16th April, 2025
Spring has officially sprung and with bank holidays and school breaks on the horizon, finding ways of occupying the family without breaking the bank is on a lot of parent’s minds, whether you’re in fostering or not.
Here are Excel Fostering’s suggestions for some perfect springtime fun.
1. Take a stroll through nature with a spring walk. At last, the weather is getting warmer, take full advantage by going on a walk. How to make it fun for children? Simple! Head to your nearest nature reserve, woodland trail or even your local park and turn your stroll into a game. Create a hunting list with things such as dandelion’s, pinecones, ladybird’s and bird nests, then get the children to find as many as possible. A great follow up activity would be getting them to draw pictures of what they’ve seen when they get home, or create artwork with interesting leaves they’ve found on the walk.
2. Bake some spring themed treats. On days when getting out and about aren’t possible, engage their tactile side in the kitchen and get them baking. Spring is a great theme for sweet treats. Think flower shaped biscuits, fairy cakes and Easter nests. Not only is this perfect quality time together, but being given small tasks during the baking process helps build confidence. Recipes for these treats are very simple and easily accessed online. However, if you’re not confident in the kitchen yourself another option is to buy some store-bought cookies and cakes and get the children to decorate them. They will love working with the bright colour icing, making nests for chocolate eggs and working with pretty spring cake decorations. Plus, the whole family can enjoy the results!
3. Start a mini garden and plant some seeds. This can be achieved in a variety of ways, you don’t need a huge outside space to make it fun. If you do have a big garden, getting children involved in planting a vegetable patch is not only a great activity to share, but also therapeutic and will give them such a sense of pride seeing things grow. Watching something grow can be very grounding for children, especially children who’ve faced uncertainty. Cultivating a vegetable patch, while educational, is not always feasible. Let’s simplify…why not grow a sunflower together? These are gorgeous springtime flowers that are fast growing so more engaging for little minds. No outside space? A window box or even some pots on the shelf are great options.
4. Get crafty with some home art projects. The internet is your friend for those days spent at home working on an art project. YouTube has a plethora of resources and ideas for fun and creative things to make together. Spring is perfect inspiration. Try creating butterfly mobiles, paint plant pots you’ll use for your mini garden, or make a family of pipe cleaner bunnies, the possibilities are endless. The point is to keep things fun, simple and stress free. If you’re on a tight budget, egg boxes, ribbon, string and left-over wrapping paper are great alternative to stocking up on art supplies. On the other hand, if you want quick and easy art projects, places like Hobbycraft sell pre-made kits with everything you’ll need included to take the pressure off deciding what to make.
5. Visit a farm or animal sanctuary. This one will cost you a little money in entry fee’s but makes for a great spring day out, with many farms showcasing newborn lambs and chicks, creating an exciting sensory and educational experience for any child. This is a great opportunity to get out of the house together, learn more about animals and the seasons while looking at some cute baby animals. Farm’s and animal sanctuary’s will often put on extra activities during these periods, and there will often be play areas, colouring activities and demonstrations to keep your young people engaged. Make a day of it, especially if the weather is nice, and take a picnic along with you.
We hope we’ve given you a few ideas that are helpful, and if you have any spring activity tips or suggestions, join the conversation over on our social media channels.
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