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SPRING THEME

CRAFTS:

A Branch of Spring
The first spring-like day, collect broken branches with buds on them and put them in a vase of water. What better way to bring a little springtime into your house (and maybe trigger a spring cleaning)?

Bug Fingers
Supplies: Old Gloves, Pipe Cleaners, Scissors, Hot Glue or Tacky Glue, Misc. Craft Supplies
Procedure: Cut the fingers off the gloves, they will be the bugs' body. Glue on pipe cleaners for legs, wiggly eyes, pompoms for noses, and feathers on back.(Or decorate as desired). Makes cute finger puppets.

Bird's Nest
Supplies: Construction Paper, Glue, Cardboard, Yarn, Markers
Procedure: Use scissors to cut the shapes of birds eggs from construction paper. Glue the eggs onto cardboard. Glue short strands of yarn under the eggs for a nest allow them to dry completely. Use markers to draw tree branches around the nest and speckles on the eggs. Draw leaves or use real ones, or felt (whatever) to make leaves on the branches. Variations: Wash and dry pieces or real eggshells. Glue them on top of the yard nests. Talk about the kinds of birds that live in your area. Compare their sizes, shapes, and colors. Take a walk and look for nests in trees. Talk about the materials that birds use to build nests and how high or low the nests are in the trees.

Blowing In The Wind
When the dandilions are at their fuzzy stage we read the book by Eric Carl, The Tiny Seed . Then we blew the dandilions and watched them fly; also used bubble to represent seeds too. This is more fun on a windy day.

Clouds with Raindrops
Children glue an umbrella cutout onto a large sheet of paper. Next, let them glue raindrops onto the paper underneath the umbrella. The kids can then paint the raindrops with glue using a paintbrush. Sprinkle with glitter so it looks like the raindrops are shiny.

Clouds
Cut two cloud shapes out of white fingerpaint paper. Glue around edges except for a small opening. Children stuff with toilet paper. Dry and hang. Puffy white clouds.

Daffodils
Supplies: Yellow Crepe Paper, Yellow Cupcake Papers, Green Pipe Cleaners
Procedure: Roll up a little ball on one end of the pipe cleaner so that when you stick it through the flower it won't just fall out. First cut the shape of the "back" of the daffodil...or approximately anyway. Put a small hole in the center for the pipe cleaner. Cut the cupcake paper in half. Roll it till you can glue the pleated edges together, making the part of the flower that sticks out in front (we called it the "trumpet"). Make a hole (or sort of open the one that's there) and put the pipe cleaner through both parts of the flower; glue the "trumpet" onto the back of the flower. We also added a little edge of orange with markers to make them look like the variations of daffodils.

Fringed Flowers
Supplies: Construction Paper, Straws, Scissors, Glue, Stapler or Tape
Procedure: Cut out 3 paper circles (same or different colors). Child cuts a 'fringe' around each circle. Put circles together, largest on bottom, smallest on top. Add a yellow smaller unfringed circle or yellow dot sticker to the middle. Staple all together onto a drinking straw as stem. We used to let the children make as many of these as they wanted over a week. We'd also have them decorate a 'vase' made out of a whole and a half paper plate stapled together around the edge. At the end of the week they could put their flowers in the vase (a bit of playdough in the bottom of the vase made them stay there) and take the vase of flowers home to mommy.

Flowers
Materials: crepe paper in many colors, green and brown construction paper, florist's wire
paper towels, scissors, tape, non-toxic glue
Directions: Twist the paper towel into a ball. Tape this to one end of a strip of wire. Cut out 2 1/2" petals from crepe paper. Stick a small piece of tape near the bottom of the petal. Tape the petal on the wire, below the ball of paper towel. Place several petals on the wire until the flower is a big as you want it. Cut a long strip of green crepe paper. Wrap this strip around the wire from top to bottom. Cover the wire with the paper. Tape it so it cannot unravel. Cut leaves from the construction paper. Dab glue on leaves. Attach to the stem of the flower. Make sever different flowers. Use many colors. Make a bouquet. Place flowers in a vase.

Hand Flowers
Trace outlines of the child's hand on paper. Cut out hand shapes. Using a pencil roll the fingers up so that they curl up. Curl the hand shape vertically into a sort of trumpet/lily shaped cylinder with the finger curls curling outwards. Staple the flower onto a drinking straw, along with cutout leaves. Four or five of these make a nice bouquet.

Puzzle Trees
Found a great easy activity for spring, you know those puzzles that seem to always have missing peices (like the 63 peice one that only has 40 peices left LOL) Cut out the trunk of a tree with limbs glue this or even staple it to another peice of paper (yellow makes a great back ground color) and glue the puzzle peices to the branches of the tree. This could also be used during the fall.

Paint with Clouds
Give each child a large piece of blue paper. Set out some white paint. Give each child a cotton ball. Let them dip it into the white paint, then press onto the blue paper. The will be painting with clouds!

Popcorn Flowers
Supplies: Popped Popcorn, Powder Tempera Paint, Green Construction Paper, Glue, 
Tag board or Cardboard
Procedure: Pop popcorn. Put handfuls of popcorn in plastic baggies and add powdered tempura paint to each one. Shake well to distribute paint all over the popcorn Cut stems and leaves out of green construction paper and glue them to tag board. Glue on the colored popcorn to make spring flowers.

Rain Sticks
Supplies: Cardboard Rolls - Wrapping Paper Rolls work best, 1 1/2 inch nails, Dried Peas,
Masking Tape, Stuff for Decorating
Procedure: Cover the end of the cardboard roll with masking tape and then poke in one and half inch nails randomly all over the tube so that they go all the way into the tube but not out the other side. You'll need to use quite a few to get a good sound effect. Then you put about a half a cup of dried peas in the tube (you really need to experiment with the number of nail and amount of peas to see what produces a good sound) and tape up the other end. Then you let the children decorate the outside of the tube however they like. You can use paper, fabric, leaves, acorns, bark, etc. Some children like to use Indian designs, but others just do their own thing.

Rainbows
red circle 9 ", orange circle 8", yellow circle 7", green circle 6", blue circle 5", purple circle 4"
Direction: Glue the orange onto the red. The yellow onto the orange. the green onto yellow, etc. Let dry, cut in half, glue back to back and hang. It is great because the children do not glue them directly in the center, so every rainbow has it's own personality.

Spring Inside Planting
Cut off some carrot tops and put each one in a dish with some pebbles. Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the carrot. Hide the dishes in a place where there is not too much sun. In just a few days, the carrot tops will begin sprouting and turn into plants.

Seed Squiggles
Gather several types of seeds, wax paper, spring, and glue in squeezable bottles. have the children squeeze glue onto the wax paper to make a design approximatly 4" to 5" long. Have them sprinkle the seeds onto the glue. Let them dry, shake off any extra seeds into a bowl. Have the children gently peel their seed picture from the wax paper. Tie a string to each and hand from the ceiling.

Spring Butterflies
Supplies: Food Coloring, Coffee Filters, Eye Dropper or Straws, Wooden Clothes Pin, Pipe Cleaner
Procedure: Color small bowls of water with food coloring Using an eye dropper or a straw, scatter drops of colored water onto round coffee filters and watch the colors bleed and blend. While the filters dry draw eyes and body details on wooden clothespins. Gather each coffee filter up in the center and clip with the clothespin. Make antennea for each butterfly by inserting a pipe cleaner into the end of the clothespin and twisting it secure. Bend the ends of the pipe cleaner to make it look realistic. You can use tissue paper instead of coffee filters for a multi-layered effect. Decorate with sequins and buttons.

Tulip Cups
Have child make a tulip or make for them (from construction paper). Glue the cut-out of tulip on the top of a tongue depressor. Cut a lit in the bottom of a strofoam cup. Slit should be large enough for the tongue depressor to slide through. Pull the tongue depressor down far enough so you cannot see the flower in the "pot". Talk about how the flowers need sun and water to grow. As you talk about things that plants need, slowly push the tongue depressor up and the tulip will be "growing".

Umbrella
You will need: 1 piece of const. paper for each child in the class, glue or glue sticks, 
assorted colors of tissue paper, tape
Procedure: Make an umbrella handle and put it on the bulletin board. Put enough pieces of paper so that each child has one on the floor. The pieces should all go together to make the umbrella. Some pieces of construction paper had rounded edges, while the other sheets were still the full 9 x 12 shape. Give each child a piece of const. paper and a glue stick. Children should be instructed to tear the tissue paper into small pieces and glue onto the construction paper. When they were done, let them dry. Once dry, call the children to the bulletin board and have them tape their piece of the umbrella on.

Umbrella Pictures
Supplies: Paper Baking Cups, Scissors, Glue, Crayons or Paint, Pipe Cleaners
Procedure: Cut several baking cups in half, these will be the umbrellas. Glue them on a sheet of paper. For the handles, use pipe cleaners or you can draw them. Draw or paint rain drops.

Wind Socks
Supplies: Paper Lunch Bag, Construction Paper, Crepe Paper, Scissors, Glue, Misc. Craft Supplies
Procedure: To make a windsock, cut off the bottom of a paper lunch bag. Decorate the bag with glitter paint, neon construction paper, stickers, etc. Then attach crepe paper streamers to one end of the bag. Attach a construction paper handle to the opposite end of the bag.

GAMES & ACTIVITIES:

Flower Shapes
Use colored construction paper to make different styles of flowers from shapes such as circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles. Glue each flower to an index card or piece of tag board. Cut out identical set of the shapes that were used to make each flower. Place the second set of shapes in a resealable storage bag and staple one side the bag to the back of the matching flower card. Give each child a flower set and explain that they are to make the flower shown on the card from the loose pieces in the bag. When each child is finished have them exchange with another child. (laminate for further usage)

Fabric Flower Match
Gather several types of fabric scraps in different patterens. Make pairs of flowers by cutting each piece of fabric into two flowers. Glue each piece of fabric to tag board. The flowers do not need to be the same shape. Show the flowers to the children and let them find matches. Place the flowers in a basket so they may try it during free play.

Puddles
I made pretend puddles using cardboard and aluminum foil ( to use in the block area and at various parts of the room). Just take small or large, depending on where you will use them, pieces of cardboard and then cover them up with aluminum foil. This is great to use in the block area. Or if you do make a big one use it for music and movement time. Have the children jump over the puddle, walk around the puddle, etc.

Playing with Clouds
Give each child a large sheet of paper. Put some shaving cream in the middle of the paper. Tell them to imagine that it is a cloud. How does it feel? What color is it? Let them have fun playing with it. It also makes the room smell great!

Rain
How about some water play? I filled the buckets from our sand and rice table with water. Add some plastic boats and cups, put smocks on the kids and let them have fun! They loved it. Just remember to lay down a plastic sheet under the kids feet (I used an old shower curtain we had at the school).

Science
Materials Needed: Sponge, Grass seeds
Procedure: Hand out the supplies. Have the children put seeds on the damp sponge. Set them in sunny window. Keep moist.

Spring Gardening
Set gardening toys out for the children in the play area (perferably outside). Talk about their uses and demonstrate. Let the children create their own play from here.

Spring Cleaning
Every year I let my children have buckets of water, squirt bottles, rags, feather dusters, dusting rags etc. I allow them to scrub down chairs and tables, dust, squirt the windows and wipe them down. The children love to do this ! We have given a bath to each toy and baby in the center, we got a little wet but that is half the fun.

Sensory Table
Place several types of seeds, leaves and buds in the sensory table along with magnifying glasses. Allow the children to observe the small details of seeds, leaves and buds. Later in the day I ask them to describe details they have seen.

SONGS:

Creepy Crawly Caterpillar
A creepy crawly caterpillar that I see(shade eyes)
Makes a chrystalis in the big oak tree. (make body into a ball)
He stays there, and I know why (slowly stand up)
Because soon he will be a butterfly (flap arms)

Do you see a sign of Spring? (tune of "If I were a lassiie")
Oh, do you see a sign of Spring
a sign of Spring, a sign of Spring?
Oh, do you see a sign of spring?
Please, tell us what you see!

Fun in the Rain ( Tune: Deck the Halls)
Do you hear the pitter patter? Hear the little raindrops falling down.
Can you see the splashing water? All the little raindrops on the ground.
Time to get our big umbrellas We don't want to get our hair all wet.
If you wear your boots and raincoat, We will go outside and splash a bit!

Raindrops
Rain is falling down
Rain is falling down (raise arms, flutter fingers to the ground)
Pitter-patter
Pitter-patter
Rain is falling down.

Spring Won't Spring!
Sing to tune of "This is the Song That Never Ends" (Shari Lewis & Lambchop)
This winter doesn't want to end,
It just goes on and on my friend.
Some people started thinking that it would be over soon,
But every day it snows some more and now it's almost June! (repeat over and over again!)

Spring is here (tune of The Farmer in the Dell)
The days of Spring are here,
Warm, sunny days are near,
Flowers and bees, and birds in trees.
The days of spring are here.

Spring is Here (tune of Are You Sleeping)
I see robins, I see bird's nests,
Butterflies too, flowers too.
Everything is growing,
The wind is gently blowing.
Spring is here, spring is here.
 

STORIES:

Have any good stories? Let us know!
 

FOOD SUGGESTIONS:

Yogurt Popsicles
1 carton vanilla yogurt
1 can (6 ounce) concentrated fruit juice,
(unsweetened (orange works well)
dash of vanilla and/or honey (*do not use honey if giving to children under 1 year)
Mix well and freeze in molds (3oz paper cups can be used).
For handles, insert wooden sticks of spoons when mixture is partially frozen.
For single servings mix some plain yogurt with pureed canned or ripe fruit, or a spoonful of jam or jelly, in a small paper cup.
 

TIPS/NOTES: