What can you do with your preschooler to celebrate the arrival of spring? The days are alternately balmy and chilly here, but spring has come, at least in the animal world. Here are a few ideas of ways to enjoy spring with your preschooler.
You can look for frogs. In our neighborhood, the echoes of frogs are drifting down the street this time of the year. It’s lovely. My daughter and my husband went up to the local pond to visit them one night, complete with a trio of neighbors and a flashlight. If there are ditches near you, you can also take a gentle look for tadpoles. The only rule is that you must return what you find eventually.
Find caterpillars and watch them turn into moths and butterflies, or order butterflies for your home. If you can place a caterpillar into a terrarium with a lid, surround it with leaves to munch on, and watch it spin a cocoon or chrysalis, what a discovery for your child. Biological supply companies often sell caterpillars that have a quick metamorphosis, and you can release them into the wild afterward, as long as the butterflies are a native species.
Start a terrarium. This time of year, my daughter’s favorite activity is to collect snails from the garden, create a terrarium with soil, leaves, and sticks, and then let the snails go inside the terrarium. Our rule is that they are allowed to live in there for a week, and then she must let them go.
You can put up feeders. In our area, the hummingbirds are zipping around from flower to flower, but they don’t mind a little extra from a feeder. The birds are also nesting, and any additions of string or hair are most welcome additions.
Of course, this is also the time to plant many hardy vegetables and summertime bulbs. Herbs are an excellent way for a child to start gardening, since many of the non-Mediterranean herbs are quite hardy. You’d be surprised that small children will actually eat chives and sorrel when they grow in the garden.
How are you celebrating spring with your preschooler?