100+ Spring Crafts, Games, and Sensory Ideas

Spring Crafts, Games, and Sensory Ideas

Spring ushers in blooming flowers, buzzing bees, and countless chances for outdoor play and exploration.

This blog will guide you through joyful spring activities specially designed for preschoolers.

You’ll look into hands-on ideas that nurture creativity, sensory exploration, and early learning across different developmental areas. Each activity is crafted with seasonal themes to spark curiosity.

Teachers, parents, and homeschoolers will find simple, engaging ways to celebrate spring while supporting language, motor, and cognitive skills through playful, age-appropriate experiences.

What are Spring Activities?

Spring activities for preschoolers are playful, engaging ways to help little ones connect with nature as the world blooms around them. These seasonal experiences support early learning while keeping things fun.

Children can go outdoors on nature walks, search for bugs, or complete simple scavenger hunts. Indoors or out, spring crafts with flowers, bright colors, and leaves spark creativity. Sensory play, such as splashing in puddles, digging in mud, or planting seeds, encourages hands-on findings.

Easy science ideas, such as sprouting seeds or making a rain cloud in a jar, add curiosity and excitement. Storytime and music with spring songs and books keep minds active and joyful.

Altogether, spring is the perfect time to nurture growing minds through play and exploration.

Creative Spring Craft Ideas for Kids

Bring a touch of nature indoors with these fun, low-mess craft projects that let little hands experience the beauty of spring in creative ways:

1. Tissue Paper Tulips

Tissue Paper Tulips

Children crumple colorful tissue paper and glue it onto tulip-shaped cutouts to create bright, 3D spring flowers.

This simple activity strengthens fine motor skills through tearing, squeezing, and pasting motions. It also encourages color recognition and creativity as kids choose their favorite shades.

Perfect for spring displays or take-home art, these tulips bring cheerful blooms indoors without the mess of real petals.

2. Handprint Chicks and Bunnies

Handprint Chicks and Bunnies

Turn painted handprints into charming chicks and bunnies for a playful spring craft preschoolers will love. This activity supports fine motor development while sparking creativity and seasonal joy.

Each handprint becomes a keepsake that parents will treasure for years to come. Perfect for brightening bulletin boards, windows, or Easter displays with personal touches.

3. Egg Carton Caterpillars

Egg Carton Caterpillars

Change egg carton pieces into colorful caterpillars using paint, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners for a fun spring project. This eco-friendly craft boosts fine motor development and sparks imaginative play.

Kids learn about insects and the value of recycling while creating their own wriggly critters. It’s a great way to blend art, science, and sustainability into one playful activity.

4. Pressed Flower Bookmarks

Pressed Flower Bookmarks

Gather colorful spring flowers, press them flat, and glue them onto sturdy cardstock to create charming bookmarks. This peaceful, nature-inspired craft helps children appreciate the outdoors and express creativity.

It’s a perfect blend of art and science, ideal for quiet time or classroom projects. Finished bookmarks make thoughtful gifts for Mother’s Day or springtime celebrations.

5. Fingerprint Rainbows

Fingerprint Rainbows

Let children use their fingertips and washable paint to create vibrant rainbow patterns on paper. This colorful craft strengthens fine motor skills and helps with color recognition in a playful way.

Kids enjoy the sensory fun of painting while expressing creativity through simple, hands-on art. Perfect for spring displays or cheerful keepsakes to brighten any space.

6. Coffee Filter Butterflies

Coffee Filter Butterflies

Dye coffee filters with markers, spray lightly with water and watch the colors blend into beautiful patterns. Once dry, pinch the center with a clothespin to create butterfly wings and add antennae.

This craft supports creativity, fine motor skills, and color-mixing exploration. Kids will love their fluttery butterflies, perfect for hanging around the classroom or at home.

7. Paper Plate Bees

Paper Plate Bees

Paint paper plates bright yellow, then add black stripes, wings, and antennae to change them into buzzing bumblebees. This fun spring craft strengthens fine motor skills while teaching kids about insects and patterns.

Perfect for classroom walls or spring bulletin boards, these cheerful bees bring smiles and seasonal charm. Kids will enjoy the hands-on creativity and the proud display of their buzzing creations.

8. Cotton Ball Lambs

Cotton Ball Lambs

Glue cotton balls onto lamb-shaped cutouts to make soft, fluffy spring animals that kids will love. This tactile craft strengthens fine motor skills and offers a gentle sensory experience.

It’s great for spring farm units, Easter lessons, or storytime companions. These cuddly lambs make adorable decorations or take-home keepsakes.

9. Button Flower Bouquet

Button Flower Bouquet

Create a cheerful bouquet by gluing colorful buttons onto green pipe cleaner stems for a fun, hands-on craft. Kids strengthen fine motor skills as they arrange and press buttons into flower shapes.

This vibrant activity encourages creativity and color sorting while making lasting, non-wilting flowers. Perfect as a spring gift or classroom display, these button bouquets brighten any space with playful charm.

10. DIY Bird Nest with Shredded Paper

DIY Bird Nest with Shredded Paper

Shred brown paper and twist it into cozy, nest-like shapes to create a fun spring craft. Fill the nests with pom-pom birds or colorful plastic eggs for added play and decoration.

This activity builds fine motor skills and sparks conversations about birds, nature, and habitats. Perfect for spring science units or Easter themes, these DIY nests bring hands-on learning to life.

11. Recycled Paper Roll Butterflies

Recycled Paper Roll Butterflies

Flatten and cut paper rolls into wing shapes, then paint and decorate them with vibrant colors and patterns. Attach the wings to a clothespin body, add antennae, and create beautiful recycled butterflies.

This eco-friendly craft promotes creativity, fine motor development, and environmental awareness. Perfect for spring themes, these butterflies make cheerful decorations for classrooms or windows.

12. Sun-Catcher Flowers with Contact Paper

Sun-Catcher Flowers with Contact Paper

Cut flower shapes from contact paper and fill them with colorful tissue paper pieces for a bright sun-catcher craft. Seal with another contact layer and hang in windows to let the spring sunlight shine through.

This cheerful activity promotes color recognition and fine motor skills. Kids will love seeing their artwork glow with the changing daylight.

13. Stick-and-Leaf Spring Crowns

Stick-and-Leaf Spring Crowns

Create spring crowns by weaving together twigs, leaves, and paper flowers gathered from nature walks. This hands-on craft fosters creativity, sensory exploration, and a connection to the outdoors.

Kids enjoy crafting something they can wear and proudly show off. Perfect for spring festivals, classroom celebrations, or imaginative outdoor play.

14. Q-tip Painted Flower Fields

Q-tip Painted Flower Fields

Dip Q-tips into bright spring paints and gently dab them onto paper to create colorful flower fields. This simple technique improves fine motor skills and wrist control while encouraging artistic expression.

Kids enjoy experimenting with patterns and color combinations. Perfect for quiet art time or as a cheerful spring display piece.

15. Garden Gnome Puppets

Garden Gnome Puppets

Make garden gnome puppets using paper bags, felt hats, and cotton ball beards. This imaginative craft encourages storytelling, character play, and creative expression.

Kids can use their puppets for spring-themed skits or pretend garden outings. A fun and engaging activity that blends crafting with dramatic play.

16. Spring Garden Sensory Bin

Spring Garden Sensory Bin

Create a spring garden sensory bin by filling a container with soil or brown beans, then adding fake flowers, scoops, and toy bugs. This tactile activity encourages imaginative play and helps develop fine motor skills.

Kids can dig, plant, and do just like in a real garden. Perfect for indoor nature play and early science learning.

17. Rainbow Rice Play

Rainbow Rice Play

Dye rice in soft pastel rainbow shades and set out cups, scoops, and funnels for open-ended sensory play. Kids will love pouring, sorting, and mixing the colorful grains while building fine motor and math skills.

This calming activity encourages creativity and exploration through hands-on learning. Perfect for spring-themed centers or quiet playtime.

18. Bug Hunt with Magnifying Glasses

Bug Hunt with Magnifying Glasses

Hand out kid-friendly magnifying glasses and invite children to the yard to observe bugs, such as ants, worms, and butterflies. This outdoor activity builds observation skills and sparks curiosity about insects and their habitats.

19. Flower Petal Soup

Flower Petal Soup

Fill a water bin with flower petals, herbs, and leaves, then add ladles and bowls for pretend “petal soup” play. This sensory-rich activity encourages imagination, creativity, and fine motor development.

Kids will enjoy mixing and serving their colorful creations. Perfect for outdoor play or a spring-themed dramatic play center.

20. Lemonade Stand Water Play

Lemonade Stand Water Play

Set up a lemonade stand with real lemon slices, pitchers, cups, and pretend money for hands-on water play. This engaging activity blends sensory exploration with dramatic play and early math skills.

Kids enjoy pouring, serving, and counting in their pretend lemonade shop. Perfect for warm spring days and engaging outdoor learning.

21. Jelly Bean Sensory Bin

Jelly Bean Sensory Bin

Fill a bin with jelly beans and hide small toys or objects inside for a colorful sensory treasure hunt. Kids can dig, pour, scoop, and sort while exploring textures, scents, and colors.

This sweet-smelling activity builds fine motor and early sorting skills. Perfect for spring parties, Easter fun, or sensory exploration.

22. Chocolate Mud Pudding Play

Chocolate Mud Pudding Play

Scoop chocolate pudding into trays or bins to create taste-safe “mud” for messy pretend gardening fun. Add spoons, toy plants, or gummy worms for digging, planting, and sensory play.

This edible activity encourages creativity and fine motor skills in a safe, engaging way. Perfect for spring themes or garden-inspired lessons.

23. Carrot Digging Bin with Kinetic Sand

Carrot Digging Bin with Kinetic Sand

Fill a bin with orange-dyed kinetic sand and bury plastic or real carrots for kids to dig and harvest. This sensory-rich activity encourages pretend play, counting, and fine motor development.

Children love the tactile digging experience while learning about vegetables and spring gardening. Perfect for farm units, Easter themes, or hands-on math play.

24. Sensory Walk with Nature Textures

Sensory Walk with Nature Textures

Create a sensory path using trays filled with natural textures, such as grass, dirt, pebbles, and leaves, for kids to walk on barefoot. This calming activity heightens body awareness.

Children enjoy feeling each texture as they move along the trail. Perfect for outdoor play, nature units, or mindfulness activities.

25. Lavender Rice Calming Bin

Lavender Rice Calming Bin

Dye rice in soft hues and add a few drops of lavender essential oil for a calming sensory bin experience. Provide scoops, funnels, and small containers for soothing play that engages the senses.

This peaceful activity supports relaxation, focus, and fine motor skills. Perfect for quiet time, self-regulation, or spring sensory centers.

26. Flower Smell Guessing Station

Flower Smell Guessing Station

Set up a scent station with real spring flowers, such as lilac, lavender, and daisies, for kids to sniff while blindfolded. They guess each flower by smell, boosting sensory awareness and vocabulary.

This fun, fragrant activity builds observation and language skills. Perfect for science centers, garden themes, or nature-based learning.

27. Chia Seed Slime or Gel Play

Chia Seed Slime or Gel Play

Soak chia seeds to form a squishy sensory gel, then add toy bugs or flower petals for a spring-themed play experience. This tactile activity provides a fun and mess-friendly way to find textures and develop fine motor skills.

Other Spring Craft Ideas

Other hands-on projects that celebrate the season and spark creativity through imaginative play and sensory exploration.

28.Pom-Pom Flower Soup – Float and stir pom-poms in water, pretending they are vegetables in a soup.

29.Shaving Cream Cloud Play – Sculpt puffy “clouds” using shaving cream and droppers.

30.Flower Frozen in Ice – Freeze flowers in ice and give kids warm water to melt them out.

31.Grow Grass in a Cup – Plant grass seeds in clear cups and watch them sprout roots and blades.

32.Rain Cloud in a Jar – Simulate rain using shaving cream and colored water on top of clear jars.

33.Butterfly Life Cycle Craft – Use pasta shapes or printables to create each stage of the butterfly life cycle.

34.Melting Ice with Salt – Sprinkle salt on ice blocks to observe melting patterns.

35.Color-Changing Carnations – Place white flowers in dyed water and observe color absorption.

36.Bean Sprout Window Garden – Tape a ziplock bag with wet cotton balls and beans to a window.

37.Pollination with Cheeto “Pollen” – Pretend to pollinate flowers using Cheeto dust and cotton balls.

38.Worm Observation Jar – Layer soil and sand in a jar, add worms and observe tunnel behavior.

39.Mini Greenhouse Ziplock – Grow seeds inside baggies taped to sunny windows.

40.Float or Sink Spring Items – Test whether leaves, sticks, or flowers float or sink in water.

41.Raindrop Filter – Make a simple water filter from recycled materials.

42.Sun Print Paper Art – Use special paper to make silhouette art using sunlight.

43.Bird Nest from Nature – Challenge kids to build a nest from twigs and grass.

44.Daily Weather Charting – Record sun, rain, clouds, and wind using clipboards or charts.

45.Wind Streamers – Attach ribbons to sticks or paper rings and watch them blow.

46.Spring Clothes Peg Matching Game – Match colors or numbers with spring clothes on a line.

47.Flower Bead Threading – Thread beads onto pipe cleaners shaped like flowers.

48.Hole Punching Flower Shapes – Let kids punch holes around flower outlines for fine motor practice.

49.Tear-and-Glue Rainbow Strips – Rip colored paper and glue into rainbow arcs.

50.Pasta in Pots – Scoop colored pasta into small flower pots for quiet play.

51.Sticker Petals – Fill flower outlines with colorful stickers.

52.Clothespin Raindrops – Clip blue paper “raindrops” onto string or drawings.

53.Dot Marker Trails – Use dot markers to follow paths or make flower stems.

54.Flower Play-Dough Mats – Build flowers using play-dough on laminated templates.

55.Spoon the Jelly Beans – Scoop jelly beans between containers for hand-eye coordination.

56.Spring Scavenger Hunt – Look for birds, bugs, clouds, and blossoms outdoors.

57.Puddle Jumping – Put on boots and splash in post-rain puddles.

58.Fly a Kite – Decorate and fly simple paper or store-bought kites.

59.Water Fence Painting – “Paint” outdoor walls or fences with water and big brushes.

60.Chalk Garden – Use sidewalk chalk to draw flower beds and butterflies.

61.Make Mud Pies – Dig into real or pretend mud with spoons and pans.

62.Backyard Bug Safari – Use magnifying glasses to scour the world beneath rocks or logs.

63.Leaf & Bark Rubbings – Use crayons and paper to rub textures from the leaves and bark of trees and plants.

64.Nature Sorting – Collect outdoor objects and sort them by size, shape, or color.

65.Bubble Chase – Blow and pop bubbles outside in the breeze.

66.Sensory Rock Path – Create a barefoot path with stones, pinecones, and soft grass.

67.Build a Fairy Garden – Use natural and found objects to make a magical mini garden.

68.Chalk Obstacle Course – Draw a path with hopping and spinning instructions.

69.Petal Toss Game – Throw flower petals into baskets or hula hoops.

70.Rainbow Color Hunt – Search for objects in all the colors of the rainbow.

71.Alphabet Flower Match – Match lowercase letter petals to uppercase flower centers.

72.Count the Raindrops – Drop felt or pom-pom “raindrops” into numbered umbrellas.

73.Rhyming Garden – Match spring-themed rhyming cards like “bee” and “tree.”

74.Bug Sorting – Sort pretend bugs by size, type, or color.

75.Shape Garden – Match cut-out shapes to flower-shaped mats.

76.Letter Sound Garden Hop – Hop to flowers with matching beginning sounds.

77.Spring Bingo – Play picture bingo using flowers, bees, and birds.

78.Match Baby Animals – Connect baby animals to their parents in a card game.

79.Pattern Strip Sorting – Continue visual spring patterns with themed cutouts.

80.Roll-a-Caterpillar – Roll a die and build a caterpillar segment-by-segment.

81.Feed the Bunny Game – Sort colored carrots or pom-poms into matching bunny mouths.

82.Counting Clip Cards – Use clothespins to clip the correct number on bug or flower cards.

83.Spin-and-Cover Game – Spin a weather wheel and cover the matching picture.

84.Spring Sequencing Cards – Put spring routines in order: rain, bloom, sunshine!

85.Color Toss – Toss colored objects into matching color-coded containers.

86.The Very Hungry Caterpillar + Fruit Game – Match fruit from the book to real or pretend pieces.

87.Planting a Rainbow + Seed Bin – Read and then plant flower seeds in a sensory bin.

88.Little Cloud + Cotton Ball Painting – Use cotton balls and blue paint to make fluffy skies.

89.From Seed to Plant + Growing Jar – Read, then plant real seeds in jars.

90.Bear Wants More + Picnic Snack – Read and enjoy a themed fruit snack picnic.

91.Tiny Seed + Garden Math – Sort seeds or count flower petals after the story.

92.In the Small Pond + Pond Tray – Build a water bin with lily pads, frogs, and ducks.

93.Spring Book Nook – Create a cozy corner with plushies, puppets, and books.

94.Read Outside – Set up storytime under a blooming tree.

95.Dot Marker Pages – Use spring dot printables for color-filled fine motor fun.

96.Color-by-Number Flowers – Practice matching numbers and colors with floral designs.

97.Raindrop Tracing – Practice prewriting with pencil or marker trails.

98.Spring Cutting Practice – Trim along flower or bug-shaped strips.

99.Weather Wheel – Spin to track daily spring weather.

100.Spring Tracing Sheets – Trace letters, numbers, and shapes with spring themes.

101.Petal Matching Game – Match flower petals to color or shape centers.

102.Spring Mazes – Guide a bee or bunny through a spring-themed maze.

103.Weather Cards – Cut, match, and sort different spring weather types.

104.Pattern Block Mats – Build butterflies or flowers using shape blocks.

105.Bug Craft Printables – Color and assemble paper bugs.

106.Garden Ten Frames – Count and place bugs or flowers in ten frames.

107.Carrot Clip Cards – Use clothespins to count carrots for spring math.

Spring Activity Tips for Success

Make the most of your springtime fun with these simple tips to keep things smooth and joyful.

  • Prep materials in advance to save time and avoid chaos.
  • Dress kids in old clothes or smocks to embrace mess without stress.
  • Use all kinds of weather as a learning opportunity, rain or shine!
  • Let kids lead the activity at their own pace.
  • Stick to one or two activities per day to keep it fun and focused.

With a bit of planning and a lot of play, spring can be the perfect season for joyful learning and finding.

Wrapping It Up

With these spring activities for preschoolers, this collection provides an easy and joyful way to turn everyday moments into meaningful learning experiences.

These seasonal experiences encourage curiosity, creativity, and connection, rain or shine, calm or chaotic.

If you’re looking to refresh your routine or add a spark to your teaching, these springtime ideas make space for magic.

It’s an invitation to slow down, step outside, and celebrate the wonder of early childhood. Try one; you might start a new spring favorite tradition.

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