Spring is here, for us in Wisconsin anyways and now that children want to get in the yard and enjoy the warmer weather, it might be a good time to make a list of safe things that you can do with your children. Most of the time it can be a pain to run your kids around town trying to find something fun to do, so just playing around the yard can be a lot of fun for children, and adults, that have been cooped up all winter long.
Learn about flowers, plants and trees
Would you like to teach your child about flowers, trees and plants? Teaching them at an early age can set them up with valuable knowledge for life. Walk around your yard or neighborhood and point out the different flowers that are blooming or trees that are started to get buds on them. Show them how trees lose their leaves over the winter, but that they also grow back this time of year. With so many different flowers, children will love seeing the different colors and arrangements that neighbors have set up for others to enjoy.
Check out the clouds
Watching clouds can be a good time and a learning exercise at the same time. Look up with them and have them tell you what types of animals or shapes that clouds morph into as they move over the sky high above your heads. Use a pad of paper, crayons and cotton balls and allow your child to recreate the scenes they just witnessed over head.
How about a treasure hunt?
Go on a treasure hunt in the yard. It is very easy to bury, or simply hide some sort of “treasure” in your yard and encourage your child to search around to find it. Give them clues that pertain to the treasure, or even where the item might be located. This allows the child to associate the keywords with something they see in the yard.
Nothing wrong with a little help
Depending on how large your yard is, you might need some help with the spring cleanup. There is nothing wrong with asking your child to help or to even give them a task that they can complete on their own while you do other tasks at the same time. This would teach your child responsibility and that fun can come after a little work. Do forget to reward them with a little play time after all the work is done so that they do not feel cheated or left out of the “actual” fun.
Use the yard as your classroom
Using the yard as your classroom is a great idea. You can teach your child how to count by asking them how many trees are in the yard. Having your child find all the different colors in the yard is another way to get them in touch with nature and maybe even learning a new color or two.
