Toddler Theme: Spring

Spring is starting to show itself around these parts so we focused on that this week.  There are a lot of directions you could go with this toddler theme.  Explore the rebirth of life that happens in the spring by visiting a local farm (if you're in Colorado, I suggest Sunflower Farm in Longmont).  Maybe celebrate Earth Day within your community.  Or learn about seasons and the change of weather.  I chose to focus on plants because there will be animal and weather weeks later on.   

We took a field trip to the Denver Botanic Gardens to see all kinds of plants - trees, grasses, weeds, flowers, cacti.  A highlight for Mia was the "tree house" (really an observation platform) in the Tropical Conservatory.  She loved the vantage point of being in the treetops.  We spent a lot of time learning about bug hotels at a learning station, too.  And she was also fascinated with the cacti in the desert gardens.  So much so that we ended up going to the nursery to pick out one of our own.  We ended up bringing home a baby beavertail which is the exact kind we frequently see on our nature walks. 

One of my favorite (read: easy!) activities to do is a season scavenger hunt.  We set out with an objective of finding signs of the season, in this case, Spring.  The dogwoods are in full bloom right outside our front door and petals cover the sidewalk.  We collected some of those, but not before we had fun blowing handfuls in each other's face.  

She found dandelions and other flowers growing along the creek and a branch with buds on it beside the bike trail.  We also spotted a baby bunny hiding under a bridge.  Very exciting!  Upon returning home, we realized we had a treasure trove of spring goodies in our basket.  I pulled out several items -- a flower, blunt stick, some of the petals -- and made a little sensory bin for baby sister Millie to explore.  Under my direct supervision, of course.  We pulled out a magnifying glass to get a more detailed look at a flower.  I showed Mia some of the different plant parts: stem, leaves, petals, stamen, pistil.  Is she going to remember those part names?  Doubtful, but I think I planted the seed for a growing interest in plants.  Sorry, plant puns.  And speaking of planting seeds, we tried that, too.  As of this posting, there is no noticeable growth on our forget-me-nots but hopefully within the next week.  This last activity was my attempt at making a connection between the foods she eats and their source.  We made tacos one night for dinner and cut up lots of green onions to top them.  Instead of throwing the bottom white root portions away, we put them in a Mason jar with a bit of water and placed the jar on the window sill.  I had read about this on The Kitchn (check it out here) and wanted to try it.  Those things grew back and quickly!  As a follow up activity, we're going to harvest them (cut off the new green tops) to use for another dinner.  I may never buy green onions again!           

And lastly, our spring-themed art project was creating coffee filter flowers.  We've done this a couple of different ways -- markers and watercolors.  I prefer watercolors for the aesthetic.  Mia prefers watercolors for the mess she can make.  I laid out a number of filters across her table and let her paint them.  NOTE: The flowers will look pretty soggy but they should still dry up nicely.  

The next day we folded them into eighths and cut little fringes into the edges.  You could cut a scalloped edge design or anything else your heart desires.  Then, I used green washi tape to tape the filter flower petals to a wooden (cough, Starbucks) coffee stirrer.  Makes a pretty bouquet!

A summary of all Spring week activities with links:

ACTIVITIES: Planted seeds and bought a cactus to learn plant maintenance, Dissected a flower and identified plant parts, Learned how to regrow green onions from kitchen scraps (instructions here)

ART PROJECTS: Made watercolored coffee filter flowers, Painted a wooden bird house

OUTINGS: Went on a spring scavenger hunt, Visited the Denver Botanic Gardens

BOOKS: The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, Some Bugs by Angela DiTerlizzi

BABY BONUS: Made a spring sensory bin to explore (flowers, sticks, petals)

If you'd like to share a photo of your kid doing theme week activities, you can email it to me (email button in the left menu) or tag me on your Facebook photo or use the hashtag #weeklytoddlerthemes on Instagram (if you are private, just make sure I'm following you or tag me in the photo).