Spring Crafts and Activities for Kids

Spring is a time of new beginnings: flowers bloom, birds build nests, baby animals arrive and days get longer and warmer. It's the perfect season to get outside and get crafty. These activities combine nature, crafts and simple science for ages 3 to 10.

Signs of spring walk

Head outside and look for:

• Buds on trees and bushes
• The first flowers: daffodils, crocuses, tulips and blossom
• Birds carrying twigs for nests
• Bees and butterflies
• Lambs or other baby animals
• Puddles, rainbows and showers

Make a checklist before you go and tick things off. Back home, draw or color what you found on our nature pages.

Spring crafts

1. Tissue-paper flowers. Scrunch squares of tissue paper and glue them onto a drawn stem to make a bunch of flowers.
2. Cupcake-case flowers. Flatten paper cupcake cases, glue them onto paper and add stems and leaves.
3. Paper plate sun. Paint a plate yellow and add handprint rays.
4. Butterfly symmetry painting. Fold paper in half, paint blobs on one side, fold and press, then open to reveal a symmetrical butterfly.
5. Egg carton caterpillar. Cut a row of egg-carton cups, paint them green and add pipe-cleaner antennae.
6. Rainbow collage. Glue torn paper in rainbow order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
7. Bird nest. Shape brown paper strips, twigs and grass into a nest in a paper bowl and add paper or clay eggs.
8. Spring bunting. Color patterns, cut them into triangles and hang them on string.
9. Rain cloud mobile. Cut a cloud from card and hang blue paper raindrops underneath.
10. Pressed flower bookmarks. Press flowers between heavy books for a week, then seal them on card with clear contact paper.

Growing things

Spring is the best time to plant:

• Bean in a jar: watch roots and shoots grow against the glass.
• Cress heads: grow cress "hair" in an eggshell.
• Sunflower race: plant sunflowers and measure them each week.
• Herb pots: basil, mint and chives on the windowsill.

See gardening activities for kids for step-by-step instructions.

Spring science

• Rain gauge: put a straight-sided jar outside and measure rainfall each day with a ruler. Record it in a chart.
• Make a rainbow: shine a torch through a glass of water onto white paper, or spray a fine mist of water with your back to the sun.
• Color-changing flowers: put white flowers or celery stalks in water with food coloring and watch the color travel up.
• Life cycles: learn the life cycle of a butterfly (egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly) or a frog (spawn, tadpole, froglet, frog). Color bug pages to illustrate.

Spring learning

• Weather chart: draw the weather each day for a month and count sunny, rainy and cloudy days in a graph.
• Spring words: blossom, bud, nest, hatch, shower, sprout. Use them in sentences.
• Spring math: try seasonal math worksheets with spring pictures.
• Measure growth: measure seedlings with a ruler and practise measurement.

Ideas by age

Ages 3–4: tissue-paper flowers, handprint suns, planting seeds and puddle jumping.

Ages 5–7: butterfly symmetry, egg carton caterpillars, rain gauges and signs-of-spring hunts.

Ages 8–10: life cycle diagrams, color-changing flower experiments, pressed flower crafts and plant journals.

Spring holidays

Spring includes celebrations such as Easter, St. Patrick's Day, Earth Day and Mother's Day. Each has its own crafts and coloring pages.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Picking wild flowers. Pick only from your own garden and leave wild flowers for bees.
• Disturbing nests. Watch birds from a distance.
• Overwatering seeds. Water when the soil feels dry.

Frequently asked questions

When does spring start?

In the northern hemisphere, astronomical spring starts around March 20; meteorological spring starts on March 1. In the southern hemisphere, spring begins around September.

What's the easiest spring craft for toddlers?

Tissue-paper flowers or handprint suns. Both need little cutting and are bright and cheerful.

How do I make a butterfly symmetry painting?

Fold paper in half, paint on one side only, fold and press firmly, then open it up to reveal matching wings.

A spring nature journal

Make a simple journal to record spring changes:

1. Fold several sheets of paper in half and staple them into a book.
2. Decorate the cover with a spring drawing.
3. Each week, go outside and draw one thing that has changed: a new bud, a flower, a bird or a tadpole.
4. Add the date and a sentence about what you noticed.
5. Press a flower or leaf between the pages.

By the end of spring, children will have a record of how much the world changed.

What birds might we see in spring?

It depends where you live. Common garden birds include robins, blackbirds, sparrows and blue tits. Look for birds carrying nesting material.

What are easy flowers to grow with kids in spring?

Sunflowers, marigolds, nasturtiums and sweet peas are all easy and colorful.