to enter college has her eye on becoming a literature professor and has already won awards for her writing.

On several occasions, the grandchildren have collaborated to write poetry as a gift for their grandmother, evidence of the time she spent sharing her hobby with them.