Spring brings so many learning opportunities, along with fun activities of all types. One of the best ways to learn is to simply ask your children questions. Below, we provide questions for learning, spring outdoor activities, and great spring books to read!
Here are 15 questions to pique curiosity and learning. These questions can spark so much learning!
1. How many signs of spring can you find?
2. Why is it so windy in the spring?
3. Why do we have more storms in the spring?
4. What insects are you seeing on the ground and in the air?
5. What animals are more active in the spring?
6. Where have those animals been all winter?
7. How did the animals and insects survive during the winter?
8. How many bird nests or squirrel nests can you find?
9. What are the temperatures in your area in early spring?
10. Why are the temperatures warmer in later spring?
11. What times are the sunrises and sunsets in early spring and in late spring?
12. Why do the days stay light longer in late spring?
13. When did spring begin and when does it end?
14. What holidays occur during spring?
15. What activities can you do outside during spring that you can’t do in winter?
Here are dozens of outdoor activities to enjoy. Learning opportunities and enjoyment from these can last a lifetime!
* Take a journal or sketchbook and smartphone on nature walks and record the signs and sounds of spring.
* Sketch or paint what you see: daffodils, trees, clouds, fields – and sketch again in a few days or weeks and notice how they change.
* Take a picnic and blanket for sitting on the ground, feeling the new grass, the warm soil, and observing ants or small bugs nearby.
* Lie on your side and roll down a hill, enjoying the sensation of soft, warm grass and watching the world turn over and over.
* Play games of tag, red light green light, hide-and-seek, red rover, hopscotch, jump rope, kick the can, hula hoops, relay races.
* Take indoor board games, marble games, construction sets, and toys outside for playtime.
* Have story hour outdoors or safely climb a tree to sit and read, and watch the world from a different viewpoint.
* Take lessons and science experiments outdoors, and see how different it feels to spend the day learning in nature.
* Create your own stories about spring, create a springtime diary, or create a daily nature journal.
* Construct your own games, such as ring toss, bean bag toss, balloon toss, horseshoes, disc golf, lawn bowling.
* Take field trips to parks, zoos, farms, nature preserves, walking trails, plant and flower nurseries, planetariums.
* Visit outdoor spring festivals, farmers markets, art shows, garden shows, car shows.
* Try horseback riding, bicycling, roller skating, skateboarding, kayaking, canoeing.
* Try a new outdoor hobby, such as plein air painting, creating chalk art, sun art, sun catchers, photography, bird watching, birdhouse building, geocaching, gardening.
* Explore shorelines, beaches, the water’s edge, and take photos of all you see.
* Go camping – in the backyard or at a state park – and hone outdoor survival skills.
Here are great springtime books to read. Some are fiction, some fact-filled, and all are fun, interesting, and educational!
* Field Guide to Spring: Play and Learn in Nature
* Nature Anatomy Activities for Kids: Fun, Hands-On Learning
* Spectacular Spring: All Kinds of Spring Facts and Fun
* Spring Treasury of Recipes, Crafts, and Wisdom (Little Homesteader)
* Weather Experiments Book for Kids: More Than 25 Hands-On Activities
* Spring Things: How to Draw Easter Eggs, Bunnies, Flowers, and More
* Wilder Child
* Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring
* I Am Spring
* Spring Is…
* Hello Spring!
* Zap! Clap! Boom! The Story of a Thunderstorm
* All About Animals in Spring
* Birds Make Nests
* Bees, Bugs, and Butterflies
* Backyard Bug Safari
* Just a Worm
* The Little Seed
* My First Garden
* What’s Inside a Flower?
* Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms
* Pig and Goose and the First Day of Spring
Have an awesome, wonder-filled Spring!
Happy Homeschooling!