As we come to the end of the first half term of the year, and those dark cold mornings start to disappear, our thoughts turn to the start of spring. A new topic and how we can engage our little learners with the joys of spring and new beginnings.
There are many different spring activities for children that will make learning fun. It’s an ideal time to see and understand the changes that take place in nature. An opportunity for children to become familiar with the joys and wonder of the new season.
Spring is a great time to explore nature with your children. Therefore the activities below are based on the lifecycles, seeds and springtime animals that are visible this time of year.
Spring Activity Ideas for Children
1. Explore Habitats and Minibeast
A nature walk is a great way to introduce children to their immediate environment and spark curiosity in nature. Children will love to see what is growing and living around them. Why not grab some magnifiers and our free downloadable minibeast spotter to see what’s living on your doorstep.
Whilst your little ones are hunting for the various minibeast you could use the opportunity to spark discussions about different minibeast and their habitats. This is a core EYFS topic and one that is fairly easy to introduce outside the classroom!
2. New Life and Lifecycles
A very popular way of introducing life cycles to young children is to read the story of The Hungry Caterpillar! This story beautifully illustrates the changes a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly. To enhance children’s engagement with the story why not introduce some supplementary resources. This could be in the form of caterpillar life cycle figures, jigsaws or even a small cuddly caterpillar toy!
Another addition to the story and to help children understand lifecycles in a more hands on way is to introduce a butterfly growing kit! This is an engaging way of teaching children to take care of living creatures as they grow. They will see caterpillars eating food and growing bigger before they become chrysalises and develop into pretty butterflies, ready for their release. Your children will enjoy seeing each stage of the transformation whilst learning new skills.
3. Planting and Growing
Our watch me grow planter is a great resource to be able to explore growth below and above the soil. The clear Perspex windows will allow children to observe root systems and minibeast guests. The benefits of gardening for young children is undisputed so why not provide your little ones with some responsibility and introduce some planters into your setting to grow their own? This could be large scale planters or smaller individual planters for herbs or potatoes.
4. Outdoor Mark Making
Taking mark-making activities outdoors is a great opportunity for children to have fun whilst getting messy! This is of course with the added bonus of keeping your setting clean and avoiding the inevitable clean up after!
Mark-making is an important step in a child’s development and is the first stage of them being able to write. Children will begin to experiment with scribbling and making patterns, and taking the activity outdoors will present a great selection of materials they can use. Try creating spring pictures with paints, brushes, textured rollers, twigs and leaves.
5. Spring themed crafts
Finally, what better way to keep your little ones entertained than with crafts! We have an array of Spring crafts to choose from, from Springtime bunting, to DIY spring creatures, tissue paper flowers, Easter chicks and more! Head to the dedicated Spring themed crafts section on our blog to browse more!
Let us know what you got up to this Spring by tagging us in your adventures and activities on social media or simply use the hashtag #ExploreWithEYR
