Riding public transportation to and from work is always an adventure. Sometimes good. Sometimes bad.  Today’s post ranks under the ‘good.’

Grandma Carolyn sat by me as we rode to work.  She pulled out her book and quietly chuckled.  Then, she held out her bookmark for me to see.  It was divine!  What a colorful, sweet little piggy bookmark that her granddaughter had made for her!

Where did my mind immediately jump to?  Why, sharing her bookmark on this site, of course.  I pulled out my iPhone and snapped a picture.  What a professional picture, huh?  Don’t ya just love the fancy backdrop?  (It’s the backside of the seat in front of us in case you’re a non-UTA bus rider and can’t tell.)

So here are my thoughts.  First, find a picture for your grandchild to color — from a coloring book, off the Internet, hand-drawn by you.  Whatever.  You might want to reduce the size of the picture so it will easily fit inside a book.

Have your grandchild color the picture.  If your grandchildren are readers, have them color a picture for themselves so they can have their very own bookmark.  Then, you can laminate the bookmark as Grandma Carolyn did or simply cover it with clear contact paper.

This would be a great activity to do with grandchildren who live far away.  Send them a package containing the picture, the crayons or markers, and the clear contact paper.  (They will be delighted to receive the package in the mail.)  Include directions on making the bookmark.  Make sure you also have a return envelope with appropriate postage for them to mail their completed bookmark back to you.

It’s a win-win situation. If your grandchildren live close by, this is a fun and easy activity you can share with them.    You add one more layer of love in your relationship with your grandchildren when you do this activity together.

You still ‘win’ with far away grandchildren.  They get a fun package in the mail.  They have a fun project to do. You get a bookmark made by a grandchild.  And, you still add a layer of love in your relationship even though the miles keep you apart.

You could have a ‘follow up’ activity by giving your reading grandchildren a book to use with their bookmark!  You could even take your grandchild with you to the store to let them select which book they would like.

If any of you grandmothers out there do this activity, let me know how it turns out!