Spring is an exciting season — birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, and days are getting warmer and longer. After a long winter, your family may be itching to get outside!
Spring is also a great time to do activities with your 3-to-5 year old that promote play, creativity, and healthy development. Young children are curious about everything and are natural sponges of learning. Even simple activities can be a wellspring of growth for your little one.
We have a list of preschool and kindergarten activities for you to celebrate Spring. Try some of the activities we have listed below with your family.
Outdoor Activities for Spring
With nice Spring weather, it’s time to get outside! Going outside is the best way to encourage gross motor development in young children. Gross motor skills involve balance and coordination for large muscle groups — things like running, jumping, skipping, and rolling. Free play or structured games are ideal for your developing child.
Visit a Playground
If you have a neighborhood playground or a backyard playset, encourage your child to try climbing and swinging. Preschool and kindergarten age children often love to work on these new skills.
Climbing hand over hand is the same criss-cross motion as crawling — and has the same benefits! When children use both sides of the body, it stimulates brain development.
Swinging on a swing, rope, or monkey bars is another productive, hands-on exercise for your child’s body.
Blow Bubbles
Nothing gets young children more excited than bubbles! A great activity for Spring is to take them outdoors and have them blow bubbles. This activity can develop your child’s fine motor skills — the coordination between your child’s small muscles (such as hands, wrists, and fingers) and their eyes.
- Dipping and holding the wand
- Making the round shape with their mouths
- Blowing just enough air to make fun bubbles
Watch them show pure delight and pride as their bubbles float away!
Go for a Nature Walk
Spending unstructured time in nature can be good for your child and you! Being around trees, plants, and other natural elements reduces cortisol levels, a stress hormone. It also increases a sense of peace and balance. Research suggests that time in nature can later increase attention span in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).3
During your Springtime nature walk, you can point to objects and name them, ask your child to find common outdoor objects, or have a simple conversation with your child. Talking back and forth is one of the most essential activities you can do with your child. It promotes language development and strengthens your attachment with your child — two aspects of development that determine future success in a child.
You could take this time to talk to your child about God as creator of all things and teach them how to worship Him when they are enjoying nature. Many Scriptures speak about nature worshiping the Lord. You could bring those with you and read them on your walk.
- Genesis 1:11-12
- Psalm 19:1
- Revelation 5:13
- Nehemiah 9:6
- John 1:3
If you don’t have access to a wooded park or nature trail, visit a neighborhood green space or walk through your neighborhood. If that isn’t accessible either, you can find a nature photography book at your local library, bookstore or online. Studies show that even looking out a window or at photos of nature can positively affect mood.3
Indoor Activities for Spring
When you’re all tired out or when the Spring showers bring your family inside, try some of these indoor activities for Spring. (Some of them can still be done outdoors if you’d like!
Listen to Stories or Read Picture Books
Storytelling or reading a book to your young child is another activity that promotes language development and gets them ready for the exciting world of reading. When reading, help them follow along by pointing out the words as you read. Depending on their readiness, let your child spy a few familiar letters, attempt a few simple words, or even read along with you!
Check your local library, bookstore or online for some of these or other Spring related titles:
Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring by Kenard Pak
Part of a trilogy about changing seasons, this poetic book explores the changes we begin to see between seasons, helping your child notice them too.
Flower Garden By Eve Bunting
This rhyming book tells the exciting story of a girl bringing a bit of Spring to her city apartment for a birthday surprise.
Cómo crece una semilla by Helene J. Jordan
This simple, nonfiction book walks you through how a seed grows and teaches the parts of a plant.
Cocorina en el jardín de Los espejos by Mar Pavón
A fun, creative story about a hen who goes camping with her chicks in a Garden of Mirrors — and learns the unbreakable bond of family.
Create a Paper Toy or Drawing
There’s an endless list of artwork you can make as a Springtime Activity! Check out our special Pinterest Board for some of our favorites. Spending time creating is another easy way to promote fine motor skills for your growing little one.
Encourage your child to do as many steps of the artwork as they can — including cutting, tearing, and gluing. You might be surprised by how quickly your child can pick up these skills with enough practice.
Plant a Seed
Planting a seed may be the most appropriate Springtime activity. What better way to enter into the beauty of Spring than to mirror nature in your own window?
One fun and educational way to talk about the plant life cycle is to sprout a seed where you can see it — on a paper towel, coffee filter, or newsprint.
Sprouting seeds this way allows you to see each step of the little plant’s process and can be a source of daily excitement for your little one. It’ll also teach your child about patience.
How to Sprout a Seed
Supplies needed:
- Paper towels, coffee filters, or newsprint
- Resealable/Zip-top plastic bags, plastic bag or clear plastic cup
- Seeds (almost all vegetable and flower seeds will sprout this way)
- Water
Steps:
- Wet your material (e.g., paper towel) and wring it out, so it’s damp but not dripping
- Fold the paper towel in half and sandwich your seeds between the two layers, leaving at least an inch between each seed.
- Slide your paper towel and seeds into your resealable bag or clear plastic cup. Make sure to capture some air in your bag to help your seeds breathe!
- Place your bag(s) somewhere warm, like a kitchen window or laundry room.
- Within a week, you should see a primary root sprouting from your seed! You can plant your seed now in soil or wait until the stem appears.
Tips for transferring your sprouted seed to soil:
- Plant it with the primary root facing down. If your seed already has a stem, plant that above the soil line.
- Avoid touching the root and instead handle your plant by the seed coat (the little sac left after the seed sprouts). No need to remove the seed coat — the little plant will do that itself.
So Many Activities for Spring!
Spring brings so many opportunities for you to have fun with your developing child. Bring your whole family on a trip through nature or to the playground. Get excited with bubbles or a budding new plant. Wind down with an oral story, some Spring-related books, or a simple activity. Your preschooler or kindergartener will enjoy these activities for Spring!
Follow us on Social media and tell us which ones you tried! We’re excited to hear from you.
References
- https://thefnc.com/research/crawling-is-important-for-childhood-brain-development/
- https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/blog/swinging-sensory-integration-works
- https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/how-does-nature-impact-our-wellbeing#:~:text=Being%20in%20nature%2C%20or%20even,the%20production%20of%20stress%20hormones
