The sun is stronger, the days are longer. That means one thing: it’s time for spring fun. The beauty of this wonderful season is not only that it’s warmer and summer is on the horizon at long last, but also that there are so many free things you can do with your kids, indoors and out. So be sure to get your umbrellas, rain boots and spring coats and even your running shoes ready for action so you can enjoy all that spring has to offer.
1. Celebrate Earth Day.
Did you know that six million people all over the world celebrate Earth Day, including almost all school-aged kids in Canada? Earth Day falls on Wednesday, April 22 this year, but there are many free events taking place across the country on the weekend before this date, from picnic potlucks to mural-painting. Check out EarthDay.ca to see events taking place in your community or to get ideas about how you can celebrate.
(And in case you were wondering, Earth Hour, a different event where you turn off the lights from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm takes place on Saturday, March 28 in 2015.)
2. Learn about baby farm animals.
In Canada, grazing animals like chickens, sheep and goats have their babies in the spring. This might be stating the obvious to grownups, but it’s fun and memorable for kids to see farm babies first-hand. If you’re not lucky enough to know a farmer or have friends raising chickens in their backyards, many municipalities have free-entry city-run zoos and heritage farms.
For instance, some of the baby animals you can spot at Toronto’s free-of-charge Riverdale Farm include chicks, lambs, and even kids (which are baby goats, of course!) If you miss out on seeing them up-close, it can be a fun educational reason to look at baby farm animal videos on YouTube together.
3. Blow bubbles outside.
It’s probably been quite a few months since your little ones have been able to blow bubbles outdoors, so spring is a great time to dig out your bubble wands and whip up a batch of bubble solution. The simplest homemade recipe is one cup of water mixed with one tablespoon of dishwashing liquid.
Tip: don’t shake the water and dishwashing liquid to mix them together (the suds created will reduce the bubbliness of the solution), stir only. You can also make homemade bubble solution with other ingredients you have around the house, including baby shampoo, corn syrup and even Jell-O and food colouring for colourful bubbles. See seven DIY bubble solution recipes from Mary Beth Hamilton at BabySavers.com.
4. Do a spring scavenger hunt.
Create a checklist of some trees, plants and early flowers and even creatures you’re likely to see in spring, and go for a walk and see if you can tick off all of them. Include worms, daffodils, tulips, crocuses, heather, chives (or whatever else grows in your backyard and neighbourhood!). Include some easy-to-find evergreens as well.
If you want something prettier than a jotted-down list, check out this free printable list from Heather Moritz at Moritz Fine Designs.
5. Make a super-simple bird feeder.
For the tots and preschoolers in your home, you can create a simple birdfeeder for your backyard by stringing O-shaped cereal such as Cheerios onto a pipe cleaner, shape the pipe cleaner into a circle or heart, and hang it from a tree using a bit of ribbon or thick string.
For older kids, a fun project is slathering an old toilet paper roll or a pinecone with peanut butter, then rolling it in a plate of birdseed. You can raid the pantry to make homemade birdseed, and include bird goodies such as sunflower seeds, hard popcorn kernels, dried fruit, and nuts. If nut allergies are a concern, swap the peanut butter for vegetable shortening, and add oatmeal and cornmeal to your birdseed instead of nuts. Then, use a string to tie up your bird-feeding creation to a nearby tree (keep it away from the trunk so that squirrels don’t get to it before birds.)
6. Go for a run together.
Running is such a basic activity that sometimes we parents overlook it in favour of enrolling our kids in team sports. But for kids who aren’t team-inclined (or even if they are), teaching them the joys of running from a young age might well be giving them a childhood start to a healthy sport they enjoy their whole lives. Spring is the perfect time, not too hot and not too cold, to start running together. Canadian retail chain The Running Room offers a host of tips to start running with kids on its website here, including how to stride comfortably and safely, and how to vary your running routine so that kids will be having fun the whole time. (Deb has also blogged about running with her son, so there must be a trend going on here!)
7. Visit a new or renovated public library.
A not-so-nice day is the perfect excuse to visit the kid-friendliest library in town, which may not necessarily be the closest library to your home.Thankfully, the latest trend in public-library design is to include designated kids areas with computers, low tables, ample shelf display and even toys, a far cry from the “Shhh! Quiet!” days when we were kids. So if you’ve noticed a library under renovation, or a newly built one, maybe it’s time to check out its kids’ section.
8. Paint the sidewalk.
Spring outerwear, like a raincoat and boots also happen to be the ideal gear for painting sidewalks. You can make your own non-toxic homemade sidewalk paint using a cup of cornstarch, two cups of water, food colouring, and a muffin tin to hold the paints. Mix up the cornstarch solution by shaking it in a jar, pour it out evenly into the muffin tin cups, and add food colouring to each cup (which the kids will enjoy doing, too). Once outside, you can create your masterpieces using poster-paint brushes, but old paint brushes work nicely too, as do old kitchen sponges.
9. Sign up for the Lego Club.
If your kids loved the Lego Movie or they like building with Lego as much as you hate stepping on it, sign up together for the Lego Club. It’s free, and the best part of this club is that kids get a free Lego Magazine subscription in the mail. The glossy magazine isn’t just a glorified flyer (which was what we had expected), but includes cute comics, games and puzzles. You also get a monthly e-newsletter and contest news, but you can unsubscribe at any time.
10. Splash in puddles.
You didn’t really think we’d leave this off this list, did you? There are always good reasons to avoid the mess of puddles: groceries to buy, birthday parties to attend, homework to do. But what could be more essential to the experience of spring than rainy days and big puddles?
One day your kids will be teenagers with more interest in their smartphones than all the puddles in the world put together. Until then, put on your rain gear, head outdoors, and get drenched in all the biggest puddles you can find.
Originally published March 2014. Updated March 2015.
