Looking for some simple and meaningful spring activities for kids? This flower exploration center makes a great hands-on science and sensory activity and is so easy to set up. I love that it encourages observing details and creativity!
*This post was originally published on March 1, 2014 and has since been updated.
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Spring Activities for Kids: Flower Exploration Center
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of spring is flowers! Many of our trees are beginning to blossom and some bulbs are even poking up through the dirt. I decided to build on the children’s interest of the changes taking place outside by bringing some flowers indoors for them to explore more closely. (This post contains affiliate links.)
This is a super simple spring activity to set up!
I started by collecting flowers and placed them in some glass cups of water. (I supplemented what I was able to find outside with some flowers from our local grocery store.) Then I added a few magnifying glasses to encourage the kids to look closely for details.
And finally, I placed some sheets of paper and colored pencils (with a matching color palette to our flowers) on the table.
The kids couldn’t wait to dive in! Both kids started out by inspecting the flowers with magnifying glasses.
Lucy was so excited to discover details about the flowers she hadn’t noticed at first glance, “Mom! Did you know there’s actually some red in the center of this flower!”
After looking closely at many of the flowers, Lucy chose some to sketch.
This spring activity was mostly a sensory experience for my 2 year old, Theo. He did do some drawing, but mostly spent his time exploring the flowers.
He counted them and noticed the colors.
And making the petals fall off by banging the flowers together was very fun!
The kids really got into this spring invitation to play! When they were done, we placed the remaining flowers back into the glass cups to use as a beautiful centerpiece! (And I love having the flowers still available and within reach to the kids should they want to do some more flower investigating!)
More Spring Play Days
We’ll be back Tuesday with our next contribution to the spring play series. In the meantime, be sure to check out all the creative spring play ideas from the other participating blogs!
Flower Petal Sensory Play from Fantastic Fun and Learning
Tissue Paper Stained Glass for Spring from Fun-A-Day!
Butterfly Pancakes–Fun and Healthy! from Nothing if Not Intentional
Outdoor Color Matching for Toddlers from Twodaloo
What a great multi-aged science and art activity! I love how open-ended it is, and that both kiddos got a lot out of it. 🙂
What an inviting exploration, Chelsea.
And by the way, I am not at all jealous that you already have blossoms… 😉
LOVE this post and your photos are gorgeous! So much light 😉 Great job Mama!
Thank you for breaking it down and sharing how Theo played! It gives me great ideas for how both of my girls can get involved. And like Ann….I’m totally not even the least bit jealous of your flowers. 🙂 (As I watch another two inches of snow fall…) Not. At. ALL!
I am a consultant and am preparing a workshop on science for early childhood teachers. I am writing to ask if you allow your photos to be used for such a purpose. I always credit the website and provide the URL.
I look forward to hearing from you through my email address, provided above
thanks
I love that your kids both chose to approach this in different ways 🙂 Thanks for linking up with Tuesday Tutorials #pintorials
I love it! This is a clever approach to springtime, and a sweet invitation to look around us and observe our environment looking for the beauty. Lovely.
I LOVE this! Thank you for linking up to the All Things Kids Spring sensory activity linky. I’m off to pin!
What a Great way to Invite them to draw!!! This is wonderful, then mix it all into you Spring Art Project with Watercolor Flowers for Kids that you posted! VOILA–a beautiful Spring art lesson I can now share with my kids! Thank you! What a bunch of beautiful flower art ideas! 😉
As a homeschooling mom, really enjoy reading your posts and love the flowers! x