There are many simple and thrifty ideas to celebrate spring. The kids can join in on these activities to get the season started off right.
Make Pastel Spring Cupcakes
Use a cake mix flavor of choice and bake the cupcakes, kids love to stir cake mix and spoon it into the cups. Add the pretty pastel icing colors by simply tinting white, fluffy store bought icing with a very light drop of food coloring and then sprinkling with colored sugars.
Go On a Scavenger Hunt
Make a list of things that can be found in the spring and give the list to the kids and let them go hunting. Some things to put on a spring scavenger hunt would be blue bird, red bird, robin, bird, butterfly, daffodil, spring flower, bird chirping, and even the sun.
Ribbon Bird Nests
Help the kids cut bright colored ribbons, yarns and threads into small strips about 3 inches long and put around the yard so the birds can pick them up and use in their nest building.
Have a Picnic
This can be as easy as spreading a blanket in the yard and having peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or going to the park and having sandwiches and chips.
Fly a Kite
Kites can be purchased cheaply at the dollar stores. A used plastic grocery bag can also be used for a kite. Just get a bag and tie a string to the handles and staple ribbon to the end for a kite tail and then run with them, the bag catches the air and goes pretty high. Low cost fun is a great way to celebrate spring.
Read Spring Books
Take a trip to the library with children and get some spring books and keep them in a basket for easy access. Don't forget to look through books at home and see what is there to put in the basket.
Plant Flowers
Kids love to plant things and flowers are a favorite. Flower seeds can be purchased very cheap at dollar stores. Show the kids how to plant them. They can be planted in flower beds in the yard or in flower pots.
Spring flowers such as hyacinths and tulips can be found at most grocery stores to purchase. These add a little burst of color to the home and hyacinths add a sweet smell as well.
Make Butterflies
Use coffee filters, twist tie, cotton swabs and food coloring to make these little creatures. Put a few drops of different colors of food coloring on a dish and let the kids dip the cotton swabs in the coloring and put it on the coffee filter, the coloring will spread and mix, making a pretty butterfly. Take a twist tie and twist it around the middle of the filter and then fluff each wing (side) and there it is, a sweet butterfly for spring.
Make the best of spring by engaging children in fun activities. Get out and enjoy the good weather. Parents can also organize scavenger hunts, have picnics, read spring books and plant flowers to keep the kids amused.
Angela Billings - Angela S. Billings is a Contributing Writer for Suite101.com where she writes about recipes, crafting and homemaking.
