Have you considered spending most of the day outside? Spring is a grand time because it is not too hot. Everything that you do inside can also be done outside. From snack and painting to the obvious water and sand play to Legos and blocks, all can be experienced outside. Bring the home living center outside complete with dishes and dolls. The children can pretend to be camping or picnicking in the back yard.

 

By spending a large portion of the day outside, children have the opportunity to discover many “nature things” that they ordinarily would not be able to do. Cut the bottom out of a paper kitchen cup, one for each child. Show them how to hold it up to their eye and search for bugs or sticks or flowers in the yard on their hands and knees. Another project is to make binoculars for each child from toilet paper rolls. Fasten the tubes together, but let the children paint the outside. If the children glue cotton balls on the tubes, the binoculars can be used for cloud watching!

 

A flat bed sheet makes a great substitute for a parachute. Add a beach ball and kids around the edges and great fun will follow. Baseball season is upon us, also. A Christmas wrapping paper tube makes a great bat for a masking tape ball. Let the children wad masking tape into a ball the size you think would work best for the ages of your children. After playing with it for a while, the stickiness will wear off!

 

If you have a large shaded area or a covered patio, try napping outside even with infants. Ground rules need to be set, and perhaps some children might not sleep, but you would be the hero-of-the-day!

 

Children love to be outside. Take advantage of the warm weather and their natural affinity for the outdoors. Our great Kansas weather will soon be too hot!