Spring Activities For

Parent/ Child Academic Involvement             

Spring means being outdoors, enjoying the weather, watching plants and their changes, and noticing all the animal activities around and about.  These happenings allow for some wonderful chances to learn!

Science skills can be practiced and discussed as you walk around the block and notice all the buds, bulbs and shoots as they appear.  Some fun activities to do at home are:

1. Carrot tops!  Cut the tops (large ends) of carrots off-about 1".  Put the flat side into a small bowl of water filled to 1/4 .  Watch!  In one or two weeks, you'll see greenery shooting from the tops.
2. Create a salad garden by planting some onion bulbs in a pot by the patio.  In another pot, sow some rows of lettuce seeds, and finally, get a stake and purchase a "grape tomato" plant and place it in another pot.  Help your child to develop a watering schedule and watch as your dinner salad "grows".  Harvest the crops and enjoy your "yummy" efforts.
3. Place some beans   seeds in water to soak overnight.  Drop them in a plastic bag with a piece of wet paper towel surrounding the seeds and then,  close the bag.  Observe the changes as they begin to occur, roots, sprouts, stems, and leaves will appear.  Keep the towel wet to serve as a water source for the seeds.

4.  Seeds of various kinds can be broken or cut open and studied to observe the small plant inside.  Then have a tasting party.  Seeds-sunflower, Roots--carrots, Stems- celery, Leaves-lettuce, and Flowers, -cauliflower.    

Reading some spring poems can provide practice with new vocabulary.

Little Seeds

I put some little flower seeds

 down in the warm soft ground:

I sprinkled them with water from a sprinkling can I found,

The big , round sun shone brightly, we had some soft rain showers:

The little seeds began to grow.  Soon I had some lovely flowers.

( Younger children could use their fingers/ bodies to do movements as they "act out" the poem as they recite it.)

RAIN

Rain is falling down,

Rain is falling down,

Pitter, patter,

pitter, patter,

Rain is falling down,                                      

          Caterpillar

Fuzzy, wuzzy, creepy, crawly

Caterpillar funny-

You will be a butterfly

When the days are sunny.

Kite Days

       A kite , a sky, and a firm breeze,

      and acres of ground away from the trees,

      And one hundred yards of clean, strong

      string.

      Oh boy, oh boy! I call that spring!

Children could be asked to think of Spring words that begin with the letters of the word Spring and simple poems could be written.  Ex:

S  soft soil

P  purple pansies

R  red robins

I   inching inchworms

N nice noon

G green grass

Another type of poem can be written with describing words, action words, and nouns  for the topic.  Ex:

RAIN

Rushing raindrops

Always in April

Invading and Inching

Noisy, Noisy, Noisy

For Spelling practice, Take a list of springtime words and make fun word games to help children practice and learn them. Ex.:

Basket, Showers, Insects, Blooms

(put in missing letters)

B_ _ o m _

_ h o _ _ r_s

(Unscramble the words)

sectins   ______________

sketba  _______________

(Circle the correct words)

shower         ketsab

hoersw         basstek

show            basket

shower         batter

(Do a word find) (Circle the words)

 B  A  S  K  E  T  B  H  I T

W  M  T  S  H  O W E  R Z

S  T  C  E  S  N  I   U B  K

Art Activities for Spring

Lollipop Flowers for May

Use pastel- colored lollipops for flowers in May baskets.  Cut basket from doubled construction paper, staple bottom edges, and add a long pipe cleaner handle.  Cut a flower from paper and tape or glue behind wrapped sucker.  Insert stick in the basket along with paper leaves.

Cereal Box May Flowers

Flowers appear to grow from an empty cereal box. Cut away the upper two thirds of sides and the top of the box.  Shape upper front and back sections into  handles, removing the centers.  Add several layers of construction paper to the handles and basket to add strength, and to cover the box designs.  Make flowers and leaves from construction paper and pipe cleaners.

   Butterflies

Fold a piece of construction paper in half.

.Open the paper.

Drop bright splotches of paint on one of the inside pages

Close the paper.

Press the paper to spread out the paint and to have it cover both sides of the inside sheets.

Open the paper and let it dry,

Cut the paper into the shape of a butterfly, leaving the fold in tact.

Add a body and antennae to the butterfly using dark construction paper or wooden depressors and pipe cleaners.

Pinwheels

Cut a square into a pinwheel  shape and use a straight pin to stick the folded pinwheel into a soda straw for the holder. Fold down the end of the pin for safety.  

Food Fun

On a warm spring day, have your child follow a simple recipe to make a yummy treat.

Magic Three Ice Cream

You need the juice of three oranges 

You need the juice of three lemons 

You need three bananas, mashed

Three cups of sugar

Also, three cups of cream

And then you'll mix all these.  Put in the freezer tray and stir as you let freeze.