As adults we tend to anticipate the beginning of each season and all that comes with it in terms of weather changes and activities. However with children, particularly toddlers or preschoolers, they pick up the words cold, snow, hot, sun, rain but don’t truly grasp their indication. Now that spring is upon us, we can take advantage of this change to explain in a simplified manner, the elements of this season and what makes it so special, so that they are aware of why we transitioned from winter into spring.

Indoor Activities:

Start by reading books that have plenty of visuals about spring. Explain the weather that is a mixture of rain, shine and rainbows, the blooming trees and flowers, as well as the insects that metamorphose and animals that go out of hibernation. This sets the base for what to expect this season and how it differs from the previous. Draw seasonal items such as butterflies on cardboard and assist your preschooler in cutting these shapes to decorate parts of your home to give off that fresh feeling of spring. Have your child act out a mini play where they start out as a seed and turn into a flower, a caterpillar into a butterfly, or a cloud that releases droplets of rain. When they manifest what they learned by reading and drawing it sticks with them as an experience.

Outdoor Activities:

Take a walk outside and emphasize nature’s factors. Step in mud or a puddle and express why this is an element of spring. Bring along seeds and explain that once they are placed in the ground they will eventually become a plant. Touch the trees’ barks and wonder at their leaf color and how they blossom. With all these ideas, your child will by now have a sense of how this season allows creatures and plants to bloom. Listen for a moment to the birds chirping and leaves rustling. If you have a garden next to your home, work together to dig a small hole with a shovel to plant seeds and watch them grow with time, this physical activity will give your child a sense of purpose and responsibility of creating while constantly watering the location throughout the season.

Maria Najem

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