25 Exciting Outdoor Preschool Activities for Spring

Get outdoors this spring, play, and explore nature with your preschoolers. These outdoor preschool activities are fun for the whole family!

Are you going stir crazy yet? It’s been a long cold winter. Though the calendar says it’s spring, our temperatures are still in the 40’s.

However, the sun is shining bright with the promise of warmer temperatures to come.

After being cooped up for the winter, everyone is itching to head outside and explore the world outside of our four walls.

From my desk, I can see my neighbor’s daffodils in full bloom, and I can hear the birds outside my window.

I have been inspired to think about things we can do outside this spring. Preschool outdoor activities that will inspire little ones to get messy, explore the world around them, and create lasting memories.

Which ones will you add to your spring bucket list?

Outdoor Preschool Activities

1. Did you know that blowing bubbles builds fine motor skills among other things? Grasping the thin bubble wand builds fine motor skills in little hands.

The act of blowing the bubbles encourages oral motor skills as preschoolers work to form the proper shape with their lips as well as expelling the air.

Who knew blowing bubbles could be so beneficial to a preschooler’s development? And, it’s just plain fun! Follow these directions if you’d like to learn how to make bubbles from scratch.

2. When the sun is out, it’s a great time to play hopscotch. Not only does it help little ones burn off some pent up energy as they hop through the grid, but you can also use the hopscotch board to teach five important preschool skills.

3. One of my kids’ favorite games to play was always I Spy. They loved trying to guess what I spied, and they loved it even more when it was my turn to guess. My friend, Sara, shares five fun ways you can turn I Spy into a fun {and natural} learning game.

4. Go on a nature walk and see what new things you can discover with your preschoolers. I have even created a fun set of nature walk Bingo boards you can print out and use all year long.

5. Dig in the sandbox. My boys used to love taking their Tonka trucks to the sandbox to dig and dump. Em, on the other hand, made towns and scenes that her Littlest Pet Shop animals could live in.

6. Splash in puddles after a spring rain! Grab the rain boots and head outside after the next spring rain. Find big puddles and make monster splashes. Find little puddles that just sprinkle a splash. You will earn some serious cool mom points if you splash with your preschoolers!

7. Catch butterflies in your backyard or at the local park. For an alternate activity, you could set up a butterfly house indoors. Watch your caterpillars make a chrysalis and then emerge.

Gather all of the kids in the neighborhood for an awesome butterfly release party! Your kids will be amazed as they witness the life cycle of a butterfly for themselves.

8. Go on a bike ride. If your child doesn’t yet know how to ride a bike, now is the perfect time to teach them. They’ll be zooming around the neighborhood in no time!

9. Go on a scavenger hunt. While this can be done inside and outside, take advantage of the nice weather to head outdoors!

Here’s another fun nature scavenger hunt printable you might enjoy!

10. Play the stair jumping game if you can find a park or museum with a big set of stairs to climb. Kids can practice counting the steps while getting in a good bit of exercise.

11. Go fishing. My youngest has fond memories of fishing in a local pond with her dad. I bet your little ones will love it, too! Especially if you bait the hook! LOL

12. Plant seeds and watch them grow. Preschoolers will have so much fun watching their seeds sprout and grow. If you plant veggies, they’ll be amazed at how a big veggie came out of such a tiny seed.

Let them claim a container for themselves to plant flowers in. Have them be in charge of watering them and pulling weeds.

Talk about the parts of a flower. There is so much fun and learning to be done with plants and seeds.

13. Explore your local farmer’s market. Let your little ones help pick out a variety of fruits and vegetables. Then, check out these kids’ nutrition activities from my friend at Natural Beach Living.

14. Gear up for the next windy day when you can go fly a kite with your preschoolers!

15. You don’t have to go any further than your own backyard to have a nice little picnic with your little ones.

16. Make backyard bird feeders with your preschoolers. Here are ten ideas for you.

17. Climb a tree. Let kids display their strength and courage as they climb trees.

18. Draw with sidewalk chalk. For a unique sidewalk chalk project, try out these fun mandala stencils.

19. Make nature paint brushes. Emma would have loved these when she was younger. She’s my nature-loving artsy kid!

20. Make mudpies! Let them get messy! It’s good for them.

21. Along those same lines, let them dig for worms. If your little ones are squeamish about touching real worms, you can set up this muddy sensory bin and then can pretend to dig for worms.

22. Explore shadows when the sun is shining. Line up some of your child’s favorite toys on large white pieces of paper. Then, let them trace the shape of the shadow.

23. Combine math and art by making nature mandalas.

24. My daughter and I have been making plans to create a fairy garden this spring. Check out my Fairy Garden Pinterest Board where I’ve been saving all of the inspiration.

25. Sit in the yard and find shapes in the clouds. Use your imagination! You’ll be amazed at what your kids can see in the clouds.

26. Need even more ideas… don’t miss this list of over 60 easy outdoor activities for kids of all ages!

PRESCHOOL BOOKS ABOUT SPRING

Fill your book basket with a great collection of books about spring. Most of these books can be found at your local library or used bookstore.

If you have a hard time finding them, you can order them through my Amazon affiliate links by clicking the images below.

A Little Book About Spring – Spring is a time of budding trees, chirping birds, and croaking frogs. Discover these and more wonders of spring in this delightful board book inspired by the works of legendary children’s book author-illustrator Leo Lionni.

And Then It’s Spring – Following a snow-filled winter, a young boy and his dog decide that they’ve had enough of all that brown and resolve to plant a garden. They dig, they plant, they play, they wait . . . and wait . . . until at last, the brown becomes a more hopeful shade of brown, a sign that spring may finally be on its way.

Everything Spring – Young children can see, hear, and feel the warmth of springtime by reading and learning all about chicks, bunnies, and the other baby animals that come out to play in springtime.

SPRINGTIME FUN FOR PRESCHOOLERS

This spring themed play dough kit will provide hours of creative and sensory based play for your little ones.

Little ones will love making this sweet little wooden bunny fluffy by using the bamboo tongs to place the wool balls into the divots! This activity will help develop rote counting, one to one correspondence, build subitizing skills, encourage addition and subtraction practice!

What other preschool outside activities do you enjoy? Leave me a comment and let me know.