Spring
Time Activities & Crafts
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Sights
and Sounds of Spring
By Martha Franks 1996
The
smell of spring is in the air.
I feel that I have no worry or care.
Everything around me is springing to life,
Erasing the visions of war and strife.
Oh,
that every day could be as
this new spring day,
With flowers coming forth in
their colorful array!
Filling the air with their
sweet fragrance anew,
Each blossom shining from the
kiss of morning dew.
Songbirds
are singing sweet
melodies of spring,
As bits of straw and twigs
to new nests they bring.
Even they agree it's a
beautiful time of the year,
As they fill the air with
their glad songs of cheer.
Butterflies
are flittering
around flowers and trees,
Softly in the warm sunshine
and gentle spring breeze.
Bees are gathering pollen
from sweet smelling flowers.
Such are the sights and sounds
of the springtime hours.
Plant
a Garden
Age:
3 and Up
Mess: Medium
Material: A mild spring day, a plot of land,
small shovel, fresh planting soil and seeds
Instructions:Pick a special spot to plant a garden
for your child. Plan where things will go and make straight rows
by placing stakes and tying string between them. Have you child
carefully sprinkle the seeds under the string. Cover the seeds
with a thin layer of soil. Attach the seed package to the stakes
to identify what will grow where and have your young child carefully
water them.
Hand
Flowers
Age: 4 and Up
Mess: Medium
Material: Colored construction paper (make sure
at least one is green), scissors, stapler, drinking straws and
a pencil
Instructions:Trace
an outline of your child's hand on the paper and then cut out
the hand shapes. Using a pencil roll the fingers up so that they
curl up. Curl the hand shape vertically into a sort of lily shaped
cylinder with the finger curls curling outwards. On the green
paper cut out a few leaf shapes. Staple the flower onto the drinking
straw with cutout leaves attached in the middle of the straw.
Four or five of these make a nice bouquet.
Rainbow
Lilies
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: Fresh picked lilies, different color
food coloring, small juice glasses, water and celery
Instructions:Fill the juice glasses with different
color food colorings. In each glass (except one) put a freshly
picked lily. In the extra glass stick some celery stalks. The
lilies will take about 2 hours to change color but while they
wait they can watch the celery quickly change color and then eat
them up!
Bird's
Nest
Age: 4 and Up
Mess: Medium
Material: Construction paper, glue, yarn, markers
and cardboard
Instructions:Use
scissors to cut the shapes of birds eggs from construction paper.
Glue the eggs onto cardboard. Glue short strands of yarn under
the eggs for a nest allow them to dry completely. Use markers
to draw tree branches around the nest and speckles on the eggs.
Popcorn
Flowers
Age: 4 and Up
Mess: Medium
Material: Powdered paint (Tempera), plastic baggies,
popped popcorn, green paper, glue and cardboard
Instructions:Put
handfuls of popcorn in plastic baggies and add powdered tempura
paint to each one. Shake well to distribute paint all over the
popcorn Cut stems and leaves out of green construction paper and
glue them to tag board. Glue on the colored popcorn to make spring
flowers.
Butterfly
Filters
Age: 4 and Up
Mess: High
Material: Food coloring, coffee filter, straws,
clothespins, pipe cleaner, small bowls and water.
Instructions:Color
small bowls of water with food coloring using a straw, scatter
drops of colored water onto round coffee filters and watch the
colors bleed and blend. While the filters dry draw eyes and body
details on wooden clothespins. Gather each coffee filter up in
the center and clip with the clothespin. Make antennae for each
butterfly by inserting a pipe cleaner into the end of the clothespin
and twisting it secure. Bend the ends of the pipe cleaner to make
it look realistic.
Rain Sticks
Age: 4 and Up
Mess: Medium
Material: Empty cardboard wrapping paper rolls,
dried peas, glue, buttons and paper, scissors, masking tape and
1 1/2 inch nails.
Instructions:Cover
the end of the cardboard roll with paper and masking tape and
then poke in one and half inch nails randomly all over the tube
so that they go all the way into the tube but not out the other
side. You'll NEED to use a lot of holes to get a good sound effect.
Then you put a half a cup of dried peas in the tube and tape up
the other end. Then you let your child decorate the outside of
the tube however they like with the glue buttons and paper.
Bug Fingers
Age: 5 and Up
Mess: Medium
Material: Old Gloves, pipe cleaners, scissors,
tacky glue, markers, small buttons, feathers and whatever else
you can think off to decorate the bugs
Instructions:Cut
the fingers off the gloves, they will be the bugs' body. Glue
on pipe cleaners for legs, use the small buttons for eyes, feathers
for wings and however else you want to do it.
Puddle
Jumping
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: High
Material: Outside play clothes, rain boots and
jacket
Instructions:Go
for a walk with your child and let them run through and jump in
puddles. When the snow is melting or after it rains there should
be lots of puddles. My kids do love this one!
Spring
Cleaning
Age: 4 and Up
Mess: Medium
Material: A Bucket, squirt bottle and rags
Instructions:
Give your child bucket of water, a squirt bottle, and rag. Allow
them to windows, doors and walls all around the house. Your child
will love to do this.
Bagel
Bird Feeder
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: Medium
Material: Bagel, peanut butter, bird seed, yarn
Instructions:
Have children spread peanut butter on a bagel and then dip the
bagel in the bird seed. Attach a piece of yarn and hang it outside
on a tree branch.
