Before I begin, I have a confession: I am addicted to seasonal bucket lists. Yes, the kind you find scrolling through Pinterest and sneer at. But they work for our family. The mere creation of them is an anticipated event and we all hunker down to brainstorm what we've got cooking for the season. And once finished, we are never without a go-to activity. "What's left on the list?!" is often tossed about at home. I'm also just a list person in general -- you know, the person who has lists about making lists -- and I click my heels with joy every time I get to cross something off. So, yes, we have a Spring Bucket List of 60+ activities to enjoy this season.
But you don't have to be that person to find ways to get into the season and have fun with your family. In fact, it's always the simplest of items on our list (e.g., play in the rain) that lead to the most creative and fun activities (as opposed to the "bungee jumping" my son insists I add to almost every list). So without further adieu, here are ten easy ways to connect with your family this spring.
1. Practice Being Hopeful -- fall is typically the season everyone focuses on being grateful, but spring can be the perfect time of year to focus on being hopeful. Even when there are heavy things going on around the world, each spring, new life abounds, the sun stays up later, and the weather warms. Practicing this can be as simple as a dinnertime offering of one thing for which each person is hopeful or as involved as helping your kids volunteer in the community to help make a difference. Any way you look at it, spring is a great time of year to remind ourselves to be hopeful and reassess our outlook on life.
2. Explore the season outdoors -- go for a hike or just a walk around your neighborhood. Encourage your children to help identify signs of spring and maybe even collect some items to use in an additional activity (e.g., flowers or green leaves).
3. Make a seasonal sensory material -- that sounds fancy, but all it really means is help your kiddos make a fun-smelling play material such as frozen playdough. Sensory play is a wonderful way to help your kid's senses develop and is just plain fun. You can check out a good roundup of other ideas here.
4. Cook something yummy -- anything with bright, seasonal flavors is a great choice, but my kids also love helping me come up with fun ideas such as our Kid-Friendly Bubble Tea. Plus, I've always found that my kids are more apt to try new foods when they help make them. It's a win, win.
5. Do an art project using spring materials -- remember those flower and leaves you picked up on your walk outside? Draw on them, trace them, rub them with a crayon. Heck just string them together to make a garland. Use your own imagination to create with your children.
6. Read books together about the season -- libraries often pull together seasonal reading material for you, making it easy for kids to help pick out books about spring. We also love listening to audiobooks together in the car and always add a few springy stories to our stash.
7. Make a spring music playlist -- add warm weather songs that make you want to roll the car windows down and sing along, or just pull together whatever music you and your kids are loving right now. We love going back through old playlists and remembering all the activities associated with it.
8. Watch a spring movie together -- find a great beach movie or a nature movie about the season (we love Bears). You can make movie time extra special by serving a sweet treat (e.g., party popcorn).
9. Scout out a favorite summer spot -- we love going to the beach in the spring. It's less crowded and fun for the kids to get a sneak peek at what's to come this summer.
10. Try a spring science experiment -- explore the science behind one of the season's significant weather patterns: rain. Learn about plant life cycles. Or, if you have any candy leftover from Easter, use it up conducting candy science experiments! The options are endless to explore the season.
Whatever you chose, having fun and doing the activity together is what's important. Happy spring!