Fun Things for Kids in Springtime

Springtime is such a fun time for kids. The extra hour of daylight and warm sunshine makes everyone want to be more active, and especially to be outside having fun. There are so many things that kids can do in springtime that are fun. Here are some things that your family can try this spring season that will help them enjoy the season even more. Happy Spring!

Catch Butterflies. You can find butterflies in springtime fairly easily, it depends on your area. This is a great time to take a large quart mason jar and catch butterflies. Catch a butterfly and look at it for an hour or two, just enjoy its beauty and then be sure to release it. There may be other insects that your children might find interesting to catch and release, such as beetles or ladybugs. Ladybugs really only come out in the spring, so springtime is the perfect time to look for ladybugs also.

Tie Dye. Tie dying t-shirts is a fun activity for springtime. Kids can make colorful shirts to wear to school. This is a great activity to do with a group of kids, like a Girl or Boy Scout Troope or a church youth group. Tie dying is relatively inexpensive. It does get a bit messy so be sure the kids are wearing clothing that is not light colored and will be more resistant to getting a dye stain while tie dying.

Camping. Depending on your area, spring may be a great time for a camping trip. The kids don't have to go far -- sometimes the perfect place to camp is your very own backyard! Camping in the backyard is also a great way to introduce kids to camping to help them adjust to longer camping trips for the family to take for the future.

Gardening. Many kids enjoy gardening and growing their own vegetables or flowers. A gardening project is great to start in springtime. You can start with a plant that is already growing, or just with seeds. Tomatoes can be fun to grow. So can herbs because those can be used in different cooking projects. A fun project for kids to do is a container garden, in a large container to grow a salsa garden -- all of the herbs and a small tomato plant to make their own salsa. Another fun idea is to grow large sunflowers, they are so much fun to watch turn into the sun as the day goes by. Smaller and even older children have lots of fun growing sunflowers. There are also some gardening projects that can be started indoors and then planted outdoors as the season goes on.

Outdoor Sports. This is the perfect time to take tennis lessons, or to play soccer or perhaps for basketball. There are so many sports that probably the biggest challenge will be finding the time to select only one. Probably the spring classic sport that many think of is baseball, as many kids play little league baseball in the spring. This is lots of fun and teaches them about teamwork and lots of other things.

Bike Riding. The warmer weather is perfect for kids to ride their bikes. They can ride their bikes to school instead of taking the bus. Or perhaps they can ride their bikes to go to friend's houses, or into town. Going for a family bike ride on the weekend is a great habit to get into with the nice weather. You can always stop and have lunch together when your bike ride is complete.

Sunprints. This is a fun craft that makes the most of your spring sunshine. It is also a craft that young children will enjoy, but older children will also have fun doing. You can order a Sunprint kit online by doing a google.com search for "Sunprints". This is special paper that you put out in the sun. When you put objects on the paper such as leaves, it creates a reverse negative. So where the leaf was will be white and the exposed paper will be dark blue. The Sunprints are so beautiful and they are always a work of art.