Top 5 Educational Spring Activities For Kids

Spring is that wonderful time of year when nature starts to bloom once again following the cold, dark winter. Each year, this season brings new opportunities for growth and learning – out with the old and in with the new, as the saying goes. There are so many educational spring activities for kids that we get excited just thinking about it! If you want some ideas for fun, interesting, and engaging spring activities at home (or just about anywhere), we’ve put together a list of some of our favorite options below.

Educational spring activities for kids
We hope you can draw some inspiration from these ideas, and that you and your children or students enjoy this wonderful season and all that it has to offer.

1. Spring science experiments
Spring brings so many opportunities for fun science experiments as the world around us comes alive again. These two simple science experiments are among our favorite spring science activities for kindergarten students (and older) – check them out!

• Experiment 1: Grow seeds in a jar, or a small dish. You can use soil, or perhaps use watercress seeds with moistened tissue paper for the roots. Watching the plant develop over time is an incredibly satisfying and exciting thing, and will teach children about the life cycle of a plant and its requirements (air, water, and sunlight). To take it a step further and make it one of the best spring activities for elementary students, you can experiment by withholding one of these three necessary elements and seeing how that impacts growth.
• Experiment 2: If you want to create an ongoing project, why not monitor the growth of flowers in your local park? Find a zone that contains plenty of flowering plants, where you know the vegetation will not be destroyed or trampled so that you can track the plants’ development easily. Bring a ruler and a pencil and paper for children to record the measurements on a weekly basis. You can get super creative with this, maybe even asking them to do a picture or drawing based on what they see each week, and comparing their various artworks. The beauty of this is that it’s a simple and fun outdoor exercise, and could even be attempted in a simplified way with children who are much younger, for those searching for spring activities for preschoolers.

2. Exploring nature
This is as simple as it gets when it comes to spring theme activities for preschool! Get out in nature and observe your nearby park coming to life. Encourage children to become more interested in the different types of trees they can see. Collecting (where possible) and identifying leaves is also a great way to get kids interested in nature and the effect of the seasons.

Taking walks in nature is such a healthy activity for the mind and the body. Plus, being actively aware of the small changes in the outdoor scenery around you promotes mindfulness and has a calming effect – particularly great for children who tend to spend a lot of time in their own heads.

3. Arts and crafts
Spring is often credited as the season most actively linked with creativity, as it signals a renewal of sorts. So, it’s time to get crafty! Here are some fun spring activities for kindergarten kids (and older) that are sure to get the creative juices flowing.

• Draw flowers! Flowers are simple and fun to draw, and easy to color in – ask children to use the most imaginative colors possible. Another interesting idea is getting kids to design and name their own flower, explaining how it creates food using sunlight.
• For kids who are a bit older, why not try their hand at some simple origami? For example, here is a step-by-step guide to creating easy origami hearts for children. You could find some spring-themed origami too (but origami is a fun activity any time of year).
• Leaf sketching is a wonderful way to learn about the trees in your local area, but with a creative twist! Either trace the outline of the leaf and add in any necessary details, or go freehand.
• Paint Easter eggs by blowing out the center and decorating the shell with beautiful colored paints, glitter, or stickers.

 

 

4. Writing
If your child enjoys writing, spring is a great time to get stuck in. Need some ideas for spring writing activities for kindergarten? We’ve got you covered!

• Ask your child to write a short poem or story about spring, and why they like it. You can either brainstorm some of these ideas together and then ask them to format these in a way that they enjoy, or you can let them have complete free rein, stepping in to guide when needed. Either way, you’re bound to end up with a beautiful spring-themed poem or story at the end! Extra points for illustration as well.
• Sense-based writing can be a great option if your child isn’t sure where to start with writing. Get them to stand outside in nature, and pay attention to their five senses and what they are experiencing. Ask them to write down what they notice as they go, embellishing these feelings with some interesting vocabulary.

5. Reading
Finally, if you need some advice for spring literacy activities for preschoolers, why not look up some spring-themed poems and read them to your child (or ask them to read them to you)? Following this, you can discuss the main themes of the poem, asking your child if they agree that this is a good representation of spring, and why they feel the way they do about the poem. Actively engaging in literature with your child is sure to improve their literacy and comprehension skills and is a fun way to connect spring to their education.

 

Featured image by Vanessa Serpas on Unsplash