Spring Theme

Crafts & Activities
Songs, Finger plays, Nursery Rhymes
Recipes
 

Crafts & Activities

How does the Garden Grow?
Many fruit seeds and vegetable cuttings will sprout easily indoors. 

Fruit/Vegetable Ideas: whole ear of corn, potato "eyes" (any kind of potato), carrot tops, peas, beans, seeds from various fruit - peach, plum,

Place fruit seeds or veggie cuttings in a shallow pan lined with paper towels and enough water to just cover the seed or vegetable cuttings.  Place pan in a warm, bright area and  watch and record the changes over the next few days/weeks.

Other Planting Ideas:
In egg cartons with planting soil - grass seed, mustard seed, watercress or herbs.  They are fast growing and fun to sample when grown!! 

Pineapple.-  cut off the top and trim three rows of bottom leaves. Allow to dry for three days. Plant one inch deep in soil, keep moist and in a sunny location.

Onion - find an onion that is already sprouted.  Plant in soil -  keep moist and in a sunny location.

"Hair" Cups!
Plant grass seed or herbs in styrofoam cups.  Have the kids draw faces on the front of the cups....as the seeds grow - their cup will grow hair!!  They can experiment with childproof scissors and give their cup a hair cut!!

Colorful Celery
celery stalk, jar or glass, water, food coloring

Cut a few slits in the bottom of the celery stalk.   Fill the jar or glass about 1/2 
full of water and add food coloring (darker colors work best - red, blue).  Place the celery stalk in the colored water and watch for changes.  Record the changes daily.   Try using a celery stalk with leaves or white carnations!!

Will it Sink or Float?
dish pan, baby tub, or wadding pool
several objects (light and heavy)
Fill container with enough water to test objects.  Ask the kids to guess what items will float/sink.  Let them hold the items in their hands while they guess!  Then ask them to place the item in the water.  Did it sink or float??

Water Microscope
4L plastic ice cream buckets (one per child is best!)
clear plastic wrap
elastic band
1/4 cup water
Items to examine:  stones, shells, flowers, inanimate objects (keys, cars, lego, plastic bugs), blades of grass, a hand - have the children each gather a few items to examine! 

Cut a hole in the side of each bucket large enough to place the objects.  Cover the top of the buckets with clear plastic wrap and secure tightly with an elastic band.  Add enough water to cover the plastic wrap without leaking over the edge.  Place objects, one at a time, inside the bucket.  Have the children look through the water microscope to examine the object.

Melting Colors
Make red, yellow and blue ice cubes using food coloring and water. Place one red and yellow; one red and blue; and one yellow and blue, and one of each color in separate ziploc bags. Place them in the science area and as the colored ice cubes melt they will create new colors.  Put colorful tags on each bag for the kids to identify what colors were originally placed in the bags - discuss what colors were made!

Shadow Play
Stand outside on a sunny day and let the children make a shadow!  Ask questions such as:  "Can we make our shadow bigger? Can we make them smaller?  Can we make our shadow run? Can we make our shadow hop? Let's see if we can catch our shadow!"

Fun in the Sun
You will need: 

one piece of dark blue construction paper for each child

a collection of objects from around the daycare or home that have at least one flat side.  For example: keys, blocks, scissors, combs, jar lids (at least 5 items per child)

Give a piece of construction paper to each child.  Let each child chose five objects, and have him arrange them on the paper with the flat side down.  Leave these in the direct sun for several hours, until the sun has bleached the exposed areas of the paper.  Then let the children take their objects off the paper, noting the patterns produced by the sun. 

Daffodils 
   (this is a great felt board activity)

One little daffodil had nothing much to do,
Out popped another one, then there were two. 

Two little daffodils were smiling at a bee, 
Out popped another one, then there were three. 

Three little daffodils were growing by the door, 
Out popped another one, then there were four. 

Four little daffodils were glad to be alive, 
Out popped another one, then there were five. 

Five little daffodils were wearing gold crowns, 
They danced in the breeze in green satin gowns.

Rainy
   (sung to tune Bingo)

There was a day when we got wet
and rainy was the weather
R-A-I-N-Y R-A-I-N-Y R-A-I-N-Y R-A-I-N-Y
and rainy was the weather.

Repeat each verse eliminating a letter and substituting it with a clap until the last chorus is all claps to the same beat.

Little Ducks Song 
Sung to: "London Bridge"

Little ducks go quack, quack, quack
Quack, quack, quack,
Quack, quack, quack. 
Little ducks go quack, quack, quack
In the springtime.

Sing a Song of Flowers
Sung to: "Sing a Song of Sixpence"

Sing a song of flowers, flowers all around.
Flowers that are growing, growing in the ground,
Flowers of each color make a pretty view.
 Red and orange and yellow.
And blue and purple, too.

Spring Rain Song 
Put up your umbrella,
When the rain comes down.
Wear a happy smile,
And wipe away a frown.
Splash in all the puddles,
And do a little dance.
Rain is just the thing we need,
For new spring plants. 

The Rain
Pitter-patter, raindrops falling from the sky; (flutter fingers down from the sky)
Here is my umbrella (cup one hand over pointer finger of the other hand)
To keep me safe and dry. (hold over head)
When the rain is over and the sun begins to glow, (make a big circle with your arms)
Little flowers start to bud, (cup two hands together)
And grow and grow and grow! (spread hands apart slowly)

Dandy Lady
 Sung to: "Mary Had A Little Lamb"

Once there was a dandy lady, Dandy lady, dandy lady,
Once there was a dandy lady, Who loved to dance, they say.

She had beautiful hair of gold, hair of gold, hair of gold,
She had beautiful hair of gold, And loved to dance all day.

As time passed by and she grew old, she grew old, she grew old,
As time passed by and she grew old, Her hair all turned to gray.

Now when the dandy lady dances, lady dances, lady dances,
Now when the dandy lady dances, Her hair all blows away. 

Farmer Plants the Seeds
Sung to: "The Farmer In The Dell"

The farmer plants the seeds
The farmer plants the seeds
Hi, Ho and Cherry O
The farmer plants the seeds
Other verses:
The rain begins to fall....
The sun begins to shine....
The plants begin to grow....
The buds all open up....
The flowers smile at me.... 

Ladybugs Fly 
Sung to: "Three Blind Mice"

Fly, fly, fly.
Ladybugs fly
Fly over here.
Fly over there.
They fly up high and they fly down low.
Around and around and around they go.
They fly fast, and they fly so slow.
Oh, ladybugs fly. 

I'm a Little Flower Pot 
 Sung to: "I'm a Little Teapot"

I'm a little flower pot, Mom put out (point to self)
If you take care of me, I will sprout. (nod head, point to self)
When you water me, I will grow (make sprinkling motions with right hand)
Into a pretty flower, don't you know! (raise left hand slowly up from floor, make wide circle with hands or arms) 

Five Little Flowers
Five little flowers standing in the sun, (hold up five fingers)
See their heads nodding, bowing one by one? (bend fingers several times)
Down, down, down comes the gentle rain, (raise hands, wiggle fingers and lower arms to simulate falling rain)
And the five little flowers lift their heads up again! (hold up five fingers) 

Umbrellas Finger play (Use fingers, make umbrella puppets, of felt umbrellas for a felt story)
Five umbrellas stood by the back door,
The red one went outside, then there were four.
Four umbrellas pretty as can be,
The blue one went outside, then there were three.
Three umbrellas with nothing to do,
The green one went outside, then there was one.
Just one umbrella alone in the hall,
The purple one went outside, and that was all!

A Little Sun 
A little sun (hold arms above head)
A little rain (wiggle fingers in the air in a downward motion)
 Now pull up all the weeds (pretend to pull weeds)
 Our flowers grow, all in a row (hold up all ten fingers lined up like flowers)
From tiny little seeds. (hold thumb and finger to show size of seeds)

The Gardener Plants the Seeds
Sung to: "Farmer in the Dell"

The Gardener plants the seeds,
The Gardener plants the seeds,
Deep down inside the ground,
The Gardener plants the seeds.

The rain clouds give them water,
The rain clouds give them water,
Seeds need some water to drink,
The rain clouds give them water.

The sun gives heat and light,
The sun gives heat and light,
Seeds like it warm and bright,
The sun gives heat and light.

The Gardener pulls the weeds,
The Gardener pulls the weeds,
Seeds need the room to grow,
The Gardener pulls the weeds.

The seeds grow into flowers,
The seeds grow into flowers,
Flowers that are beautiful,
The seeds grow into flowers. 

Down in the Garden 
Sung to: "Down by the Station"

Down in the garden, early in the morning,
See the yellow daffodils all in a row. (bow heads.)
See them lift their head and give their horns a blow,   (lift head and pretend to blow horns)
Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, off they go. (make blowing sounds)

Yellow Daffodil
Yellow yellow daffodil, dancing in the sun..
oh, yellow , yellow daffodil, you tell me spring has come.
I can hear a blue bird sing, and hear a robin call.
But, yellow, yellow daffodil I love you most of all. 

Spring 
Spring makes the world a happy place
You see a smile on every face.
Flowers come out and birds arrive,
Oh, isn't it grand to be alive? 

Springtime 
A small green frog
On a big brown log;
A black and yellow bee
In a little green tree;
A red and yellow snake
By a blue-green lake,
All sat and listened
To red bird sing,
"Wake up, everybody,
It's spring! It's spring!" 

March
March is an in between month,
When wintry winds are high.
But milder days remind us all,
Spring's coming by and by.

March Wind
March wind is a jolly fellow;
He likes to joke and play.
He turns umbrellas inside out
And blows men's hats away.
He calls the pussy willows
And whispers in each ear,
"Wake up you lazy little seeds,
Don't you know that spring is here.

March Wind
The wind is pushing
Against the trees,
He'll take off your hat
Without asking you "please",
He rattles the windows
And puffs at a cloud,
Then scoots down the chimney
And laughs aloud.

April
April is a rainbow month,
Of sudden springtime showers.
Bright with golden daffodils
and lots of pretty flowers.

May
May's a month of happy sounds,
The hum of buzzing bees,
The chirp of little baby birds
And the song of a gentle breeze.

Surprise 
Close your eyes
And do not peek
And I'll rub "spring"
Across your cheek. 

Soft as velevet
Smooth and sleek
Close your eyes
And do not peek. 

My Spring Garden 
Here is my little garden,
Some seeds I'm
Going to sow. 

Here is my rake
To rake the ground,
Here is my handy hoe.

Here is the big
Round yellow sun,
The sun warms everything.

Here are the rain clouds
In the sky,
The birds will start to sing. 

Little plants will
Wake up soon, 
And lift their sleepy heads.
Little plants will
Grow and grow
From their warm earth beds. 

Spring
I love the spring.
For every day
There's something new
That's come to stay.
Another bud
Another bird
Another blade
The sun has stirred. 

Dirt n Worms Cake   (Serves 8 to 10)

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 3 oz. pkgs. instant vanilla pudding (prepared as per package directions)
1 lb. Oreo cookies, crushed
1 8 oz. container Cool Whip
Gummy worms 

In a bowl, mix together cream cheese, sugar and pudding. Fold crushed cookies into Cool Whip
container. Layer mixture in a clean plastic sand pail, starting and ending with cookies. Serve with plastic shovel. For added fun, put gummy worms in as you layer. If you prefer, use a large glass bowl to layer "cake" in, and arrange worms so they can be seen.