Spring is upon us! Your nieces and nephews are tired of being indoors, drinking hot cocoa, and watching the snow fall. The days are longer, the sun is shining brighter, there's a hint of spring flowers in the air, and snow is turning to rain; it's spring!

The vernal equinox is a wonderful time to plan some spring fun. If you want to mark the entrance of spring this year, here are some ideas to enjoy:

Plant flowers together! Head out to your local garden center, and let your nieces and nephews pick out the flower bulbs they would like to plant. Have them not only plant the bulbs, but water them throughout spring and watch them grow!

Time to redecorate! Give them a watercolor set and white construction paper, and have them paint their own spring masterpieces to hang around their house and yours.

Enjoy bird watching! Birds are now migrating north, so it is the perfect time to head out to an open field and watch them. Of course, with it being spring, there are many opportunities to feed ducks, watch scampering squirrels, and take in the natural world coming to life.

Splish Splash! When a rainy day pops up, pull on your galoshes and go splash in the puddles. Make it fun!

Fun Games! Enjoy playing Leap Frog and all the games you remember as a child.

Fly kites!

Play Frisbee! To make it even more interesting, play Frisbee Golf. Hang buckets from trees, and have the players toss the Frisbee into the buckets for points.

Plant it! Purchase small terra cotta plant holders to decorate with tempera paint. They can paint bugs, butterflies, or anything else they like!

Gussy up lollipops to look like flowers. Using felt, googly eyes, heavy card stock, and a glue stick, create flower faces atop the lollipop.  A sweet treat.

Make Paper Mache Eggs. Blow up small balloons and paper mache the balloon with liquid starch and newspaper strips. When the balloon is dry, stick a pin in and pop the balloon. Cut out a hole large enough for the goodies you will place inside. Fill your egg with the treats, and seal the flap with either paper mache or tape. Paint the eggs with tempura paint in a variety of spring colors, and have them write their names on their eggs with markers.

Have a great time celebrating spring with your nieces and nephews this year. It will be a bloom'n good time!

Photo: MilanMarkovic
Updated and reublished: March 29, 2017