Grandparents and grandkids can draw together with simple step-by-step lessons, take-turn drawing games, family portraits and art swaps by mail or video call. You don’t need any art skills: draw side by side, laugh at your mistakes and let the grandkids teach you. Drawing gives you both something to do together that isn’t a screen, and it leaves you with keepsakes.
Why drawing together works
Drawing is calm, quiet and easy to start, which makes it perfect for a visit. It gives you something to talk about without pressure, and kids love being the expert. When a grandchild teaches a grandparent how to draw a dinosaur, they feel ten feet tall.
Activities for a visit
- Draw along with a lesson. Each of you follows the same step-by-step lesson, then compare. In a How to Draw book, every step shows the complete drawing as a light gray outline, so even beginners can see where the lines go.
- Let them teach you. Ask your grandchild to pick a character they know and show you how to draw it, step by step.
- Take-turn drawings. One person draws a shape, the other adds to it. Keep going until it becomes a creature. See drawing games for kids.
- Family portraits. Draw each other, or the whole family. Silly is the goal.
- Draw the old days. Draw the house you grew up in or your first pet, and tell the story while you draw.
- Make a book together. You write, they illustrate. See make a picture book with kids.
Activities from far away
- Video draw-along. Pick a lesson, both print it or open the same book, and draw together on a video call. Hold up your drawings at the end.
- Art swap by mail. Send a drawing, they send one back. Start a monster or a comic, mail it, and let them finish it.
- Same book, two houses. Buy two copies of the same drawing book and work through one lesson a week together.
- Prompt of the week. Text a prompt from the drawing prompt generator and swap photos of your drawings.
Mixed ages
If you have grandkids of different ages, give each the format that fits: Trace Then Color for ages 3 and up, How to Draw for 5 and up, and Draw by Grid for older kids. Choose the same theme so everyone draws the same characters. See drawing with mixed ages.
What to say about their drawings
Comment on what you see and ask questions instead of just “That’s beautiful.” “Tell me about this monster.” “I love the colors you picked.” See how to praise a child’s drawing.
Keep the art
Ask for a drawing to put on your fridge, and send one of yours back. Grandparents who keep their grandkids’ art in a folder often end up with a treasured record of their childhood. See turn kids’ art into gifts.
Tip: Keep a “Grandma’s House” drawing kit: a book, a pencil case and a pad of paper that stays at your house for every visit.
The book that helps
A How to Draw book gives grandparents and grandkids the same lesson to follow together, and the Trace Then Color version lets the youngest grandchildren join in.
How to Draw: Cute Cartoon Animals
Trace Then Color: Cute Cartoon Animals
How to Draw: Cartoon Cats & DogsAs an Amazon Associate, FirstArtBooks earns from qualifying purchases.
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Questions
What are good drawing activities for grandparents and grandkids?
Draw-along lessons from the same book, take-turn drawing games, family portraits, and letting the grandchild teach you to draw a character.
How can grandparents draw with grandkids long distance?
Draw along on a video call, swap drawings by mail, or buy two copies of the same drawing book and do one lesson a week together.
Do I need to be good at drawing?
No. Kids love seeing grown-ups try, and step-by-step books do the teaching for both of you.