Spring is one of our favorite times of the year. The days are starting to get just warm enough to appease those tiny requests for bare legs and flip flops, and everything’s changing, growing; feeling like we can also reach out and touch those hot summer days in front of us.
It’s also the time of summer camp registration, a new session of swimming lessons and when you start to think about many of the summer weekends away you’re in the midst of planning are going to begin to add up, cost wise.
That’s okay though, because we’ve come up with a fun list of twenty-four activities for little kids, that are going to create fun around every corner of those warm spring days. If you’re stuck for something to do, look no further.
1. Hang Painted Birdhouses on a Local Walking Trail
We’ve got an urban forest close to our house, and a lesser known walking area that has a bridge where the kids could spend hours throwing rocks into the small brook below. Last year, we brought painted birdhouses that I found at the dollar store, and used paint that we already had at home to make something colorful to hang in the forest.
2. Worm Catching Contests
After it rains is one of Olivia and Violet’s favorite times of the spring season - because that’s when the worms come out. Send the kids outside armed with a couple of yogurt containers to catch worms, get them in a big tangled mess, and try to count them before they slither away.
3. Spring Scavenger Hunt
Use this printable sheet and staple it to a Ziploc bag to create a spring scavenger hunt for little kids, with a pencil or marker inside. The kids loved doing this, and were particularly excited when there was a clipboard involved.
4. Make Shaped Birdfeeders
The more birds that come the yard, the better, right? That’s the logic when you’re five. So, making bird feeders is one of those inexpensive ideas that we did for just a couple of dollars worth of seed from the bulk barn. We used this recipe and made fun shapes to hang outside on the tree, hopefully enticing a bird to take up residence in one of the houses.
5. Make a Hop Scotch that Spans the Block
Rather than making a traditional hop scotch, use those giant slabs of concrete as your steps and put directions like spin, hop, jump, run, sing, roar like a dinosaur to make a fun obstacle course that will have the kids outside running around, excited, and being active.
6. Do a Flower Experiment
Scour the neighbourhood, or pick a couple of cheap white flowers from the florist, and do an experiment at home with colored water. Place the stems in different colors of water and watch what happens as the flowers absorb the colored water.
7. Grow a Carrot Top
This activity is so cool, and gives the kids a chance to document and make notes as the various stages of growth are observed. With a simple carrot top, the kids can grow a plant - such a fun learning opportunity. You can get the full instructions, here.
8. Make a Rain Cloud in a Jar
With a bit of shaving cream, a jar and some food coloring, you can create another fun experiment that gives you the opportunity to provide a teachable moments. We love doing this one outside on the porch, during a rain storm, and giving the kids perception of just exactly what’s going on up there.
9. Get outside with a Splatter Party
Painting outside is exciting. It’s even more exciting when you’re given the opportunity to splatter it anywhere you want. Grab some paints, some cheap canvases, a big plastic table cloth as a backdrop and get ready to splatter. Choose a spring afternoon when it’s nice and clear, not windy and have some fun.
10. Make a Fort
Head to the forest or the local woods and make a fort like when you were a kid. You’ll likely wow the kids with your skills, and they will talk about the afternoon you spent building a fort in the woods for weeks and months to come. It’s simple, just take it back about twenty years.
