Spring is here, and with it a wealth of possibilities: finally the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing — and your kids are chomping at the bit to run around in the sunshine.

Don’t let springtime turn your classroom into chaos: embrace the energy of growth and vibrancy in the air with these fresh and breezy spring activities.

1.  Plant Carrots In Your Classroom

I love activities that involve planting something because they give you a lot of bang for your buck. Planting carrot tops is great because it’s a deceptively easy activity that will teach your students about plants and look impressive.

Have a special spring vegetable snack time complete with full-sized carrots (cut into pieces for tiny mouths, of course). Help the students keep track of the leftover carrot tops. Then, put the carrots into clear plastic Dixie cups or a plastic egg carton filled with some water, and once the carrots have started sprouting roots transfer them to the soil.

Your kids will be totally delighted to watch their carrots grow — and it will be even more exciting when you get to harvest carrots and eat them later on!

You can do this activity with other root vegetables like potatoes and parsnips as well!

Make this activity even more special by pairing it with a book like The Carrot Seed or The Giant Carrot.

2.  Learn All About Butterflies

Doing a butterfly unit is a great way to teach young students about life cycles, personal identity, symmetry, and more.

Start off by telling them about the way butterflies go from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly, and talk about the ways in which each of them evolve over time, too.

Then, do a painting activity to teach symmetry. Have students fold a piece of paper in half, and then help them cut the half into the shape of a butterfly wing. If you have young learners, do this part ahead of time. Once everyone has their butterflies all ready, have them paint one wing and then fold the page over, creating the same pattern on both sides of the butterfly.

Your students will love making their very own beautiful butterflies, and you’ll love having something fun and colorful to decorate the classroom all spring.

Take this activity up a notch by pairing it with a reading of the all-time classic butterfly book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

3.  Play A Spring-Themed Movement Game

Get your kids moving with a game that celebrates all the animals waking up in spring! Lead a silly walk around the classroom where you hop like bunnies, leap like frogs, flit like butterflies, saunter like bears, and more.

Get your kids walking around in a circle, and then call out the name of an animal (i.e. “bee!”). Everyone has to buzz around and make bee noises, and anyone who forgets to act like the animal has to sit out until the next round. Give your students a chance to lead the game, too, if they want.

This game is a great way to wake kids up after naptime or shake the sillies out when they’ve just got too much energy.

Pair it with The Happy Day or Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa: Spring Babies.

The Sky Is The Limit!

Spring is full of so many wonderful things: rainbows and sprouting leaves and baby animals of all kinds. Take a walk outside to smell the green earth, make carrot stamps and create beautiful images with them, press flowers from the garden — there are a million activities you and your children can do to celebrate the waking up world.

We hope this article is a good starting off point, and invite you to leave your own ideas for springtime activities in the comments.