Spring Activities: Indoor and Outdoor Fun!

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Spring is Coming! Get Outside or Craft! 🌷

Spring will be here in a matter of weeks. I love spring! I live in Southern California, and most people look forward to summer. Who can resist beach weather, right? I’m a little different, though. I look forward to Springtime. I think it is one of the most beautiful times of the year. Everything feels so light, bright, and airy. 

I’m a crafter and Spring tends to get the crafty juices flowing. The new season, the Easter holiday, and Mother’s Day are just a few popular Spring days that never cease to inspire. So let’s dive in and see what simple and fun things we can do. 

Let’s Get Outside

The weather doesn’t vary too much where I live. However, in Spring, we actually get to experience a little bit of rain, a few blustery days, and the temperature remains cooler. It’s the perfect outside weather before it gets too hot, and the only tempting places to be are the beach or a pool. Hopefully, wherever you are, things are starting to thaw, and the sun is shining a little more, especially if you are in a place that experiences real winters.  

If Spring means getting outside for you, here are a few ideas that you and your kids can do together. 

Lean-To Shelter With A Tarp

Have you ever made a lean-to? If you’re in a rainy spot like the Irish side of our family, this might come in handy. All you need is a tarp, rope, and stakes. You can tie it to trees, a fence, whatever you can find. Then, lean it in whatever way that will protect you from inclement weather. If there’s wind, you may need to get a few rocks or bags of sand to put down on the corners. Parent hack: I get plastic bags from the store and fill them with sand from our little sandbox, or dirt.

If you are determined to get outside and don’t want a change in weather to stop you, this is your answer. I made one last year and I was pretty proud of myself. No help at all, and it was a pretty cozy place to hang out. So I’m saying it isn’t too hard to build alone, but kids would enjoy the chance to make it along with you. It’s kind of like making an outside fort and what kid doesn’t like making a fort?

Paint the Sky

First, find an old white sheet or at least one that is light in color. Then, freeze water in muffin tins with food coloring. I use a little salt, warm water, and quite a few drops to make the ice a deeper color. Freeze a stick or popsicle stick for a handle. Pop them out of the muffin tin carefully, and use them as paintbrushes to paint the sheet. Afterward, let the kids lay under it and admire their masterpiece, or get family and friends involved and play a good game of parachute.

Ice Mobiles

Frozen treasures are the best. I talk about them here, but this frozen treasure has a twist. You can hang them and admire their beauty. Get a baking sheet, add some nature treasures (flower petals, sticks, grass, leaves, whatever you can find on a quick nature hunt), and spread them around as you wish on the pan. Get a piece of string and put each end on the pan. Let the loop dangle outside of the pan. This will be used to hang it like a mobile. Fill your pan with water and let it freeze overnight. Hang it and watch what happens as it melts. My kids love to smash frozen treasures, but your kids may choose to see what happens as it melts. My kids want to crush it, collect all of the treasures again to refreeze for the next day. 

Cardboard Box & Cookie Sheet Races

Kids love a cardboard box, but have you raced in a cardboard box? Get a box, poke two holes a few inches apart, and run some rope through it. You may need to reinforce the rope on the box with duct tape, but tie it on the open end and use it to pull your little passenger along. You can do the same with a cookie sheet. Get a large cookie sheet that has a pre-drilled hole in it. Then, tie a rope through it. Make sure you keep the length of the rope long. Have your passenger sit on top and pull them along the grass or smooth ground. 

A Sound Wall

You can find non-breakable cups, tins, pans, cookie sheets, bells, buckets, etc., and hang them in a line by a rope. Find a stick or a mallet and make some noise! You’ll want to make sure you’re up for it because this is by no means a quiet activity.

A few other ideas to get you back outside again:

• Start a small garden.
• Take longer walks- Daylight savings makes late in the day walks possible where you can watch the sun as it gets ready to set. We’ve had some amazing bright orange and pink sunsets.
• Digital Scavenger Hunt; Instead of drawing or checking off on a sheet, take a photo.
• Get a large pot or bucket and concoct some Stone Soup using water and whatever nature treasures you can find. Add in some seasoning, stir, and serve at just the right outdoor temperature. 

Tinkergarten has started a free monthly calendar of activities. Each week there are activities listed with a short lesson plan that explains everything you need and what to do. 

How About Some Crafts?

One of my favorite ways to get some inspiration for craft ideas is to take a trip to the local craft store and browse around. Michael’s is the closest store to me, and they always have seasonal crafts right as you walk in the door. They are usually discounted. I spend a lot of my time there. I like to browse up and down the aisles, flip through magazines and books, and then head to the dollar section. The creative juices start to flow, and I’m excited to make something. 

Sometimes I buy a few of the easy crafts for my girls. One of my girls loves to do crafts when she’s done with school and the rest of us are busy. Sometimes she gets some lofty craft ideas so it is nice to have easy crafts around so she’s not trying to make something really messy like slime.

Sometimes I purely use the crafts I see for ideas or take pictures to recreate something similar at home. Chances are, I already have the supplies at home. Another idea is to buy one for a prototype if I know that I have most of the supplies at home. My crafter hack: Most crafting kits you buy come with extra pieces. Keep them. Find a box to put them in. If you like to craft, you will find a use for them and save yourself some $$.

Here are a few Spring crafts we’ve done in the past and few we plan to try. 

• Leprechaun Traps
• Bunny Toilet Roll
• Spring or Easter Tree
• Sun Catcher
• Mini Macrame Hangers/ Keychains (Found at Michael”s)

Final Thoughts

I hope that you get a chance to plan some fun activities whether they are indoors or outdoors. The ideas are endless, but hopefully, maybe with your own ideas and the ones I’ve mentioned your creative juices will begin to flow.

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