Spring Time Kids Activities
Spring officially begins on March 20 or March 21 in the northern hemisphere, a date set by the vernal equinox when the day and night are approximately the same length. However, there's no need for the kids to wait for the calendar to say spring has arrived. When the weather warms up and the birds return from their winter migration, spring some new activities on your kids to enjoy.
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Nature Walk Bookmarks
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Head to a local park, hiking trail or other outdoor area and go for a nature walk. Point out new leaves forming on trees, spring flowers blooming and new plants sprouting from the ground. Invite your kids to collect a few leaves or flower petals that catch their eye. Remind kids to gather samples from public areas, not private property. At home, have kids place leaves and flower petals between two paper towels. Place the paper towels in between a few sheets of newspaper. Stack four or five heavy books on top of the leaves and flowers. Leave the leaves and flowers under your book press for four to five days. Afterward, have your kids arrange the pressed leaves and flowers on a bookmark-sized strip of construction paper. Allow your kids to create any type of design and use a marker to add their names to the bookmark. Laminate the bookmarks with clear contact paper to hold the leaves and flowers in place. The contact paper will help preserve the spring time colors of the leaves and flowers.
Fly a Kite
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When you feel the wind blowing on your face and flags are flying in the air, take the kids out to fly a kite. The windy spring months of March and April provide great kite flying weather. According to the Gomberg Kites website, you should choose a delta, diamond or dragon kite for days with light or medium wind. Before the kids launch their kites into the air, have them help you check for overhead hazards such as trees and power lines.
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Birdseed Treats
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Celebrate the return of spring and the birds by making birdseed treats. Use a plastic knife or big cookie cutter to cut bread slices into large shapes such as stars, hearts or flowers. Use a pencil or straw to punch a hole near the top of the bread. Place the bread shapes on a plate and leave them uncovered for a few hours to dry out. Have kids use a plastic knife to spread peanut butter or vegetable shortening over bread shapes. Pour birdseed on a flat plate. Have the kids press the bread shapes, peanut butter side down, into the birdseed until well coated. Thread a piece of yarn through the hole in the top of the bread. Hang the birdseed treats from a tree where kids can watch the birds enjoy their spring time treat.
Sidewalk Chalk
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Grab a bucket of sidewalk chalk and head outside to draw pictures on the driveway or sidewalk. Encourage your kids to make rainbows, write their names in bubble letters, draw favorite animals, create a hopscotch board or even play tic-tac-toe with you. For bright, bold sidewalk chalk colors, dip the sidewalk chalk in water before writing on the sidewalk or wet the sidewalk before drawing on it. For soft, muted colors, have the kids color on the sidewalk, then have them use their fingers to smear and brush the color into the concrete.
Plant a Garden
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After the last spring frost date in your area, plant a garden with your kids. Find a spot in your yard that gets plenty of sun and has good drainage. If you don't have a yard, use planter boxes on a balcony or small herb planters in a sunny kitchen window. Head to the local garden center and pick up some seed packets for your favorite fruits, vegetables and flowers. Involve the entire family in getting their hands dirty in the soil. Watch your garden grow over the next few months.
Sun Catchers
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Make sun catchers to hang in windows to celebrate the return of spring. Give the kids a clear transparency film and a permanent black marker. Help younger kids draw the outline of a rainbow, teddy bear, flower or other spring design on their transparency film. Older kids can draw their own outlines. Paint sun catcher designs using glass paints or poster paints. To keep costs low, buy red, yellow, blue and white paint and let your kids use their color mixing skills to create orange, green, purple and pink. Let the painted designs dry a few hours. Cut out sun catchers and punch a single hole about an inch from the top. Thread yarn through the hole and hang the sun catcher in a window to enjoy.
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