I love spring. The weather starts to get warmer, the days start getting longer, trees and flowers start to bloom, and so much more.
I’ve also noticed that during the spring my students seem more excited too. The opportunity to get outside more is just what elementary school students need.
Sometimes students can start acting up more with all that added excitement, but I’ve found that when I plan fun and engaging lessons centered around springtime themes, my students are more eager to learn.
If you’d like to start planning your spring units, you’re in the right place! I’d love to share some of my favorite spring activities for elementary students with you!
I think you and your students are really going to enjoy these activities! So, keep reading, and I’ll share:
- How spring-themed activities can affect elementary student’s behavior
- Various subjects that you can incorporate spring activities into
- 12 of my favorite spring activities for elementary students
How Spring Themed Activities Affect Elementary Students’ Behavior
If you’re a teacher, you know how student behavior can change in the spring. Students often seem to become more off-task, and keeping them focused on learning can be more of a challenge.
Sometimes, this off-task behavior can even become more extreme with interruptions to learning for the whole class, rather than one or two specific students. Making it through the spring as a teacher can often feel overwhelming.
If you’ve ever felt like this, you’re certainly not alone. However, did you know that incorporating some spring-themed activities could have a positive impact on your students’ behavior?
Well, it’s true. Part of why students seem more difficult in the spring is that they want to be outside enjoying the nice weather. After months of cold and being stuck inside, the outdoors is calling their name. Incorporating spring-themed activities and even giving students a chance to get outdoors with a purpose during your lessons can be huge in keeping them on-task.
Another reason planning some spring-themed activities could have a positive impact on your students’ behavior is that it will increase their engagement. As we shared above, most students love spring and things related to springtime. Adding these themes into your lesson will make them more interesting for students and keep them wanting to learn more.
Subjects Spring Activities Can Be Incorporated In
One of the things I love about spring activities for elementary students is that they can be incorporated into any subject area.
This means that you could even plan a whole unit around spring and help students make plenty of connections across different subject areas.
I’ll go into more detail below and share some specific activities for each subject area, but here is just a quick idea of how you could incorporate spring into the various subject areas:
- Math: Students can solve word problems related to spring themes (flowers in a garden, birds on a tree, etc.).
- Reading: Students can read and analyze poems about spring.
- Writing: Students can compose a personal narrative about their favorite thing to do outside during the spring.
- Science: Students can study the life cycle of a flower and plant a flower seed to observe it growing.
- Social Studies: Students can study spring holidays and traditions from other cultures and share their families’ favorite things to do together in the spring.
- Music: Students can write a song about the spring and create motions to accompany the lyrics.
- Art: Students can draw pictures of their favorite spring activities, flowers, or other springtime items.
- Physical Education: Students can play “Rabbits on the Run” where they pretend to be rabbits and must make it through an obstacle course to collect their carrots.
12 Spring Activities for Elementary Students
Ok, here are my 12 favorite spring activities for elementary students. I really think your students are going to be so excited in the classroom this spring!
1. Chromatography Butterfly Craft
Subjects: Science and Art
You Will Need
- White coffee filters
- Markers (non-permanent)
- Pencils
- Cups
- Water
- String
- Black pipe cleaners
- scissors
Description
In this science experiment, students will explore chromatography. Chromatography refers to separating colors. To do the experiment, have students use one marker color to draw a thick circle on the coffee filter (right around where the flat and ribbed parts join). Write the color that was used in the center of the circle using a pencil.
Fold the filter twice to create a cone. Place the filter in a short glass of water so that only its tip is touching the water. You do not want the part that has marker on it to touch the water. Observe with students as the water travels up the coffee filter and hits the marker. It will separate the colors that were combined to make the marker ink.
Wait until the water and color reaches the edges of the coffee filer. Then, remove the filter from the water and lay it out flat to dry. Discuss the different colors you see for each original marker color.
To make the butterfly, cut a pipe cleaner in half. Scrunch the middle of one coffee filter at a time and wrap the pipe cleaner around the center. Leave the ends of the pipe cleaner untwisted to look like the butterfly’s antenna. You can tie the butterflies to string to hang them up if you desire.
2. Complementary Spring Flowers
Subjects: Art
You Will Need
- Pencils
- Erasers
- Black marker
- Crayons
- Ruler
Description
In this art lesson, students learn about focal points and complementary colors as they create a unique spring flower drawing. Students will choose a focal point for their picture and draw lines to segment the flower into different sections. Then, each section of the flower and the spaces surrounding it will be shaded in using complementary colors.
3. Dalcroze Bunny Story
Subjects: Music
You Will Need
- Piano
- Bunny story (you can make up to suit the needs of your class)
Description
This Bunny Story activity is a fun way to incorporate spring into the music classroom. During the lesson, the teacher tells a story about a bunny while playing piano to accompany her story. As she tells the story, the students act out what she says and demonstrate their understanding of different skills and vocabulary words.
It is a great activity for younger students, particularly kindergarteners and first-graders, as you can work in a lot of opposites, such as high/low, loud/soft, or big/small for students to act out.
This could be a fun lesson to record and share with parents to show them all their students have learned over the year. If you need a camera for recording lectures, check out my recommendations here.
4. Observing and Record Signs of Spring
Subjects: Science and Writing
You Will Need
- Pencils
- Notebooks or recording sheets
- Crayons
Description
Lead a discussion about what changes during the spring. Some topics to discuss include the weather, landscapes, clothing, sports, and animals. Have students share examples of the specific changes that occur for each topic.
Assign each student or group of children one of the categories and have them record their observations over a few days or a week. You can also have students add illustrations to accompany their observation notes. Come back together and have students share the signs of spring that they were able to observe.
5. Button Cherry Blossom Tree
Subjects: Art
You Will Need
- White paper
- Brown and pink acrylic paint
- Various small pink buttons
- Craft glue
Description
What says springtime more than a cherry blossom tree? For this activity, students will create their own cherry blossom tree using paint and buttons. Students will paint a brown tree trunk with some pink cherry blossoms. Then, they’ll add pink buttons to give a special and unique look to their artwork.
6. Running Dictation
Subjects: ESOL
You Will Need
- Whiteboards
- Dry-erase markers
Description
This ESOL activity gets students outside and moving. Separate your students into separate groups (with at least two students in each group). Have the groups stand on one side of the field/blacktop, with you standing on the opposite side.
One student from each group should run to you, and then you will tell the student a sentence that matches the grammar structure you’ve been working on. The students should run back to their group and repeat the sentence for another student in the group to write down.
You can repeat the steps with new sentences to give the students more practice and until everyone has had a few turns. At the end, students can share the sentences that they wrote, and you can assign points for correct sentences, if desired.
Since you’ll be working outside, you may also find it helpful to have a voice amplifier (when you aren’t sharing the sentences during the activity).
7. Easter Egg Math Hunt
Subjects: Math
You Will Need
- Easter eggs
- Typed math equations
- Clipboards
- Paper
- Pencils
Description
For this activity, students will get to go on an Easter egg hunt. Before heading out with students, write math problems that match what you’re working on and put one in each Easter egg. Hide the Easter eggs outside.
Students will search for Easter eggs and must record their solution for each problem on their clipboard before looking for another egg.
8. Kindness Rainbow Craft
Subjects: Art and Social Emotional Learning
You Will Need
- Construction paper
- Glue
- Marker
- String
Description
For this craft, students will make a colorful rainbow out of construction paper.
Then, read a book about kindness, such as “Be Kind” by Pat Zietlow Miller. After reading, discuss what kindness means as a class and have students record ways they can show kindness to others on raindrops.
Students can attach each raindrop to a piece of string and attach the other end to their rainbow to create a colorful display of what kindness looks like.
9. Spring Senses Flower
Subjects: Science and Art
You Will Need
- Colored paper with copied flower template
- Crayons
- Scissors
Description
For this activity, students will make a special flower showing their spring senses. Students will cut out the flower and draw something they can see, hear, smell, touch, or taste in the spring. Then, they can add a flippable cover over each petal with the label of which sense they use to enjoy that springtime item.
10. Spring Flower Investigation
Subjects: Science and Math
You Will Need
- Outdoor plants
- Rulers
- Recording sheets
- Clipboards
- Pencils
Description
This science investigation will get students outside as they observe and record the growth of different flowers and plants in the spring. Find an area where new seeds are beginning to sprout and take students out a few times over the course of a couple of weeks to measure the height of various plants and record other observations about how the plant is growing.
Students can make a graph to show how much each plant grew over the course of their observations.
11. Springtime Dance Brain Break
Subjects: Any
You Will Need
- Video link
- Classroom projector, TV, or interactive whiteboard
Description
We all need breaks, and the same is certainly true for our students. This fun springtime brain break will have your kids up and dancing along to get out their wiggles. The video features a colorful springtime background with lyrics highlighting the best things about spring.
If you have students who wish to keep working on a separate task, rather than getting up and dancing, you may want to purchase headphones for your classroom. The students who wish to keep working could wear their headphones to cancel out the noise of the music and the other students in the class. You can read more about the best headphones for elementary students here.
12. My Favorite Season
Subjects: Writing
You Will Need
- Writing paper
- Pencils
- “Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring” by Kenard Pak
Description
In this opinion writing task, students will choose their favorite season and provide reasons to support it. You can begin by polling the class and having each student choose which season is their favorite.
If you want to provide more support for students as they’re writing, you could brainstorm a list of some of the best things you can do during each season. Then students can write their opinion piece with their supporting evidence about why the season they chose is their favorite.
Useful Resources
- 50+ fun facts about spring for kids
- 12 spring stories for preschool & elementary kids
- Seasonal activities and lesson plans
Closing Words
Are you excited to try some of my favorite spring activities for elementary students with your class? Incorporating spring into your lesson plans will be enjoyable for both you and your students. Which activities do you think will get your students the most excited and engaged with learning?
Simona Johnes is the visionary being the creation of our project. Johnes spent much of her career in the classroom working with students. And, after many years in the classroom, Johnes became a principal.
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