Fun! Spring activities for children: recreation and hands-on play
We’ve gathered springtime games and activities we’d love children to experience.
After making it through winter and with the weather getting warmer, it’s the perfect season to get moving outdoors.
Many children have probably been eagerly waiting for this time of year.
In this article, we’ll introduce recommended games and recreational activities, focusing on those unique to spring.
We’ve included activities you can enjoy near home as well as leisure outings ideal for spring, so please use this as a reference when planning family trips, everyday play, or outdoor activities at daycare or kindergarten!
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Fun! Spring activities for kids: Recreation & hands-on play (11–20)
Cherry blossom viewing
Spring is the season of cherry blossoms, and some people just can’t skip hanami every year! How about going out with your kids to a spot where the cherry blossoms are in full bloom and enjoying a picnic under the trees? If you spread out a picnic sheet and share a packed lunch, it will surely become a lasting memory for them.
Visiting famous hanami spots is great, but finding a hidden gem nearby makes it easier and safer to take the kids along.
It might be a good idea to keep an eye out for cherry trees in your neighborhood on a daily basis.
clam digging
When it comes to classic spring activities, shellfish digging at low tide is indispensable.
Digging clams like asari and hamaguri out of the sand is fun for both adults and children.
Freshly harvested clams are fantastic in miso soup or sautéed in butter.
Since it’s an activity around water, be sure to keep a close eye on your children and watch out for accidents.
Spring hand-play song
Feel the seasons through song! Here are some ideas for spring-themed fingerplay songs.
When you think of fingerplays that are about spring or evoke spring, what comes to mind? There are actually many spring fingerplay songs you can enjoy with children! The fingerplay introduced in the video, “What Will You Be When You Grow Up?”, is uniquely fun because after showing numbers with your fingers, you then use those fingers to imitate dream jobs.
It’s a perfect fingerplay to enjoy with children who have moved up a grade and grown a little bigger!
Playing in the mud in the rice field
Let’s have adults and kids play together! Here are some ideas for muddy play in a rice paddy.
How about using your whole body to play in a paddy before planting, together with parents or teachers? In this video, you can see them playing dodgeball with soft vinyl balls and racing to grab flags while their feet get stuck in the water.
The kids’ favorite activity was sled play, where adults pull a sled with a child riding on it.
It’s a wonderful idea to enjoy spring with play unique to areas rich in nature.
Making crafts while picking flowers
How about trying some flower picking on a walk while enjoying the spring weather? Especially recommended is a fun arrangement where kids draw pictures on a piece of cardboard and then decorate it by placing the flowers they’ve picked onto it in order.
The key is to use a fine pen to poke holes all over the cardboard after drawing the picture.
If you make the holes in circles or patterns, it will turn out even cuter.
Once you’re done, decorate the cardboard by inserting the picked flowers into the holes and create a lovely arrangement!
bamboo shoot digging
Speaking of bamboo shoots, they’re a taste of spring, aren’t they? They’re in season, and finding them and digging them out of the earth brings a special kind of excitement.
Digging bamboo shoots takes a bit of technique, but that’s part of the fun, too.
Dishes made with freshly harvested bamboo shoots are delicious, so there’s no doubt the enjoyment continues even after the digging is done.
Catching Cherry Blossom Petals
It’s a game that seems like it could have existed since the time when humans were still little monkeys.
You simply catch fluttering petals falling from the air with your hand—that’s all.
The simpler and purer something is, the more fun it tends to be.
It’s the perfect game for feeling spring! The hugely popular TV show “Run for Money” also started as an adaptation of children’s tag for television.
That basic idea of chasing and being chased is very simple, but precisely because it’s simple, it’s thrilling.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to put down the TV and smartphone for a day and just catch cherry blossom petals with your hands.
Repotting flowers
Let’s have fun together! I’d like to share some ideas for repotting flowers.
Have you ever heard the term “hanaiku”? It’s said that hanaiku was born from the wish for children to feel nature by touching flowers and to gain various experiences through flowers.
By growing flowers, you and your child can share the joy and excitement that come with the process, enjoy the colors and scents, and connect with the life of plants.
As they carefully care for flowers, children’s rich sensitivity will surely be nurtured.
wild herb picking
In spring, edible wild plants like mugwort, horsetail, and Japanese parsley sprout in the mountains and along riverbanks.
Try picking them, cooking them, and tasting them.
Tempura is one easy way to enjoy them.
For children, it can serve as a science lesson and an opportunity for food education.
Be sure to carefully check whether a plant is edible, and don’t forget to ask someone knowledgeable!
pressed flower(s)
In this age where everything is becoming digitized, there may be many children who don’t even know what pressed flowers are.
The image of dried flowers is similar to that of dry flower arrangements.
Thin pressed flowers can be laminated and used as bookmarks—surprisingly stylish! Spring is a great season for pressed flowers because so many flowers are in bloom.
They’re easy to make: just wrap the flowers in a few sheets of paper and place a weight on top.
Then simply wait a few days.
If you’re in a hurry, wrap the flowers in paper towels, sandwich them between pieces of cardboard, secure with rubber bands, and microwave for about a minute.
After a few tries, you’ll start to get the hang of it!