Warm breezes on your neck, the smell of lilacs in the air and your toddler modeling bunny ears. Yes, spring has sprung!
You are chomping at the bit to abandon your spring cleaning, grab your family and head outdoors for some memory making! Before you do, check out this list of super fun family spring activities. They are guaranteed to combat your family’s spring fever!
You might be sheltering in place, but you can still do most of the spring activities listed in this article.
Outings
1) Go on a nature hike-Nature is coming back to life after being dormant for several months. Trees are budding, flowers are blooming and the robin is busy finding twigs, sticks and sweater string to build her nest with. Grab your camera and head to your nearest hiking trail to get fresh air, some exercise and witness spring in action.
2) Spend the day at a pond-Grab your fishing poles and head to the nearest pond you can. After fishing, spend some time observing the pond and skipping rocks on the water. How many animals can you find that live in this watery habitat? Maybe you can even find some tadpoles.
3) Visit a farm or petting zoo-Locate a farm or petting zoo where you can interact with the animals. This time of year you are bound to find lots of baby animals. Your kids will learn so much from petting and observing farm animals in action.
4) Go on a picnic-Head to the woods, the park or spread out a blanket in your backyard. Eating a meal with your family outside in the warm spring weather is what making memories is all about!
5) Visit a Botanical Gardens-Another way to observe nature in action is to visit a botanical garden. There is such a wide variety of flowers on display. You may even be able to see butterflies up close and personal.
6) Take a drive to the country-Drive out to the country if you don’t live there. What kinds of animals do you see? What do the fields look like? What about the trees and vegetation? Compare what you see in the city versus what you see in the country.
Outdoor Activities
7) Dance in the rain– Rain, rain don’t go away, Little Johnny wants to dance and play…in it. Let your kids experience getting soaking wet in a downpour. You might want to try this on a warmer day than a colder one, though.
8) Jump in puddles-After a significant rainfall, put on your boots and jump in puddles. Better yet…jump in muddy puddles! Just like Peppa the Pig. Who can get the muddiest? Yes, it’s a mess, but it is a spring experience your kids will remember forever.
9) Make mud pies-After jumping in the mud, take some time to play in the mud. Check out my post on making a mud kitchen for your kids to play with outside. Provide all the supplies they need to make the most “delicious” mud pies ever.
10) Fly a kite-One of the best spring activities is to dust off your kite and take it for a flight. Better yet, make your own kite to try out on the next windy day.
11) Pick berries-Some berries are ready to pick mid to late spring. Spend a day at the berry patch. Bring home your delicious harvest and make a berry tart for dessert.
12) Pick a bouquet of flowers-Remember those tulip bulbs you planted in the fall? Now is the time to pick them along with any other flowers you can. Find a vase and you will have a beautiful centerpiece for dinner tonight.
13) Plant a garden-Flower garden or vegetable garden? Take your pick…or plant both. Planting and tending a garden is a wonderful learning opportunity for your kids.
14) Go on an Easter Egg hunt-Dye eggs with your kids, then hide them outside for your kids to find. Don’t forget baskets for your kids to put their eggs in when they find them. Check out the craft section below for fun Easter basket ideas you can make with your kids.
15) Play hopscotch-Use sidewalk chalk to make a hopscotch game board on your sidewalk or driveway. Bunny hop away with your kids playing this fun game. This is a perfect game to help your little ones with gross motor skills and number recognition.
16) Climb a tree-Can’t you just remember all the trees you climbed when you were a child? If you still have it in you, climb a tree or two with your kids. Take a book and a snack along to enjoy while sitting up there on a pretty spring day.
17) Build a tree house-Better yet….build a tree house with your kids. They will have the perfect place to play all spring and summer.
Spring Crafts
18) Paint flower pots-Purchase some terracotta pots and decorate them by painting spring designs on them. Use them to plant seeds or put a flower in. These make perfect Mother’s Day gifts.
19) Paint rocks-First find several smooth, flat rocks. Then get out the paint and paint whatever design you would like on them. Need “food” for the mud kitchen you made? Paint your rocks to look like whatever food you would like. I bet you never knew rocks could be so yummy!
20) Dye Easter eggs– Who knew there could be so many ways and ideas for dyeing Easter eggs? This article gives you lots of suggestions.
21) Make Easter baskets-Need some ideas for making homemade Easter baskets? Check out this site for 12 Easter basket ideas for kids.
22) Make butterfly crafts-Spring means butterflies! Check out a post I wrote for Pre-K Pages on Paper Butterfly Art Projects. There are three simple and fun butterfly craft ideas to choose from.
23) Make a bird feeder-Spring is for the birds! And they love to eat. Help them out by making this bird feeder as one of your spring activities.
- Clean and dry an empty paper milk carton.
- Cut a hole in the side of it that’s big enough for a bird to fit.
- Punch a hole in the top of the feeder and thread a string through, then tie at the top.
- Invite your child to decorate the feeder with crayons, acrylic paints or some other material that won’t get ruined in the rain.
- Fill the bird feeder with birdseed and let your child hang it on a tree where he can observe the birds using his amazing creation.
Yummy Activities
24) Bake a berry pie or cobbler-Use all the berries you picked at the berry patch to make a berry pie or cobbler. Serve it with ice cream for the ultimate spring goodness!
25) Make healthy Easter snacks– Ditch the chocolate bunnies this year. Kids love making the healthy Easter snacks in this post as much as they love eating them.
26) Make deviled eggs-Demonstrate to your child how to hard boil eggs. Invite your child to help you scoop out the inside of the egg and make the mixture for deviled eggs. Yum!!
27) Eat the Easter Bunny’s food-In other words, spring for some salads containing lettuce, carrots and other healthy vegetables. Your kids will love any food the Easter Bunny loves, right?
28) Bake and decorate sugar cookies-Mix up a batch of sugar cookie dough. Use spring themed cookie cutters such as flowers, butterflies, eggs and bunnies to cut out the dough. Bake and then decorate in pretty pastel colors to represent the season.
29) Make lemonade-What do you get when you mix lemon juice, water and sugar together? A most refreshing and delicious drink! Lemonade is the perfect beverage for any picnic or Easter brunch and super easy to make.
Spring Out of the House
The best antidote for spring fever is getting out of the house and taking advantage of the fresh air spring has to offer.
Make it a goal to try at least one of the spring activitieis in each category that you haven’t experienced with your kids yet. Make sure to take plenty of pictures and videos to document these springtime memories forever!
Happy Spring!
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