Spring is right around the corner, and the days are getting longer… thank goodness! If you’re looking for ways to celebrate spring with your kids, we’ve gathered all the best activities and outings to fill your calendar from March to May. The kiddos have been cooped up all winter, and whether they’re at home or at school most of the day, being stuck inside can put a real damper on the fun. The arrival of spring brings warm weather, budding tulips, and, somehow, a feeling of new beginnings. We don’t know about you, but we’re here for it. Bring on the sunny days outside and all the spring festivities!
Celebrating Spring With Adventures From Scratch
If you’re consistently searching for activities to keep the kiddos entertained, it’s time to grab your copy of Adventures From Scratch: Family Edition. Our experts pulled out all the stops for this one, collecting more than 50 scratch-off adventures for you and the fam! With indoor activities and on-the-go challenges, there’s something for every weekend of the year, rain or shine. What are you waiting for? Start making memories with the ones you love the most!
Why Celebrate Spring
Humans have been acknowledging and celebrating the turning of the seasons for as long as we have records. For hunters and gatherers, the changing of the seasons was far more pertinent to daily life than it is for us today, and paying attention to the skies was crucial. The spring equinox, or vernal equinox, is a fancy way of saying that on this day, the first day of spring, the daylight and dark hours will be virtually equal… 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night. This astronomical sign is celebrated all over the world as a literal or symbolic new year.
Fun Ways to Celebrate Spring With Your Kiddos
1. Challenge your crew to a scavenger hunt.
While the days are getting longer, spring also brings a lot of rain in many regions. If you’re stuck indoors today, you can still celebrate together with a fun-filled scavenger hunt! Our indoor family hunts are creative, educational, and funny. We have hunts in several themes, for kids of all ages, and you don’t need any special supplies or planning. Just download our app, choose your scavenger hunt, and start exploring!
Check out “45 Riveting Rainy Day Activities for Your Bored Brood” to stock up on ideas for the spring season.
2. Plant some flowers.
Spring is a time to get out in the natural world and get your hands dirty! While wild daffodils are probably sprouting all over your neighborhood in random spots, you might want a little more organization in your flower beds. Take a day to visit your nearest home improvement store or, better yet, a locally owned plant outlet. Peruse the spring flowers and pick your favorites.
Then, spend the afternoon planting your new finds. This activity boasts multiple benefits, making it a productive use of your time. It’s fun. It creates something beautiful, and it also provides an opportunity to teach little ones about life and growth from both a purely scientific angle and a more abstract spiritual one.
3. Prepare a family picnic.
Celebrate spring outdoors with a Saturday picnic. Make your favorite spring foods and head for your local park. Pick a beautiful spot by the fountain or the waterway. Bring a few board games with you and just enjoy being outdoors!
4. Visit your local botanical gardens.
Spring is an optimal time to wander your local botanical gardens. The new season brings in all new flora, and it’s a good learning opportunity for kids. Many botanical gardens have special butterfly or bee exhibits as well as botanists or trained docents on staff that lead guided educational tours. These gardens are specifically curated to connect people with the natural world and are generally a calming and refreshing environment, which, if you’ve been locked inside with your children all winter, you’re no doubt in need of!
5. Take a cold water plunge.
Have you ever noticed that children will relish a swim day, no matter how stinking cold it is? They just keep on paddling, blue lips and all, like it doesn’t affect them. By mid-spring, the waters are warming up in your local creek or lake, but they won’t be adult-level comfy yet. Challenge your kiddos to a cold-water plunge. Start with a hike or jog around the area to get nice and warm (and burn some energy) and then jump in! Just make sure you have some dry clothes to change into before enjoying your post-swim lakeside picnic.
6. Dye Easter eggs.
Easter is certainly the most popular spring celebration in the United States, and there are loads of Easter-related activities to partake in. You’ve got pictures with the Easter bunny, family feasts, and Easter egg hunts! One of the most traditional activities is dyeing easter eggs. Yes, it’s messy, but the kits are easy to come by, and the kids will love it!
Once you have your dyed eggs, hide them around the yard while the kiddos nap (or overnight) and have a DIY hunt when they wake up. Keep it fun or make it a competition if you have older kiddos. If you really want to go big, invite over a few family members or friends to join in.
7. Deliver goodies to an elderly neighbor.
You have a ton of colorful eggs now, probably more than you’re going to eat as a family. Pack a few in a cute basket and deliver them to an elderly neighbor. Winter is often a hard time for the elderly and disabled, as their ability to get out in yucky weather is even more limited than most. A sweet gift from a cute kiddo can really brighten their day!
8. Throw out a blanket and stargaze.
Springtime in the northern hemisphere is a wonderful time for stargazing. The constellations of Ursa Major, Leo, Cancer, and Virgo are out in full force. While you can certainly bust out an old-school stargazing map and telescope, there’s now an app for that. SkyView allows you to point your phone at a constellation and get all the deets in seconds. It’s an easy night that is totally free, and lying on your back looking up at the stars naturally facilitates incredible conversations with your kiddos.
9. Visit your local state park.
If you live close to a national park where you can partake in the Junior Ranger program, they often have special spring learning opportunities. If not, check the calendar for your nearest state park. They often have guided nature walks, special flora and fauna exhibits for kids, or interactive historical reenactments that make for a fun day in the great outdoors.
10. Throw a block party.
The spring season is perfect for a neighborhood gathering. The air is still slightly crisp, as the summer heat hasn’t set in full force yet, and you can actually enjoy being outdoors for an afternoon. Have your kiddos make handmade invitations for family members and neighbors. Then, send them door to door to invite everyone over for a backyard BBQ, yard games, and a bonfire.
You can ask each person to bring their favorite finger food or a pack of drinks to help with the food load. Set up a speaker and some fun playlists. Aside from yard games, you can bust out old-school party games like Red Rover or Simon Says. Have a dance-off or a water balloon fight. The options are endless. Decorate the yard with streamers and a welcome sign. It’s a lot of work, but you can make it kid-friendly. Let them take the creative lead. It will keep them busy for days!
11. Build a bonfire.
If the whole block party thing sounds like too much at this moment, tone it down by inviting a few friends over for a chill night of s’mores and hot cocoa. Build a big boy on the beach or the lakeshore if your area allows it. If not, a backyard firepit will do just fine. Tell your best ghost stories, bring a guitar and have an impromptu jam session, share your favorite memories, or play a few word games. Sounds relaxing, doesn’t it?
13. Make spring cleaning fun!
After a winter indoors, your house no doubt needs a little refreshing. You can round up the kiddos and make a game out of tidying up the house. They will eventually catch on to the fact that they’re doing chores, but you might get a couple of hours out of them before it hits. Take a look at “11 Ways to Make Chores Fun” for a few outstanding ideas.
14. Get scientific!
The regenerative nature of spring provides an ideal opportunity to learn about the water cycle, basic cellular biology, or the reproductive cycle. There’s no need for lesson plans or the pressure of too much detail. The aim is to learn a little something new while doing something fun! Science Sparks has an excellent list of spring science experiments for kiddos.
15. Volunteer with your community.
Spring is a popular time for cleaning and not just on a personal level. Communities tend to engage in clean-up days, too. Take your family and volunteer for a trash pickup, clean up your waterways, or plant new flowers in public spaces. Some cleanups are community-wide and will be announced on your city website. Others might be organized through a specific church or community group that you can join for the day. Take a look at our list of “The Best Community Service Projects for Kids” for more spring volunteer opportunities.
16. Create a floral craft.
Gather dried flowers and press them into a scrapbook or take photos of blooming flowers for a photo book. Use leaves as paintbrushes and create a bright and colorful canvas for your child’s room. Let your child fingerpaint, using their thumbprint to create “leaves” on a painted tree. Go on a treasure hunt for specific species and create your own botany book or learn to sew a new piece of clothing in a floral pattern. You could even make some spring-inspired pillowcases to decorate your home.
17. Begin a new hobby.
There’s no better time to create new habits than springtime. Perhaps you start taking an afternoon walk every day. Maybe you sign up for an online class to learn a new craft together. Start playing disc golf, playing horseshoes, or shooting hoops. Start a book club or sign up for swim lessons. It can be something organized or a DIY activity you commit to learning at home. Just make sure it’s something your kids are actually interested in and allow it to be fun. No pressure!
18. Rotate your bookshelf.
Let’s be honest. The closet probably needs a good cleaning anyway. Take this time to move all the spring-inspired books to the forefront or purchase some new ones. Perhaps it will inspire all of you to reignite your passion for reading and get back to doing a routine bedtime story.
19. Decorate your home.
Whether you whip out the sewing machine and make new curtains or pillows or you just hit the spring section at Hobby Lobby, decorating your house for spring is a fun activity to involve the kids in. Let their imagination flourish! They might come up with some crazy ideas, but how many people do you really have over anyway? Let them create and be proud of their fabrications. It’s only for a season.
20. Take a trip to Washington, D.C.
If you want to plan something truly special for spring, consider an education trip to Washington, D.C. The famous cherry blossoms will be blooming, and the White House hosts a huge Easter egg rolling competition on the lawns for families. Washington is the best place in the country for an educational trip, with all the Smithsonian museums offering free entrance and specialized programs for kids.
If a spring trip sounds appealing to you, take a peek at “24 Educational and Interactive Homeschool Field Trip Ideas.”
21. Do an art walk in your city.
At Let’s Roam, we’re addicted to street art. That’s why we’ve designed our urban art walks to celebrate the incredible masterpieces our talented street artists have created on our city’s structures. Our art walks are educational, fun, and easy to do! Check out our full list of cities to find an art walk near you.
22. Play in the rain.
The best way to spend a warm, rainy day is not inside. You might as well take all that pent-up energy and unleash it by jumping in puddles. Put on the galoshes and let them run free. Splash, dance, frolic, and join in with them. You could use the stress relief, too!
23. Learn to play hopscotch.
A very old-school outdoor game, hopscotch allows you to work on motor skills, basic math, and creative drawing. Grab a canister of sidewalk chalk. Allow the kiddos to decorate their hopscotch board however they please, and then teach them to play!
24. Plant a garden.
Flowers are nice, but you can’t eat them. If you need to use your time for a more practical measure, plant a garden or cultivate a window herb garden. You still get your hands dirty and learn about the planting process, but you get to follow it all the way to fruition when you pick, cook, and eat your product!
Writer note: One spring, my family planted a garden, and the kids helped till, plant, and fertilize the vegetables with chicken litter. They harvested the tomatoes, and when we went to eat them, my two-year-old niece exclaimed in her toddler’s voice, “We can’t eat dat! It got chicken poop on it!” She remembered fertilizer day and was having no part in eating those tomatoes. Needless to say, the whole thing was a fun learning process!
25. Visit a local farmer’s market.
If you don’t want to mess with growing your own fruit and veg, you can always partake of someone else’s harvest. Farmer’s markets are not just a place to score locally sourced food, but they also often have fun activities for kids. Bobbing for apples, corn mazes, carnival games, and petting zoos are all popular in bigger farmer’s markets.
26. Study how other cultures around the world welcome spring.
Spring traditions vary around the world. Thailand’s unique water festival Songkran is one of a kind and celebrates the Thai new year. The Iranian holiday of Nowruz celebrates the Persian new year with family feasts and spring cleaning. The Indian holiday of Holi is known as the festival of colors and celebrates the triumph of good over evil in Hindu tradition. In short, the world is filled with epic spring festivals, and studying how others celebrate is an interesting and valuable learning experience in cultural diversity.
27. Have a spring fashion show (aka, let’s see if your clothes still fit).
Every change of season, it’s the same rigamarole. You have to go through last year’s clothes and see if anything still fits (and pray that it does). You might as well make the process fun. Get the clothes from the attic. Throw them in a pile on the floor. Set a timer and send your kiddo in to create their own outfit in one minute. When they come out, take a few photos and then throw clothes that fit into one basket and clothes that don’t into another. Your kid gets to play dress-up, and you get a task accomplished. Win-win!
28. Take a day to donate.
Once you have a full basket of clothes, take a day to donate them. It’s a simple way to give back to the community and teach your kiddos about providing for those who are less fortunate. You have a few options: You could take them to a local shelter, or you could invite over some friends with smaller children and let them choose from the clothes you’ve outgrown.
29. Deliver flowers to an elderly home.
Life in a senior citizen’s center or nursing home can be depressing at times. The good ones provide a plethora of activities for their residents, but almost all centers benefit from the youth and energy of children. Gather some fresh flowers and take a book that your child can read (or memorize a song or nursery rhyme) and deliver your gifts and talents to the crowd at your local nursing home. They will love it!
30. Create a spring gift for loved ones.
Take some new family photos with your crew and allow your kiddos to choose a frame for each family member. Let them create their own wrapping paper by drawing or painting on a roll of craft paper and then let them hand-deliver their gifts. They’ll beam with pride as they hand it to grandma, and she will, too!
31. Make shopping special.
You will likely have to buy some new clothes (or at least shoes) for the spring/summer season if you have growing kiddos. Make it an excuse for a special outing. Organize a day to take each kid separately. Take the whole day. Let them pick some new items and mix in a few fun activities that your kiddo enjoys.
Getting Out There
Spring is full of new opportunities; it’s a chance for a new lease on life. This is the perfect time to branch out into new activities and create lasting memories with your children. We hope you found something on the list that intrigued you. Let us know in the comments how you plan to celebrate spring!
For more excellent ideas to bond with your children, check out “The Ultimate List of Spring Break Ideas for Kids.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Whether you stay inside or head outdoors, there are lots of things to do! Popular spring activities include planting a flower garden, having a rainy-day scavenger hunt, and visiting a farmer’s market.
Spring is a great time to teach about seasons and the renewal of life. Basic astronomy, the plant reproduction cycle, and pollination are all great topics for small children.
Spring is a time to initiate new starts! Pick up a new hobby, like painting or gardening. Initiate a weekly nature walk or start photographing flowers and animals.
Spring is a time to get outside and explore. It’s also the perfect time to make some new memories. Check out the 50+ scratch-off activities in Adventures From Scratch: Family Edition!
For fun in-home activities in spring, join a fun scavenger hunt, have a craft day creating new spring decorations for your home, or spend the evening hunting for constellations.