I got sidetracked on my last post when I started to write about having a bike-oree for your grandchildren.  I sure hate it when that happens. (Wait. No, I really don’t mind getting side-tracked. I travel down many interesting paths that I wouldn’t normally have taken had I not gotten sidetracked.  Let’s hear it for getting sidetracked.  Hip, hip, hooray!)

Ahem.  Where was I?  Oh, yes. A bike-oree for grandchildren.

First, give your grandchildren crepe paper strips to weave between their bike spokes.  Cut strips that are one inch wide and eight inches long.  Wrap tape around the strips at one end making a pom-pom and tape a pom-pom to the end of each handlebar.

For this activity, you’ll need some chalk and your driveway.  (If you live near a school or a church you could possibly use their parking.)

Draw a path on your driveway.  Have your grandchildren see if they can ride their bike (trike, hot wheels, even rollerblades) while staying within the lines.  When they are fairly successful, time them.  Have a little competition to see which grandchild can do it the fastest.  When that ‘path’ has been conquered, wash it off and draw a more difficult one.

To add more of a challenge, get items to place along the path to turn it into an obstacle course.  Things like boxes or buckets or grandma’s terra cotta flowerpots (especially if they are looking as dead as mine are at the moment). You could even tape balloons to your driveway on your obstacle course.  You could have the grandchildren ride between the balloons — or ride over them to pop them.

Next, give them a balloon and a broom and have them sweep that balloon from one end of the driveway to the other.  You might need to have a grundle of balloons on hand in case they accidentally get popped.  Again, you can time your grandchildren to see who can do it the fastest.  Or divide them into teams and see which team can get the most points by sweeping balloons across the ‘point line’ in 3 minutes.  (You could substitute a light-weight plastic ball for the balloons.)

Drag those boxes back out (the ones that you used for the obstacle course).  Give each child a small basketball, nerf ball, or plastic ball that came with your fat bat.  Have them do ‘drive-by’ baskets where they try to get the ball inside the box.  (Of course you will put the box 3-4 feet away from where your grandchildren will be riding.  Of course.)

Play ‘bike limbo’ where grandma and grandpa hold a broom and the grandchildren see if they can ride their bike under the broom.  The grandparents will lower the broom a little bit each time making it a wee bit more challenging for the grandkids.

Give your grandchildren a ping pong ball.  Set out a wide-mouth bottle, shortening can, or empty oatmeal box. See if you grandchildren can drop the ping pong ball into the container as they ride past it.

Get out your old embroidery hoop or cut rings out of cardboard or see if you can find some plastic rings at your local dollar store. Put out a 2-liter pop bottle.  Have your grandchildren drop the ring over the bottle as they ride their bike past the bottle.  See who can put the most rings over the bottle in one minute.

Here’s something that you can try if you’ve got a little bit older grandchildren.  (Older than what? you ask.  I dunno.  Just older . . .) Have two grandchildren ride toward each other.  As they pass, see if they can give the other person a ‘high five.’

Drag those boxes out for yet another activity.  And the broom.  Gotta have the broom for this activity.  Find something that you can put on top of the box — another box, an empty 3 liter pop bottle, that type of thing.  Something that could be ‘swept’ off the box — not too easily but not too hard either.  Then, have your grandchildren ‘joust’ by riding past the box trying to knock that item off the box.

Does grandpa have any wood on hand?  Say a piece of plywood and a short piece of a two-by-four?  Put the piece of plywood over the two-by-four.  This will be a ‘jump.’ Have your grandchildren ride over the jump.

Well, this ought to keep them (and you) busy for a little while.  Do you have any ideas that could be added to this bike-oree?  If so, I’d love to hear about them!

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