The calendar says that Spring has arrived. I’m not totally convinced yet, but I’m ready!
How about you? Are you ready for brighter, warmer days? Days for flinging open the windows and the doors and getting outside?
Spring is such a wonderful time to enjoy some simple joys with your grandchildren – blowing bubbles, drawing with chalk on the sidewalk, going for a walk. Download this list and be ready to get outside.
40 Things to Do in the Spring
- Go on a hike.
- Play in the rain.
- Start some seeds.
- Blow bubbles.
- Wade in a creek or skip stones across it.
- Pick flowers.
- Climb a tree.
- Play a game of H-O-R-S-E.
- Grandpa/Grandchild or Grandma/Grandchild date. Let allow your grandchild to plan it.
- Plant a garden.
- Go garage sale shopping.
- Make a dandelion necklace.
- Have a Hula-Hoop contest.
- Ride bikes.
- Make a bird feeder.
- Play softball.
- Attend an outdoor concert.
- Catch butterflies.
- Design paper plate noisemakers –Decorate two paper plates. Place some beans, rice, or macaroni between the plates and secure the edges of the plates. Punch holes and lace together with yarn or staple together for older children. Then make some NOISE!
- Go outside. Take your normal indoor toys and activities outdoors.
- Make a wind catcher.
- Puddle jump.
- Feed the birds.
- Watch a neighborhood baseball game.
- Watch a storm.
- Make boats from empty milk cartons. Then race them in a creek.
- Wash the car.
- Go outdoor bowling – You’ll need one ball (heavy enough to knock your pins over) and ten bottles (two-liter bottles work well). Fill the bottles a fourth to a third full of water or sand. Head outside to the patio or driveway.
- Clean up at a local park or playground.
- Spring clean.
- Enjoy a picnic at a park or in your own backyard.
- Pillowcase costumes – Pillowcases make fun, easy costumes. Cut a head- and two arm-holes. Then decorate using fabric markers or glued on felt.
- Life-sized portraits –Spread a large roll of paper out on the floor. (Rolls of newsprint can be purchased at your local craft store.) Have your grandchild lie down on the roll of paper. Then trace around the child or have another child do the tracing. Spend some time drawing in the details and coloring the portrait to look like the child.
- Play catch or follow the leader.
- Roll down a hill.
- Explore the familiar with a magnifying glass.
- Cloud gaze. What does that cloud look like to you?
- Go on an alphabet scavenger hunt – Give your grandchild a notebook or journal, a pencil, and a camera. Next head outside: yard, neighborhood, park. Beginning at “A” and working through the alphabet, have the child find something that begins with the letter, take a photo of it, and record it in their book. Leave room in the book for the photos to be added after they have been developed or printed. (No camera? Have them draw in their findings.)
- Fly a kite.
- Search for four-leaf clovers.
Download your free PDF and begin to choose some favorite ways to play and build deeper connections with your grandchildren.
