Ahh, spring! Personally this is one of my favorite seasons of the year, and I love spending it with children. There is so much to explore outdoors as we watch signs of spring pop up throughout the community. And there are so many fun concepts to weave into your spring theme preschool activities!
Here you will find some fabulous resources for planning your preschool spring theme. Most of these activities are designed for kids ages 3 through 5, but many can be modified for younger and older kids as well.
Get a Quick Start with Our Most Popular Free Spring Printables
WHY IT’S FUN
Have you ever noticed how much happier kids are when they are outdoors…especially in mild temperatures? During the spring we take learning outside as much as possible, and the kids love it!
WHEN TO TEACH A SPRING THEME
I like to build our spring theme lessons by starting with some of our nontraditional themes. Rocks and worms are great for when spring is just arriving but it’s not quite time to plant seeds or see flowers blooming just yet. From there I like to introduce a specific spring theme lesson plan set to explore the signs of spring, the types of clothing we where in spring and more. Then it’s time for exploring seeds and gardening. I wrap up the spring themes by learning about insects or birds depending on the kids’ level of interest. There are more than 18 different lesson plan sets in our spring theme, so it’s also fun to let the kids decide which topics they are more interested in exploring!
TEACHING TIPS & MAJOR CONCEPTS KIDS WILL LEARN
If you’re planning a preschool spring theme there are many possibilities for incorporating meaningful early learning skills.
These are just some of the concepts kids can learn about during a spring theme:
- signs of spring
- clothing we wear in spring
- life cycles (plants, insects, birds, frogs, etc)
- light and rainbows
- needs of and caring for plants
- gardening skills
- rain and weather
You can also use seeds, leaves, or flowers as manipulatives for many learning activities to teach math and literacy concepts.
ITEMS TO COLLECT AND REQUEST IN ADVANCE
If you get parents, friends, and family involved you can enrich the experience kids have during your preschool spring theme.
Collect or ask people to help you collect:
- seeds
- small pots or cups
- gardening soil
- gardening tools for pretend play and/or actual gardening
- rain gear for pretend play
You might even invite special guests (or go visit if you can) to come and share about fields and hobbies related to fall. You could include:
- a master gardener
- a dendrologist (tree scientist) or local arborist
- a meteorologist
- someone from the local zoo to share about animal habits in spring
PRINTABLE SPRING THEME LESSON PLANS
Save time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme.
Watch this short video to see just a few examples of the types of activities and printables included in this set:
GET YOUR LESSON PLANS
Also available on Teachers Pay Teachers.
MORE LESSON PLANS FOR SPRING
Click the image to learn more about each individual theme and get your copy.
RELATED SPRING PRINTABLES
These resources are also great supplements to your spring theme.
Play roll and color math games during small group or independent times.
Use theme related writing journal prompts to reflect on experiences all season long.
And more!
INDIVIDUAL PRESCHOOL SPRING ACTIVITY IDEAS ON FANTASTIC FUN AND LEARNING
Here on Fantastic Fun and Learning we’ve shared the following ideas to go along with a preschool spring theme. You’ll find fun and engaging activities to learn about favorite spring topics. Take a few minutes to watch videos for some of our spring activities.
(Click the playlist folder button with the arrow on it toward the bottom right if you’d like to quickly select which video you want to watch from the playlist.)
Click on the links below to be taken to each individual blog post.
Math Activities
Insect Counting Numbers Math Activity
This is a great way for kids who love insects to work on their math skills!
Feed the Caterpillar Spring Math Activity
If you’re looking for a fun math activity for the kids, they’ll love feeling the caterpillar while learning.
Learning with outdoor chalk during the spring months is always a good idea!
Playing with play dough is great for fine motor skills and working on counting skills at the same time.
Duck Pond Addition Math Activity
All kids love duck ponds! This is a super fun, hands-on activity that early learners will love.
Sticky Flower Garden Number Activity
Sticky flowers add a level of fun that is unique for learning.
Comparing Numbers with Flower Petals
Who knew that using flower petals would be a great way to help the kids with counting and math?
Flower Petal Addition Activity
Once the kids realize that they can add the flower petal, they’ll see that math can be fun and creative.
Literacy Activities
Puddle Jumping Sight Word Game
Moving their bodies while working on sight words is the perfect way to help them learn how to read.
Rescue the Eggs Letter Recognition ABC Game
This ABC movement game is perfect for helping your little ones learn how to identify their letters.
Fake flowers are the perfect way to add a bit of beauty while helping the kids learn their letters.
The kids will be so excited to spell out their names with this fun caterpillar activity!
Spring themes are the perfect way to use flowers in all types of learning.
Save up those Easter eggs and do this fun name game with the kids.
Sensory Play
18 Spring Sensory Bins for Preschool
You can never have too many sensory bins for the kids to dig their hands into.
Easy DIY Shake the Rainbow Sensory Bottle
The kids will love giving this rainbow a shake!
Counting Seeds Gardening Sensory Bin
You might just find out that your little ones have a green thumb after this.
Counting Caterpillars Spring Sensory Bin
It’s so much fun to find items to add to the sensory bin. Let the kids jump in and help!
Preschool Counting Rain Sensory Bin
This sensory activity for kids comes with a printable to use and learn from as well!
Spring Flower Sensory Squish Bag
A squish bag is a great way to have mess-free sensory play. The kids will love the feel!
This sensory activity is perfect for the kid’s imagination!
Counting Worms Preschool Math Sensory Bin
If the kids love worms, they will love this easy activity!
Wiggly worm play is going to provide hours of fun for the kids.
The best part about this duck pond is that the kids will love to get their hands wet.
Sticky Flower Garden Sensory Art for Kids
Let the kids take over and take charge of this fun flower idea.
Peas and Carrots Simple Sensory Bin
This will remind the kids to eat their veggies!
Flower petals are perfect for sensory play because they feel unique and can be all different colors.
If you want to share your love of gardening with the kids, check out this sensory bin!
There’s no doubt in my mind that the kids are going to love playing with this!
Spring Tree Play Dough Invitation
This play dough tree is so creative and fun!
Rainbow Play Dough Color Matching Caterpillar
The kids will love all the rainbow colors in this creative activity.
Butterfly Garden Play Dough Invitation
Using a play dough kit is the perfect way to keep all the items together and in easy reach.
Duck Pond Play Dough Invitation
If your little ones love ducks, they’re going to love this!
The more flower play, the better! Flowers are just so fun!
Bird Nest Play Dough Invitation
The kids will have a blast putting together this play dough nest!
Spring Chick Play Dough Invitation
See how creative they’ll be making their own chick!
I think that this is perfect for spring and Easter fun.
There’s just something so fun and soothing about playing with worms!
How many flowers can they make with this play dough activity?
Science Activities
Kids’ Science in the Garden and What Seeds to Grow with Kids
Teach the kids how seeds grow and what a garden looks like from start to finish.
The kids will love tracking plants to see their growth.
Spring Scents Science Activity
How many smells of springs are there, really?
Have your kids start their own seeds to see if they have a green thumb!
Discover and Explore Butterflies
Learning about butterflies is sure to be a hit.
Teach the kids how to make a fun space for roly polys!
It’s never too early to teach gardening skills to the kids.
Arts & Crafts
Painted rocks are the perfect art activity for kids!
Flower Art Project Using Kitchen Utensil Prints
This activity is so much fun to get the kids to think outside the box.
Loose Parts Recycled Rabbit Art Project
Teaching about recycling and upcycling is a fun art lesson.
Build a Small World with Nature
Let the kids get creative with their hands and their minds!
The kids will love thinking outside the box and creating this butterfly!
Talk about a super cool activity that the kids will want to do over and over again.
Letting clay air dry is not only a fun art craft, but it’s great for fine motor skills, too.
Pom Pom Painted Flowers for Kids
These flowers are bright and colorful – perfect for kids!
Pipe Cleaner Flower Stamping Preschool Art
Show the kids that art can be made from items that are lying around the house.
Flowery Tree Spring Craft for Kids
The kids will love this cute flower craft for spring.
Pom Pom Painted Rainbow Craft for Kids
Look at this fun rainbow craft that is perfect for spring art!
Fork-Painted Spring Chick Art Project
Who knew that fork-painting could be this fun?!
Teaching the kids all about 2D is a breeze with this activity.
Check out how to make fun flowers for spring learning!
Chrysanthemum Preschool Name Art
The kids will love making their names this way!
Bugs can totally be a fun part of learning!
Scratch and Sniff Five Senses Art for Kids
The kids will really like learning with their senses!
Ladybug art is not only fun to make, but it’s beautiful, too.
Feather flowers? The kids will love this creative idea!
When it comes to creativity, this butterfly craft is one of the best.
Decorate the house with painted flowers for lovely spring decor.
Have the kids give this butterfly activity a try. They’ll love it!
Need some beautiful crafts for the kids? This list is full of ideas!
Another day, another awesome butterfly craft that needs to be done!
Kids Book Activity Inspired by The Queen of France
Give the kids some reading inspiration with this activity.
Rainbow and Bits of Gold Streamer Craft for Kids
The gold color adds such a fun pop to this rainbow craft!
Kids Painting Activity with Flower Petals
This is a great painting idea that will have the kids realizing that you can create art easily with random items.
Other
Check out the list of fun items to do together during the spring!
The Cutest Bug Theme Healthy Snacks for Kids
Whipping up some healthy snack recipes is always a great idea.
Flower Snacks {Discover and Explore}
Love flowers? Check out these yummy flower snacks!
Decorate the window quickly and easily!
Round-ups (collections of activities)
30+ Flower Art Projects for Kids
If you need more flower projects, this is the best list to make it easily happen.
Try a few of these play dough activities for fun spring learning.
Rainbow Theme Preschool Activities
You can never have too many rainbow activities in the house!
Flower Number Sense Math Activities
Math activities using flowers are so much fun for the kids!
Now that spring is here, it’s time to work on our letters!
Learning how to put letters together for spring is fun!
Puddle Play Rainy Day Activities
Puddle play will have the kids loving the rainy days!
5 Fun Plant Activities To Try with Kids this Spring
Use these fun science activities to get the kids involved with being part of the learning process.
Check out these fun plant ideas that the kids will love.
Spring Flower Activities for Kids
Need even more flower ideas? This list has you covered!
Kids love looking and finding ladybugs, so use this list as a way to think up some new fun ideas!
Spring Book Lists
21 Fiction & Nonfiction Books About Butterflies
The kids will love all these books about butterflies! Perfect for hours of reading fun.
Since there are so many seeds to learn about, this book list is the best!
You can never have too many books about rainbows and rain.
Spring training is happening right now, so baseball books are perfect!
Enjoy reading and learning about rabbits with these cute book ideas.
Springtime means that the flowers are blooming. It also means it’s a good time to stock up on some books.
Ready to read about eggs? These books will help.
The kids might get some good tips about gardening on these pages!
Learning the ABCs is easy when you have fun Spring books!
INFORMATIONAL YOUTUBE VIDEOS
Learn about spring topics like why it rains, how plants grow, and all the amazing bugs you can find in the spring.
Peep, Quack and Chirp are ready for spring, but everything is dead and cold…at first! This is a great video to show toward the end of winter to encourage kids to start watching for signs of spring.
This very quick video works well as an attention grabber. Use it to generate a discussion about signs of spring, or watch it before heading out on a nature walk to look for signs. If you’re tech savvy, you might also take along your camera and video items that kids find so you can make your own signs of spring video.
Learn about the life cycle of a plant.
Investigate the life cycle of a butterfly.
Watch the life cycle of a butterfly in real life video and images.
Watch the life cycle of a ladyug in real life video and images.
Learn about the life cycle of a frog.
Watch the life cycle of a frog in real life video and photos.
YOUTUBE SONGS
Move along to Spring is Here as you dance and sing about signs of spring.
Learn about each season in the Seasons Song.
Add your own flowers as you sing this song with toddlers and preschoolers and reinforce color recognition.
Sing about bugs and insects with these easy to follow along song.
Click the image below for even more songs to sing during the spring.
OTHER ONLINE RESOURCES
Finger plays and action rhymes are a great addition to your preschool themes. Here are a few terrific options to go along with a spring learning theme.
Teaching Mama has some fun action rhymes and songs for spring.
Sing some favorite Spring Songs from Everything Preschool.
Choose from a wide variety of teacher submitted finger plays and songs on Preschool Education.
If you’d like to supplement your hands-on learning with some online games you might try:
Play some nature inspired games on PBS Kids.
Play with matching puzzles, seek and find games, and more in this collection of spring games.
FAVORITE SPRING BOOKS
There are a ton of wonderful books to read for your spring theme. Below are some of our favorite picture books for a spring theme.
Examine the signs of spring with real photographs and nonfiction texts.
More Spring Books
Choose from a variety of ABC books about spring to read to little learners throughout the season.
OTHER PROPS AND TEACHING TOOLS
Reinforce learning with these hands-on materials for your spring theme. They can be used for sensory bins, crafts, and learning activities.
FREE SPRING PRINTABLES
Try these free spring printables to go along with your spring theme fun and learning.
Math Printables
Coloring this printable will put the kids in a great mood!
Counting Flowers Scavenger Hunt Freebie
Scavenger hunts are the perfect way to get the kids up and moving around.
Flower Petal Addition Activity
Working on basic addition skills is always fun for the kids.
One More One Less Number Sense Ladybug Math
Ladybug math just might be their new favorite way to work on their numbers.
Who knew that springtime held so many ways to learn?!
Spring Flower Roll and Color Math Games
You roll, and then you color what was rolled. Creative and a great way to teach the kids the importance of following directions.
Just how many eggs does the caterpillar have? The kids will have to count them to find out!
Free Printable Flower Theme Number Cards
These numbers cards will be perfect for counting practice!
Roll and Say Spring Shapes Game
Is your little one ready to learn shapes? This is the best game ever!
Literacy Printables
No Prep Roll and Say Spring ABC Game
The kids will love to get started on this activity right away!
Track what they read this spring and show them how awesome they are.
Flower ABC Mat Preschool Alphabet Printables
These printables are perfect for helping them learn their alphabet!
Printable Spring Songs
10 Little Flowers Preschool Circle Time Song
The kids will love gathering around and singing about flowers.
10 Little Butterflies Preschool Circle Time Song
Any song about butterflies is a song that they’ll love to sing.
Fun Spring Preschool Circle Time Song
These songs are all about having fun!
10 Great Rainbow Videos and Songs for Kids
The kids will love seeing rainbows and singing about them simultaneously!
POSSIBLE FIELD TRIPS OR ADVENTURES
- Visit a plant nursery.
- Go fruit picking if there are berries or fruits in your area that ripen in spring.
- Do a virtual field trip to see the changes trees undergo throughout seasons
WHAT NEXT?
As you wrap up your preschool spring theme activities take note of what the kids were most interested in throughout the theme. Continue on by investigating one of those concepts more in depth. Below are some possible suggestions.
More Spring Themes to Explore
Click here to see all of our preschool lesson plans for spring.
Return to our main preschool theme page for more ideas to explore.
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