Spring activities for kids

Nature and the colors emerging at this time of year can inspire interest in spring craft activities for your little ones. To help you come up with some fun spring play ideas to keep your kids busy, we’ve compiled a list of the best spring activities for kids that include:

Without further ado, let's get started!

Sensory Activities for Kids

Spring arrives in a burst of colorful sights from nature, sounds from visiting birds and creatures coming out of hibernation, the smell of new flowers and fresh cut grass, and the textures of leaves and petals in bloom that each feel different to touch. The season ushers in a new world of sensory delights for your little ones to enjoy. 

Get your kids to interact with them by embracing these fun learning and play activities. They’ll help them make the most of the sensory changes that are welcomed in by the new season. 

Take a Scavenger Hunt

Take your kids on a journey to explore the changes to the outdoor landscape. Keeping an eye out for everything that’s new, get your kids to collect samples of natural phenomena. Whether it’s flowers, tree buds, insects or other vegetation, it’s time to explore and test their awareness of the world around them – and yours.  

Find the Closest Critters Using Binoculars

Encourage your kids’ curiosity with a set of binoculars. The new season brings a host of birds and creatures to be spotted by young observers. Explore and get a bird’s eye view of the closest nature and landscape, with binoculars your kids won’t miss a thing and you can cross it off your spring bucket list.

DIY Slime At-Home 

Kids love slime, so why not try out making your own? A calming lavender slime has an uplifting scent and spring-violet color that will keep kids entertained for hours.

All you need is white glue, warm water, purple food coloring, lavender essential oil, liquid starch and a bowl to prepare the slime. When your kids are finished using it afterwards, store the recipe in an airtight container until your little ones want to use it again to get most from the mixture.

Try a Sand Box

The distance from the beach doesn’t matter when you have your own backyard sandbox. Sand is fun for little ones to play with, as kids can mold and build with it however they like best. Toys like buckets, scoops and shovels add to the fun while kids learn about touch and different textures from the sand box environment making it a perfect spring sensory play activity.

Jump on a Trampoline

Did you know that a trampoline can be used as a tool for sensory play? Children with sensory needs may release stress and anxiety while exploring the bouncy surface. In addition to it being a fun activity, trampolining can improve balance, coordination, body awareness, and control. For more information, explore ACON's safe and bouncy trampolines here.

Arts & Crafts for Kids

The color palette of nature from spring flowers is inspiring and can spark art enthusiasm in your children. There are so many ways to play with different colors and materials, your kids will be spoiled for choice by these spring craft ideas.

Make Paper Flower Crowns

Your little ones can embrace Midsummer tradition by making flower crowns. Contact paper and fresh flower favorites are added to poster board, that’s been cut into a crown-shape.

Once the flowers are in place, you can wrap the flower crown around your kids’ head, using string to keep it secure. If there are contact paper and flowers left over, use them to make jewelry like necklaces that can be worn or hung around the house/backyard.

Create Egg Carton Insects 

Don’t recycle your egg cartons quite yet: they’re perfect for creating insects your kids can paint and enjoy playing with. Make butterflies, ladybugs and caterpillars with the cartons, paint and some paper, or make snails using playdough for the bodies. Kids will have loads of fun making the insects before they even begin to play with them when the finished work is ready.

Have Fun Pounding Flags Prints

Flower print flags are a fun, artistic activity for your little ones with a short drying time. Take a botanical walk beforehand to carefully choose the flowers and leaves to be hammered!

Before beginning, prep your fabric, i.e. a piece of calico (such as a recycled drawstring bag) that’s been cut into flags. Placing the flower or leaf you’d like to dye into the fabric on a hard fabric, place the calico on top.  

Add cardboard underneath and on top of the flower/calico, taping down the sides so they don’t move. Begin to pound the flower with a hammer (parents should help with this step), while making sure hands are not near the cardboard. Peel the cardboard, tape and flower to reveal the print on the calico. 

Try Clay Leaf Print Art

Gather an assortment of leaves, of varying sizes, shapes, imprints and patterns. Using a packet of air-dry clay, a roller and acrylic sheets, kids will strengthen fine motor skills with their muscles as they work to soften the clay into a ball.

Afterwards, pressing the leaf onto the disc of clay and peeling it off again, the clay can be left out to fully dry/harden for a day or two before it’s ready to decorate with paints and left to dry one last time.

Paint Flower Prints

Once you’ve picked the flowers you like from your backyard or nearby, gather up the art supplies – any kind of paper and paint you have – and prep your work station. Pour the paint colors into shallow dishes, then carefully dip the flowers into the paint before printing their impression onto the paper.

Use pens and markers to add details to the artwork, and/or make a butterfly effect by folding the page in half and pressing both sides together. Kids and adults will have fun creating unique images with this low maintenance craft activity.

Backyard Games

As the temperatures rise and the light returns, we can relish spending a lot more time outdoors, in the backyard, with our family. Long summer nights make way for barbeques and memories that last a lifetime. The great outdoors comes to life in spring with color changing flowers and there’s plenty of things to do, to keep every age occupied.

Build a Birdhouse

Birds seek new places to rest in spring, so it’s a great time to work on building a new birdhouse with your kids. Birdhouse kits come with instructions and supplies so all you need to worry about is setting up an additional birdbath, and recognizing the types of birds that fly in and out, in search of a resting place.

Get Gardening 

The soil is ready for seeding in spring, making it a wonderful time of year to get kids involved in the backyard. Teach your little ones how to grow vegetables from scratch with a trip to the garden center.

Demonstrate how to plant and take care of the growing vegetables over the spring and summer. When the time is right, use the vegetables to cook or prepare a salad and get your kids involved so they can learn the entire food lifecycle.

Take Springtime Photos

More daylight means more time to take great photos! Blooming flowers and trees in backyard make for a beautiful backdrop, as do big bushes and bird’s nests in wilder garden settings. More time to visit scenic spots like beaches, lakes and trails offer great photo opportunities that shouldn’t be wasted.

Throw a Spring Party

Active outdoor party games can make a comeback in spring. Throw a spring kids’ party and let your little ones enjoy relay races, jumping balloons and tag. Make the most of the time outside unless it’s interrupted by April showers! For more inspiration, see our blog on trampoline birthday party ideas here.

Learn to do Somersaults and Cartwheels

How long has it been since you’ve done a somersault or a cartwheel? Learning to do somersaults and cartwheels is surely an exciting activity for kids.

Spring is the perfect time for children to spend some time outdoors and explore their gymnastics skills together with their family. Get something soft yet supporting, like an Airtrack, to land on.

Chalk it Up

Let your kids experiment with different colors and shapes, using chalk on the sidewalk. Kids can play hopscotch or use mandala stencils to make their favorite shapes. Chalk can be used on fences, rocks and other surfaces (even on trampoline mats!) as it washes away with rainwater, making this raw material a great choice for outdoor play.

Enjoy Spring time to the fullest

Spring activities, play and art ideas that the whole family can take on board: we hope you and your loved ones are excited to spend the coming months making art and memories!