Spring Activities

These snails carry a load of new skills right on their backs! This 20-piece set features five numbered snails, each with a removable shape shell. Count 1-5, match by shape, number, color, and more. With their cute designs, these snails are great for pretend play, too!

Narwhals and hide-inside shape friends (happy heart, smiley sun, lucky clover, and more!) help kids learn colors, build fine motor skills, and develop their imaginations. Match the bright pieces by color or shape, or mix them up and play! 

Pop open the 5 textured acorns, discover the surprise squirrels, and start building shape, color, number, and matching skills. Squirrels double as finger puppets for fun imaginative play. 

Check out our full collection of Snap-n-Learn™ toys! 

Yes, they require a bit of supervision, but with your encouragement and guidance, two-, three-, and four-year-olds can help you: 

• Pick up toys and put them in a basket – Add a layer of learning (and make it more fun!) by asking them to pick up anything red first, then blue, then green. Or anything soft, then hard. 
•  Take their dirty clothes to the laundry basket – Count the pieces together as they go in, e.g., one shirt, two shirts… Or shoot a quick game of hoops with your balled-up socks! 
•  Help feed and care for the family pets – You may not trust your little one to fill the water bowl, but they can hold the hamster while you clean the cage and fill a scoop of dry food. 

*Bonus idea! Pretend play sets, like New Sprouts® Clean It!, is perfect for imaginary play and give little kids a way to enjoy the cleaning fun! 

Again, you’ll need to be on hand to help, but four- and five-year-olds can be hand helpers when it comes to chores like: 

• Keep craft supplies tidy – A place for everything and everything in its place! Putting away pencils, markers, glue, and scissors is easy with the Create-a-Space™ Mini-Center, a portable craft station that’s easy to store! If you need a more prominent organizer, try the Create-a-Space™ Storage Center.
• Setting the table – You set out the glasses and plates, then show your kiddo where to put the silverware and napkins. 
• Sorting the laundry – Little kids are great at sorting the laundry! Show them what counts as white, medium, and dark, and leave the rest to them. 

Many six- and seven-year-olds are old enough to handle simple chores without supervision. A chore chart can be motivating at this age to manage tasks like: 

• Making their bed – Don’t expect miracles here; practice makes perfect! Pulling the sheet, blanket, and comforter up and placing pillows at the top is an excellent start. 
• Emptying trash cans – Show your kids how to start with the biggest can and carry it to the smaller ones around the house, dumping as they go. 
• Putting their laundry away – You fold, they stash or hang! 

Older elementary-school-aged kids can do so many things! Aside from managing their schoolwork, brushing their teeth, and getting dressed for school, these kids can: 

• Wash dishes – Yup! The day has come! Fourth and fifth graders can rinse and load the dishwasher and scrub dishes and silverware (skip the knives and delicate dishware). 
• Vacuum and rake – Whether indoors or out, your older kids can easily run the vacuum and rake. Plus, if they’re doing it, they can’t complain about the noise it’s making when you’re doing it! 
• Run the washer and dryer – You may not want them folding quite yet, but big kids can toss a load in the washer, add detergent, and turn the machine on.  

Although it may be easier to do things yourself, the sooner you make chipping in with chores an expected part of your kids’ routine, the easier yours will be in the long run. A good rule of thumb is that kids can follow as many instructions as years they are old. For example, a three-year-old may be able to pick up their shoes, put them in the closet, and close the door. A timer is also a great motivator, as is a clean-up song. Choose something you love, play it loud, and work as long as it plays. When the music’s over, so is the clean-up!  

April showers bring May flowers, butterflies, and birds! Marble your May with this fun and easy springtime craft, perfect for a breezy afternoon inside!

• Shaving cream
• Food coloring (several colors)
• Baking dish or cookie sheet with sides
• White paper plates (non-coated)
• Butter knife
• Scissors
• Paper towels
• Hole punch
• Yarn or twine
• Clothes hanger

The first step in this springtime craft is to create your “marbled” crafting surface:

• Cover your baking dish or cookie sheet with a thin layer of shaving cream (your kids will love this part!)
• Choose a few coordinating colors of food coloring and drizzle drops randomly across the shaving cream.
• Use your butter knife to “pull” and “swirl” the color through the cream (don’t mix it – pull it around).
• Place a paper plate flat onto the marbled shaving cream and press slightly without sliding the plate up or down.
• Then, pull the plate straight up and out of the cream.
• Set the dyed plate on a sheet of paper towel and use your butter knife to scrape the shaving cream off the top, revealing a beautiful, marbled pattern underneath!
• Repeat until you have several marbled plates—add new shaving cream colors until the paint looks muddied. Then dump your old foam and start fresh with a new layer of shaving cream and marbled color between plates.

Allow a few minutes to dry, then marble the back sides of each plate. Press your white side-down plates into the foam, lift straight up, and scrape the excess foam away. 

Now that your plates are marbled, decide what kind of springtime symbols you’d like to design. Maybe a butterfly or raindrop, a bird’s egg, or a rain cloud? Then:

• Cut your plate into the desired shape.
• Cut your plate in half for a butterfly, then cut a notch out of the center of each plate and tape or staple them together.
• For a rain cloud, cut a circular shape with bumpy edges.
• The shamrock cut a stem with four oval leaves.
• Punch a hole in the top of each design.
• Cut a 4” piece of yarn for each plate, string it through the hole, place the string on either side of the clothes hanger rod, and tie a knot at the top of the string.