Hey Friends! As you all know keeping an almost two-year old and a four-year-old entertained is a full-time job and it’s always nice to have a list of new activities to do. Springtime means that we can start going outdoors again, so there’s a healthy mix of indoor and outdoor activities in store for Luna and Maverick. As you all know, I’m a planner, so I have a list of ‘things to do this spring’. I hope it provides you with some inspiration and as always, it includes sensory play, learning tools, crafting, and a whole lot of fun for the kids!
Indoor Activities
There are a lot of indoor activities that I loved doing when Luna was the same age as Maverick is now. You can watch the video here featuring my favourite picks from Dollarama. I can’t wait to introduce my son to them this year and have more “grown up” versions of the same play for Luna. Anyway, on to some of the new activities for this spring.
Growing Cress
Spring is when everything outdoors is lovely and new. I’m going to bring some of that into our home so the kids can experience some of that joy. I think it’ll be great for them to learn how food is grown too.
What You Need:
- Washed and dried eggshells (make sure you break them as near the top as possible).
- Cress seeds
- Cotton wool
- Marker
- Egg cups or a bit cut out from an egg carton to stand them in
Method:
Use a marker to draw a face on the eggs. You can get as creative as you like and use accessories like googly eyes to decorate the eggs with your kids if you want to. Put some damp cotton wool in the eggs and let your kids sprinkle cress seeds over it. Leave them in a sunny spot like your kitchen window and watch them grow. You may need to add a little bit of moisture to the cotton wool if it dries out. The cress shoots become the hair and it’s ready to harvest in a few days. Use it in one of their favourite sandwiches or a salad. They’ll wallop it down.
Playdough Flowers
This activity includes learning, sensory activity, and crafting all at once, so it’s definitely up there as on of my favourites.
What You Need:
- Coloured playdough (including green)
- Number stamps
Method:
Make flower stems using the green playdough and another colour to make the center of the flower. Take your number stamps and stamp a number into each flower centre. Connect the stems to them. Use a third colour to make a number of petals. I’m going to have Luna help me with this. Then have your pre-schooler stick on petals corresponding to the number in each flower’s center.
Outdoor Activities
It’s a great time to start introducing the little ones to the outdoor world again. Being outdoors also helps them spend a lot of pent-up energy which will make bedtime so much easier. While walks in a nearby park are always fun, mixing the activities we do outdoors keeps it interesting.
Fun With Bubbles
This one is fairly easy. You can simply pick up bubble solution and a bubble wand at a store and have loads of fun blowing bubbles in the park or your backyard. When you finish your store-bought bubble solution, you can replenish it by making it at home using 1/ 4 cup dish soap, 1 tablespoon glycerin, and 2.5 cups of water.
Toddlers will have plenty of fun chasing bubbles around and the older ones can try blowing them too.
Nature Scavenger Hunt
Turn a walk into an educational outing full of fun by organizing a nature scavenger hunt. You can make your own Scavenger Hunt Sheet by pasting pictures of things like rocks, clouds, puddles, flowers, ladybugs, butterflies, and berries on to a piece of paper for the kids to tick off as they spot them. You can also make one with objects you know you’ll find in your backyard like a lawn chair or umbrella, for example. If you’re in a pinch, you’ll find plenty of printables online. I particularly like this one from PBS that turns into an indoor colouring activity afterwards.
I hope you and your children enjoy spending time together in spring and don’t forget to check my Amazon Storefront page for more activities.
I’ll catch up with you soon! Byeee!