Spring Outdoor Activities for Preschoolers

Preschool Outdoor Activities

As the weather warms up and flowers begin to bloom, it’s the perfect time to take preschoolers outside and embrace the beauty of spring! Outdoor activities not only allow children to connect with nature but also provide an excellent opportunity for physical exercise, socialization, and creativity. Whether you're at home, in a daycare setting, or a preschool classroom, there are countless fun, engaging, and educational outdoor activities for preschoolers to enjoy.

Almost any type of educational activity that can be done inside, can also be brought outside. Visit our related post to learn more about Creating Outdoor Learning Spaces. Today, we are sharing some fantastic spring outdoor activities that are both educational and fun!

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Nature Walks & Scavenger Hunts

One of the simplest yet most exciting ways to get preschoolers engaged with the outdoors is through a nature walk scavenger hunt! Create a list of items for the children to find in your backyard, a nearby park, or a nature reserve. Some ideas include:

• Leaves of different shapes and colors
• Flowers or buds
• Rocks or pinecones
• Bugs like ladybugs or ants
• Tree bark with texture

Scavenger Hunt Checklist

As they search for these items, preschoolers will develop their observational skills, learn about the environment, and get plenty of exercise. You can even incorporate a bit of math by asking them to count how many of each item they find.

Use our set of scavenger hunt checklists to enhance their experience.  Nature walks and scavenger hunts also provide opportunities for children to develop their observation skills and use their senses to explore the world around them.

Planting a Garden

Spring is the ideal time to plan a garden, plant seeds and teach preschoolers about how plants grow. Whether you have a small backyard or a couple of pots, you can create a mini garden with your little ones. Choose easy-to-grow plants like sunflowers, peas, or herbs like basil or mint.

Let the children help by digging holes, planting seeds, and watering the plants. As the plants grow, it’s a great opportunity to talk about the life cycle of plants and how nature works. Make your own DIY Worm Bin, and learn about how worms help in the gardem. The children can keep a simple nature journal, drawing pictures of their plants as they grow. This hands-on activity fosters a sense of responsibility and a love for nature.

Butterfly Observation

Spring is synonymous with the arrival of butterflies! Take preschoolers outside to observe these beautiful creatures. You can provide magnifying glasses to get a closer look at the butterflies’ wings and colors. Provide field guides, or images of common butterflies, to support their learning.

You can also go a step further by releasing live caterpillars or buying a butterfly kit, where children can watch the transformation process from caterpillar to butterfly. Once the butterflies are ready to fly away, let the children release them into the garden. This activity is a wonderful way to teach preschoolers about metamorphosis and the life cycle of butterflies.

Outdoor Obstacle Course

Help preschoolers develop their motor skills and burn off some energy with a fun outdoor obstacle course. Use items like cones, pool noodles, hula hoops, and jump ropes to create a simple course that encourages running, jumping, balancing, and crawling.
You can modify the obstacle course to suit the children's abilities. For example, they can hop over the hula hoops, crawl under tables, or run to a marked spot and back. Challenge them to beat their own time, and encourage them to cheer each other on! This activity improves physical coordination while providing lots of fun.

Playground Activities

Provide opportunities for children to develop their gross motor skills and social skills. Children can climb, slide, balance, and swing while also interacting with other children. Playground play can also help children learn about boundaries, cooperation and the importance of safety.

Chalk Play

Use chalk outside to create art, practice writing letters and numbers, and create your own movement activities like a lily pad letter jump game, follow the snake track, beanbag toss games, lifesize board games, or  mazes. Try creating your own chalk with our recipe!

Make Your Own Sidewalk Chalk Recipe

Parachutes are always a hit with little learners and even with the bigger ones, too! There are so many different ways you can use the parachute including pairing it with balls and preschoolers work to pop all the balls off, a circus tent where you call a particular student to go under the parachute and do a trick whether it's a jump or a sit!

Parachute Play

Water Play

Water play is a fun and refreshing activity for preschoolers on hot days. Children can splash, pour, and experiment with water while also developing their hand-eye coordination and sensory skills. Water play can also provide opportunities for children to learn about the properties of water and how it interacts with different objects. There are so many ways you can incorporate water play into your day, we suggest bringing your water tables outside or including a fun sprinkler day!

Cloud Watching & Weather Learning

Spring weather is often filled with beautiful, changing skies. Take some time to lie on a blanket and watch the clouds go by. Encourage preschoolers to observe the shapes of the clouds and imagine what they look like—perhaps a dragon or a fluffy sheep!
This is also a great opportunity to talk about the weather and how it changes in spring. You can teach them about rain, wind, and clouds while watching them in action.

Spring Bird Watching

As the weather warms, birds become more active, making spring the perfect time for bird watching. Set up a bird feeder and encourage preschoolers to observe the birds that visit. Provide a simple bird-watching chart where children can mark down the different birds they spot. You can introduce them to common spring birds like robins, sparrows, and finches.
For added fun, make simple bird feeders using pinecones, peanut butter, and birdseed. Hang them up in a tree and watch as the birds come to feast! Bird watching is a great way to foster curiosity and an appreciation for wildlife.

Bug Observations

Searching for and observing bugs is fantastic for preschoolers learning all about life cycles, the environment, and patience. Find inspiration for creating a space to observe bugs on our  Backyard Bug Investigations post.

Backyard Bug Investigation

Mud Kitchen Fun

Spring often brings some rainy days, and what better way to celebrate than with a mud kitchen! Set up an outdoor "kitchen" using old pots, pans, and utensils. Let the children mix, stir, and "cook" with mud, water, leaves, and sticks. A mud kitchen provides endless creative play opportunities and encourages sensory exploration while getting messy!
Incorporating a mud kitchen into your spring outdoor activities allows children to develop fine motor skills, creativity, and even problem-solving as they work with the materials available to them. Don’t worry about the mess—it's all part of the fun!

Bubble Fun

Bubbles are always a hit with preschoolers, and they are a simple way to make outdoor play even more exciting! Create your own Bubble Solution. Blow bubbles and let the children chase and pop them. You can also create a DIY bubble station using a variety of bubble wands to see which one creates the biggest or most fun bubbles. This activity is great for gross motor development and can keep little ones entertained for hours.

Outdoor Music Walls

Music Another fun and creative way to bring play outdoors is with music. Whether it's just bringing some music outdoors with a speaker or by making your own music wall, you can learn all about how to do this from this Make Your Own Music Wall post. 

Music Wall from Sweet Pea Dayhome

Spring Nature Art

Let preschoolers use nature as their canvas! Go on a walk and gather items like leaves, sticks, flowers, and rocks. Once back outside, children can use these natural materials to create their own art. Here are a few ideas for nature-based art projects:

• Leaf Prints: Use paint to dip leaves and press them onto paper to create beautiful prints.
• Rock Painting: Collect smooth rocks and let the children paint them with fun designs, patterns, or even animals.
  
• Nature Collage: Use the leaves, petals, and sticks collected to create a nature collage on a large piece of paper.

This activity enhances creativity while giving children a deeper connection to the environment around them.

Organized Group Games

Include organized group play. Organized group play invitations supports muscle development in preschoolers. Designing games that work out certain parts of the body helps to balance development. Group play is great for learning rules and cooperation.

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Tips and Strategies for Mixed Age Groups

​Outdoor play is essential for children's physical and mental development, and it's even more beneficial when children of different ages play together. Mixed-age outdoor play is a great way to foster cooperation, communication, and empathy among children of different ages.

Some mixed-age outdoor play ideas may include a group art project with natural materials, such as leaves, rocks, and flowers, a cooperative game that involves passing a ball or a beanbag without dropping it, or a storytelling session where children take turns adding to a shared story.
Mixed-age outdoor play also allows children to learn from each other, develop leadership skills, and appreciate diversity. It's amazing to see how your older students become leaders and excellent role models to the younger students.

Older children love to help younger kids. Provide opportunities for older children to help out in daily routines and lead play.

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Teacher Tips and Strategies for Ensuring Safe and Enjoyable Outdoor Play:

Bringing your students outdoors requires extra safety measures which is why having rules that your preschoolers are aware of and understand is crucial. Having a conversation with your preschoolers about staying in the designated play area, asking for guidance if they need to leave the playground, and most importantly being aware of who should be using the playground equipment i.e no outside users.

With outdoor play comes the importance of applying sunscreen and insect repellent prior to going outside.  Teaching your preschoolers about understanding when they need a shade break and to stay hydrated is important for their overall health and well-being.
Come armed with the essentials to prevent having to go in and out for things like wipes, tissues, sunscreen, and hand sanitizer. A mesh shower bag works great and can be hung out of children's reach.

Providing and encouraging preschoolers to use safety equipment like helmets and following safety rules are important for safety.
While getting ready for outdoor play review rules for outside play. Ask kids to share the rules that they each remember.

Teach preschoolers about safe weather for playing outdoors. Lightning and heavy rain can be dangerous as can super hot days!

It's also important to note that with outdoor safety comes using outdoor equipment correctly and safely which includes putting toys area when they're done playing. Take a look at this post for ideas on Storing and Organizing Your Outdoor Toys.

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Preschoolers love being outdoors and it provides a rich and stimulating environment for preschoolers to explore, learn, and grow. It supports their physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development. Nature walks, playground play, gardening, water play, and art in nature are all effective activities that help children thrive and provide opportunities for children to learn about the environment, interact with others, and have fun.
 

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