When I think of springtime, I think of pretty flowers blooming, lots of rain showers, rainbows, and all of the things associated with spring.  But I guess flowers are what I think of the most.   Pictured above are flowers that originally came from the parent plant in my grandmother’s garden.  Bulbs were passed on to my mother, then to me, then hopefully soon to our daughter.  When our two grandbabies get old enough, I plan to explain to them that these flowers came from the parent plant that was their great, great grandmother’s.  So with the coming of spring also comes a blooming remembrance for many families of their loved ones.  What a lovely tradition that appears every spring!

CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES:

• Flowers: Have each child plant flower seeds in potting soil in a plastic cup.  Have each child water their own plant.  Great to incorporate with science.
• Flowers:  Art activity – use paper cupcake liners to use as the middle for construction paper  flowers.
• Flowers:  Art activity- using different colors of construction paper, have children trace around their hands and cut out the hand shapes.  Curl the fingers forward to make “flower petals.”   Add a green paper stem and leaves.
• Flowers: Art activity – cut colored gift tissue into long strips about 10-12 inches long and 3 inches wide.  Fold accordion style the length of the tissue.  Secure in the middle with a green pipe cleaner to make the stem.  Fluff out the tissue paper to make the flower.
• Rainbow:  Art Activity – using the construction paper the colors of the rainbow, have children trace around their hands and cut out the hand shapes.  Using the hands, make a large rainbow on the wall by stapling the same colors together to make each color band of the rainbow.
• Wall mural:  Art activity – have the class make a wall mural filled with different kinds of paper flowers that they have made.  Add the cut-out hands rainbow in the sky above the flowers.
• Rainbow:  Make a 9 x 13 cake.  Top with light blue icing.  Using M&M’s, make a large rainbow on top of the cake.

CHILDREN’S BOOKS:

• Caterpillar Spring, Butterfly Summer by Susan Hood.  Good for ages 2-5.  Charming story in rhyme about a caterpillar’s day.
• Spring is Here!  Fisher-Price Little People Lift the Flap Series by Carol Monica.  Good for ages 2-6 and early ESL.  Concepts include “spring,” colors, action words, counting, shapes, etc.  Enforces vocabulary building.
• Spring Peeps! (Peeps Series) by Cindy Eng.  Good for ages 2-5.  Has a yellow PEEPS candy chick as one of the characters – have the candy to eat after reading the book.
• Splish, Splash, Spring by Jan Carr.  Good for ages 2-6.
• Spring is Here, Corduroy! by Don Freeman.  Good for ages 3-6.
• That’s What Happens When It’s Spring! by Elaine W. Good.  Great for ages 3-6.  Spring seen through the eyes of a rural child.
• Oh, Yes!  Oh, Yes!  It’s Springtime!  (Little Einsteins Series) by Susan Ring.  Good for ages 4-6.
• Mouse’s First Spring by Lauren Thompson.  Good for ages 4-6.
• Spring is Here by Lois Benski.  Good for ages 4-6.  Has an old-fashioned charm to it.
• Magic School Bus Makes a Rainbow:  A Book About Color (Magic School Bus Series) by Joanna Cole, George Arthur Bloom and Bruce Degen.  Good for ages 4-8.
• Spring is Here, Grumpy Bunny! by Justine Korman.  Good for ages 4-8.  Reinforces the idea of early literacy by reading to babies from an early age.
• Spring by Nuria Roca, Dimitry.  Good for ages 4-8.  Beautiful illustrations.  Fun crafts and projects are provided at the end of the book.
• It’s Spring! by Linda Glaser.  Good for ages 5-8.  Includes suggestions for nature study projects.
• Poppleton in Spring (Scholastic Reader) by Cynthia Rylant.  Good for ages 5-8.  Easy chapter book.  Humorous story, beautiful illustrations.
• The Boy Who Didn’t Believe in Spring by Lucille Clifton.  Good for ages 5-8.  About two city boys who discover spring.

CHILDREN’S DVD’S:

• Children’s Favorites:  Spring Into Fun.   Features Barney, Bob the Builder, Angelina Ballerina, and Kipper.
• Spring for Strawberry Shortcake.  Good for grades PreK-1.
• Rain Showers and Spring Flowers.  Good for grades PreK-2.
• Nick Jr. Celebrates Spring.  Good for grades PreK-3.
• Stanley: Spring Fever (Stanley DVD Series).  Good for grades PreK-3.  About all the animals that come out in spring.
• Let’s Explore…Spring and Summer  (Let’s Explore DVD Series).  Good for ages PreK-5.  An activity guide is available online to with this.
• Weather for Children:  All About Climate and Seasons by Schlessinger Media.  Good for grades K-4.

Share with a friend!