Play Catch

During spring, many children join baseball or softball teams to play organized sports. Your children may not be old enough for that yet, but you can still have fun by grabbing some baseball gloves and teaching your child how to play catch. This is an activity that helps your child develop hand-eye coordination and allows you to spend some quality time together. If your child does join an organized team someday, playing catch teaches some of the fundamentals. 

Skip Stones

For a little kid, it can be fun just to toss rocks into the water to make a big splash. Skipping stones requires more practice and skill, but when you do it right, it is a really neat thing to see, and your child may want to learn to do it. Instead of throwing stones in the water, you try to make them just glance off it without breaking the surface tension. They may skip across the surface of the water several times before they finally lose their forward momentum and sink. It helps if you choose a still body of water, such as a pond, rather than a moving body such as a creek or stream. Flatter rocks tend to skip better, and the throwing motion is similar to what you would do to launch a frisbee. Skipping stones takes a lot of practice, but it can be really fun. 

Hunt for Berries

Spring is probably too early to pick berries since most varieties do not ripen until late summer. However, now is a good time to seek out spots where the berries grow and check to see where they are. That way, you can come back to pick them when they are ripe. If you do any wild foraging for berries, but sure you respect the rights of the owner of the property and check to make sure that the berries are safe to eat. There are some poisonous varieties that may resemble the berries you are looking for. An alternative to wild foraging is to visit a berry farm. 

Take a Hike

While there is plenty of fun to be had in your own backyard or neighborhood park, it is good for children to explore wild spaces at least several times a year. You do not necessarily have to go far out of your way to find a hiking trail. Chances are good that there is a state park or nature preserve nearby. You can pack water and snacks, perhaps a picnic lunch, into a backpack and make a day trip out of it. Record your experience in nature journals or have a woodland scavenger hunt. Look for specific objects, such as pine cones or bird feathers, take pictures of them or write down in your journal where you found them, but don't handle them or remove them from their location. 

Build a Birdhouse

Migratory birds are coming back after spending the winter in warmer southern areas. They're going to be building new nests in which to lay eggs and raise their babies. Building a birdhouse makes things a little easier on the birds because it gives them a ready-made space to build their nests. It also gives you and your child an opportunity to observe the birds' activities and learn more about them. Building a bird feeder is another good craft activity that allows you to observe the birds from fairly close up. Hanging your bird feeder close to a window also helps prevent the birds from accidentally crashing into it. 

Doing activities such as these with your child during the spring allows you to make some wonderful shared memories. While they are intended to be educational for your child, you may find that you end up learning something as well. 

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