Spring Bucket List: 20 Ways to Celebrate Spring With Your Kids

Spring has–as they say–sprung! I am such a sucker for this time of year. Watching the Earth come back to life is an extraordinary sight! It makes me a little giddy seeing snow melt away and buds form on tree branches. With a toddler in tow, the season change has become increasingly wondrous.

To my 19-month-old daughter, everything is brand new. While this may not be her first spring, she will be able to grasp much more understanding this time around. Even the first few weeks have sparked seemingly endless curiosity, and I can see the need to explore written all over her tiny cheeks. In the next breath, the Daddy Bear and I have taken on more commitments this year as well, which is great for us, but I do not want my little one to get lost in the shuffle and miss out on fulfilling her curiousness.

As a way to keep myself inspired and somewhat organized, I’ve created a bucket list. I wanted to share it, in case there are any mamas out there looking for ideas on how to enjoy this lovely season!

spring bucket list celebrate kids

20 Ways to Celebrate Spring With Your Kids

  1. Plant seeds.
  2. Make a birdfeeder. And then watch the birds, of course! My daughter LOVES watching birds.
  3. Explore an unknown park. Especially, if you’re new to the area! Iowa City has so many great parks. We have never been to City Park…gasp! What are we?! Crazy people?!  {Click here for a list of the top 10 parks in Iowa City!}
  4. Blow bubbles. 
  5. spring bucket listDance in the rain.
  6. Spot a butterfly.
  7. Color with sidewalk chalk.
  8. Pack a picnic. To City Park, perhaps? Backyards work, too!
  9. Splash in puddles. And do wear some super adorable rain boots!
  10. Feed ducks.
  11. Smell the roses. Any flower will work perfectly for this sensory activity!
  12. Paint birdhouses. I picked up little birdhouses for $1 each at Michaels. I primed them with white paint to help make the colors more vibrant and we went to town! They might be a bit too small for an actual bird, but I plan to keep them inside for a cute seasonal décor.
  13. spring bucket listFly a kite.
  14. Pick a dandelion.
  15. Make a May Day basket. I realize this isn’t an incredibly popular thing, but my mom always made May Day baskets with my sister and me. It was a really fun tradition for us as kids!
  16. Swing.
  17. Take a hike. A toddler-paced hike might be more like a nature walk? Even better!
  18. Dig in the dirt.
  19. Get Heyn’s Ice Cream. I’ll confess we don’t limit this to any season. We don’t have it in us. It’s too yummy!
  20. Get outside and enjoy it! Last, but not least, is my favorite on the list! Life is sweet and short, and childhood is especially so. We all-too-easily forget that family activities need not be complicated and overly planned or expensive and fancy. Watering flowers and mashing mud pies may seem like small ways to pass the time, but these moments have a much bigger impact on our kids.

If you only do one thing on this list, please let it be this…get outside, play, laugh, enjoy your messy littles, embrace their youthfulness, and keep it simple!

Does your family have any fun spring traditions? I’d love to know what you’d add to this list! Happy Spring!


 

Mina Tannehill
Mina works as a cake decorator in Cedar Rapids, where she resides with her little family of three. Although she was born and raised in small town Illinois, she’s always been an Iowa girl at heart and planted roots in Des Moines shortly after graduating as a Cornjerker. It was there she met the love of her life, Dale! They quickly added their sweet and sassy daughter to the mix in August 2013. Mina dove head-first into being Eisley’s mommy and loves embracing the happiness and curiosity of childhood with her. In her free time she loves writing, eating, getting in some family time and binge watching TV dramas.

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