These spring activities connect students to explore the natural changes spring brings. Run a Spring-is-Here Nature Bingo where students look for early signs of the seasonal changes. Explore spring with a poem study – and ask students to focus on the five senses. Or explore the seasonal changes with a nature walk and reflect the positive feelings with nature reflection cards.
What We’re Learning
| Identify feelings (SEM) |
| Use sensory descriptive words to describe nature |
| Learn about Food Webs |
| Develop observation skills and enjoy nature! |
Grade Levels
K, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade
Activity 1: Spring-is-Here Nature Bingo
Print out copies of the Spring-is-Here Nature Bingo. Students identify and check off early signs of spring, such as wildflowers, new blooms, sprouting grass, and emerging insect life. Students can also draw their findings and add them to the sheet. They can cut out the bingo and add it to their nature journal.
Download: Spring-is-Here Nature Bingo (PDF)
Activity 2: My Spring Poem – Highlight the Five Senses
Ask students to identify their favorite hallmark of spring. The sighting could be a dandelion, yellow butterfly, sprouting grass, fresh air, changing light – anything that makes them think and feel spring. Students can identify their sensory experience by building a word bank around the five senses. They can create an Acrostic poem, a structured Five Senses poem, or write freely in their style. Learn more.
Download: My Acrostic Nature poem worksheet (PDF)
Download: My Five Senses Nature poem worksheet (PDF)
Activity 3: Nature Reflection Cards – The Feeling of Spring
Light shoes, lighter steps -that feeling of spring after a long winter! Take students for a nature walk and ask them to identify and note early signs of spring. What looks different than in the winter? Do you hear more sounds? Has the light changed? Are there more puddles? How does taking a walk in the spring feel? Students may reflect on their experiences by selecting or composing a nature reflection card that matches their feelings. Learn more.
Download: Nature Reflection Worksheet and Cards (PDF)
Activity 4: Nature’s Mystery Touch – The Spring Edition
While on a nature walk, students may identify early signs of spring and collect a few nature objects in a basket. How does spring feel? Does spring feel soft and damp? Does spring tickle? You can play a round of Nature’s Mystery Touch by asking students to identify objects based on their feelings, such as closed eyes or behind their backs. Learn more.
Activity 5: Spring Puddles – STEM
Students living in snowy areas will welcome spring puddles when the snow melts. Early spring can be the perfect time to explore the puddles and turn them into a mini STEM project. Students can use sticks or measuring tools to measure the height of the puddles and explore what objects create the highest and widest splashes. Learn more.
Download: Measuring Puddles Worksheet (PDF)
Activity 6: Spring Life – Be a Food Web Explorer
Do you notice a new life? When you look into a pond, do you see activity? Do you notice pillbugs breaking down wood, a yellow sulfur butterfly flying across the sunny field, or blooming wildflowers? You can contextualize students’ observations by introducing the study of Food Webs. Download the worksheet to help students document their findings and classify their observations into Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers. Learn more.
Download: Food Web Scavenger Hunt Worksheet (PDF)
