How to Teach Your Toddler About Spring

Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming and the weather has taken a turn for the warmer. Enjoy the birth of life and explore the wonders of nature with your child.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Toddler Girl Pink Rain Slickers
• Toddler's Umbrellas
• Bird Feeders
• Butterfly Garden Seeds
• Crayons
• Picnic Lunches
• Construction Paper
• Kites

1. Take a walk outdoors, letting your toddler experience the sights and sounds of spring firsthand. Look for plant shoots coming out of the ground. Splash in puddles of melting snow. Check trees for signs of new life. Pay attention to the sounds you hear, especially birds. Walk in the rain with boots and an umbrella.
2. Get a bird feeder and put it in a place that is easy to view from a window. Watch as the birds start to return; talk about how the weather is getting warmer.
3. Look for squirrels. Check out some simple books about hibernation from your library and talk to your child about how the animals are waking up.
4. Plant some seeds either in your yard or in pots inside. Talk to your child about the weather and how rain and sunshine make plants grow. Draw pictures of the plant life cycle from seed to flower or tree.
5. Talk and read about baby animals. Look for nests in low trees and watch for new chicks being hatched. Visit a farm that has livestock to see the new baby animals. Plan a tour of the farm and have the farmer explain how the babies are born every spring.
6. Find and keep caterpillars in a jar with air holes. Check out a book about caterpillars so you know what to feed them. Watch as they make cocoons and turn into butterflies. Read Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar."
7. Plant a butterfly garden. You can buy flower seeds to grow plants designed to attract butterflies from a nursery. Draw pictures of butterflies and decorate your house with them.
8. Talk about spring activities. If you celebrate Easter, talk about your family traditions and where you will be for the holiday. Talk about St. Patrick's Day and decorate your house for March 17.

Tips & Warnings

• Spread activities and events over several days and weeks. Toddlers learn best in small amounts and through repetition.
• Toddlers learn through play. Don't expect your child to sit and listen to a lesson. Interaction is a toddler's best lesson.
• Make and fly kites.
• Go on a picnic.
• Show your toddler the cycle of life by making a circle chart. Start with the seed and draw an arrow to the plant. Then draw an arrow to the mature plant dropping seeds of its own, and finally an arrow to the seed again.
• Avoid letting your child touch caterpillars unless you know for sure which ones are OK to handle. Pick them up with a stick and immediately place them in a jar.