Spring Adventures for Energetic Kids

Eight Springtime Activities for Kids With Energy to Burn

The spring has finally arrived. Both kids and parents will likely feel an extra boost of energy after months of dark, cold and windy days. They are ready to enjoy the warmer weather. Spring is an enchanting time of the year. Nature is awakening, flowers are in bloom, and longer days encourage us to be active and creative.

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You’ve come to the right place if you’re looking to create meaningful and fun ways to celebrate spring with your children, especially those energetic, busy kids who have an endless amount of energy. Eight super cute and creative springtime activities will help you and your children burn some energy, explore the outdoors, and create beautiful memories.

Let’s get started!

1. Create a Mud Kitchen – Messy Sensory Fun at its Best

Mud play is a magical experience. It’s a sensory experience for toddlers and young children that includes the smells, textures and squishiness of nature. In spring, when the soil is moist, it’s the perfect time to create a Mud Kitchen.

Why Mud Kitchens?

Kids can explore sensory play and practice imaginative cooking while developing fine motor skills in a mud kitchen. All this is done outdoors, surrounded by nature. This is a wonderful outlet for hands and minds that are always looking for something to do.

How to set up a simple mud kitchen

It’s not necessary to have expensive equipment, just some basic items for your home or garden.

• Old pots and pans can be used to make wooden spoons.
• Install a sturdy table or bench in your backyard.
• Add water to a bucket, watering can or other container.
• Let your children collect leaves, flowers and twigs to use as “ingredients.”
• Encourage your children to create “soups,” potions or mud pies by mixing, stirring, and blending.

Tips for Success

• Wear old clothes or clothing that is waterproof. Mud will be everywhere.
• Keep a bucket or a hose of water handy to wash your hands afterwards.
• Photograph their muddy creations!

There are many DIY tutorials with step-by-step instructions online. But the best part of all is that you can improvise using whatever materials you have.

2. Nature Detectives in Training: Create Craft Binoculars for Bird Watching

Spring is a time of bird song and butterflies fluttering. Children love to observe these busy creatures. Why not make your craft Binoculars before you go on a backyard or nature adventure? This easy craft is great for developing fine motor skills, and it adds excitement to outdoor adventures.

How to Make Craft Binoculars

You’ll need:

• Cut two empty paper towel or toilet paper rolls in half
• Neck straps can be made from yarn or string
• Tape or glue
• Paint, stickers, markers or other decorations

Step-by-Step instructions

1. Attach the two rolls using tape or glue.
2. Let your children get creative and decorate the binoculars with paint, stickers or markers.
3. Create a strap by tying a piece of string on each side.
4. Take the binoculars out and ask your child to look for wildlife, such as birds, butterflies, squirrels and other creatures.

Why This Works

This activity not only encourages children to be creative but also helps them slow down and take in the world around them. This is a great blend of indoor craft and outdoor exploration.

Check out Powerful Mothering’s original craft for more detailed inspiration.

3. Craft a Flower Suncatcher to Bring Spring Indoors

Some people don’t have a garden in bloom visible from their windows, particularly those who live in urban areas or apartments. You can still brighten your home with spring-like vibes. A lower Suncatcher can be used to decorate windows with vibrant blooms.

What you’ll need

• Contact paper or laminated sheets in clear
• Tissue paper in various flower colours
• Scissors
• String for hanging
• Construction paper for backing (optional)

How to Make It

1. Cut a contact paper piece slightly larger than the desired size of your suncatcher.
2. Peel the backing off and place the sticky side up on a flat, smooth surface.
3. Stick torn or layered pieces of tissue paper on the surface.
4. Seal the tissue paper by covering it with another sheet of contact paper.
5. Cut the circles, hearts or flowers into fun shapes.
6. Make a hole in the top of the jar and attach a string to hang it.

Display and Enjoy

These flower suncatchers will brighten your home and bring a touch of spring colour to it. These flower suncatchers are a great way to teach children about light and colour interaction.

Fun At Home With Kids has more information.

4. Build a Play Garden – Teach Children the Joy of Growing

Why not create a play yard for your child if you have some spare lawn or garden beds? This activity promotes physical activity and teaches children responsibility. It also fosters an appreciation for nature.

Getting Started

• Select an area of your garden that receives good sunlight.
• Grab some small tools for gardening, such as child-sized trowels and rakes.
• Choose a few plants that are easy to grow, such as herbs (basil and mint), flowers (marigolds or sunflowers), or even vegetables (radishes or lettuce).
• Allow your child to dig, water and care for their patch regularly.

Benefits

• Children learn about the origins of food and how to care for living creatures.
• The garden is transformed into a natural play area that encourages physical activity and exploration.
• As children observe their plants grow, gardening teaches patience and observational skills.
• The Imagination Tree provides you with many examples of garden designs that are suitable for children.

5. Science Meets Art: Grow Cute Cress Heads

Growing cress is an easy, fun project that incorporates science, art and gardening. Children love to watch their cress “grow hair”, which they can style and cut.

What you’ll need

• Clean out the empty eggshell halves
• Cotton Wool Balls
• Cress seeds
• Small dish or tray
• Water

How to Make Cressheads

1. Put cotton wool in each eggshell.
2. Cress seeds can be sprinkled liberally on cotton wool.
3. Place the “heads” of eggshells on a tray so that they can catch water.
4. To keep the cotton wool moist, lightly mist or water it regularly.
5. Place the tray near a window that gets plenty of sunlight.

Watch Magic Happen

In a matter of days, you’ll see tiny green shoots growing on your cress head, giving it the appearance of funny grassy hair. The kids will enjoy giving their heads a “haircut” with scissors. They’ll learn about plant growth and maintenance in a fun, hands-on manner.

Kids Do Gardening provides a step-by-step guide to help you get started.

6. Paint Flower Pots Personalise Your Garden

What could be better than watching your seeds grow and seeing them flourish? It’s even more fun to do it in a painted pot your child decorated.

Materials Required

• Small plastic or terracotta pots
• Acrylic or tempera paints that are safe for children
• Paintbrushes
• Decorate with stickers, glitter or markers

How to Create

1. Spread out some newspaper or plastic tablecloths to keep your work area tidy.
2. Paint the pots with whatever design you like – flowers, dots, stripes or your imagination.
3. Plant seeds or seedlings into the pots once they have dried.
4. Encourage your child to take care of their plants by placing the pots on a sunny surface.

This is why it’s great.

It’s a great indoor activity to do on rainy days in spring. Kids will feel more connected to and have ownership of their plants. This activity also encourages creativity and improves hand-eye coordination.

If you’d like to follow along, Fun Learning For Kids includes a step-by-step manual.

7. Bake Flower Pot Cupcakes — Sweet Indoor Spring Fun

Even if the weather isn’t perfect, you can still have fun! Bring the spring feel indoors on rainy and chilly days by creating flowerpot cupcakes.

What you’ll need

• You can make your favourite cupcake recipe or mix.
• Pots or small terracotta pots shaped as cupcake liners
• Frosting (green that looks like grass)
• Candy decorations or edible flowers can be used to decorate petals
• You can also make a little soil from crushed chocolate cookies (optional).

How to Make Them

1. Choose your favourite pots or liners to bake cupcakes.
2. Once the cupcakes have cooled, decorate them with green icing.
3. Decorate with edible flowers or candy arranged in the shape of blooms.
4. Sprinkle crushed cookies over the top to simulate soil.

Why This is a Winner

Kids can bake and decorate while developing their cooking skills and sensory awareness. The cute results will brighten any dull day, and they make delicious treats.

Check out This Silly Girl’s Kitchen’s recipe for inspiration.

8. Make Flower Soup – A Nature Sensory Game

Try this simple and creative flower-soup activity if your children are always saying “, I’m bored.” This is a fun way to get your kids outdoors and collecting nature’s springtime gifts.

How to Play

1. Take your children on a stroll and try to collect as many flowers of different colours as you can. Teach your children to be respectful of nature and to only take from areas where it is allowed.
2. Fill a large bowl of water with your collected flowers, and then let the kids add it to their bowl.
3. Pretend to make “flower soup” by stirring with spoons or small pots.

Enjoy the fun for longer.r

• You can challenge your children to create the prettiest colour soup with only three colours (such as purple flower soup).
• As they play, talk about the textures, colours, and smells.
• This game encourages creativity and colour recognition through a sensory experience.

Flower soup can be made even more enjoyable with some of the lovely ideas in Taming Little Monsters.

Celebrate Spring with Play and Wonder

Spring is the perfect time to get kids outside, exploring, creating and moving. These eight activities are a perfect mix of sensory play and crafts, gardening, food preparation, and nature appreciation for kids who have energy to burn.

The goal is not perfection, but rather fun, curiosity and quality time spent together. Enjoy the magic of spring by creating colourful suncatchers or muddy potions outdoors.

Spring is here!