Celebrate Spring!

I’m not a big fan of winter. There are some aspects that I enjoy—things like homemade soup and big mugs of hot chocolate. But I don’t enjoy activities such as having to bundle up to go outside to pick up my mail or having to shovel snow out of my driveway. I find myself looking forward to spring every year.

This year, spring officially begins on March 20. And even though it might not feel like spring on that Thursday where you live, you can still celebrate with some fun activities.

Have a Special Snack

The appearance of earthworms is a sign of the beginning of spring, so why not eat some “worms” for snack time? The Footsteps for Fours Teacher’s Edition Part 3 features this delectable snack on page 1133.

Ingredients

¼ cup of prepared chocolate instant pudding
2 chocolate sandwich cookies
Several gummy worms
1 resealable sandwich bag
A small disposable cup
A plastic spoon

Directions

Fill a small cup with the pudding. Put the cookies in the sandwich bag for the child to crush and pour into the paper cup. Then decorate with gummy worms. Yield: 1 serving

Read Some Books

Below are some great read-aloud books for young children:

• Signs of Spring by Justine Fontes
• Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms by Julia Rawlinson
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
• Buttercup Hill by Eileen M. Berry
• Everything Spring by Jill Esbaum

Make a Craft

Spring is also the time when you start to see blossoms on the trees. Make your own blossoming tree by following the directions below.

Materials Needed

• Construction paper (blue, green, and brown; 8 ½ x 11 inches)
• Tissue paper (white and pink)
• Old pencils (either without an eraser or with “unusable” erasers)
• Glue

Directions

1. Cut the green construction paper into strips 3 inches tall and 8 ½ inches wide.
2. Draw a tree shape on the brown construction paper and cut it out. (Tip: Tracing a child’s hand and forearm makes a great tree shape.)
3. Glue your tree onto a full sheet of blue construction paper.
4. Glue a strip of the green construction paper on the bottom to make “grass.”
5. Cut the tissue paper into 1 inch squares.
6. Fold a square of tissue paper over the eraser-end of a pencil to form a “blossom.” Put a dab of glue on the bottom of the “blossom” and stick it on one of the branches of the “tree.”

Go for a Walk

If the weather is favorable, go for a walk and look for some of the following signs of spring:

• Tree blossoms
• Flowers (especially daffodils and crocuses)
• Birds
• Earthworms
• Butterflies
• Caterpillars

What do you plan on doing to celebrate the first day of spring?