The snow is melting, the trees are budding once again, and the puddles are collecting at street corners: that's right, spring has sprung, and what better place to celebrate the arrival of spring than the preschool classroom! The preschool theme of spring can be explored with a wide variety of activities, games, art, crafts, field trips, and stories.

Spring makes for an excellent preschool theme because it's colorful, fun and an excellent way to learn about the way plants grow and reproduce yearly. This craft, called "Grow your Name" allows children to observe the rate at which small plants grow, resulting in a garden shaped like their name.

To begin, give each child a small box lined with plastic and filled half-way with potting soil. Let each child trace their name or a small picture in the soil, and fill the newly formed path with grass seeds. Gently sprinkle enough potting soil to cover the seeds and water the soil. Remind children to water their name gardens every few days, and watch for their name to sprout from the soil.

April Showers bring May Flowers

Flowers are another central image for the preschool theme of spring, since their arrival is one of the hallmarks of the season. Flowers can be incorporated into a wide variety of simple, colorful preschool crafts, such as this one called "Paper Plate Daisy".

Have each child cut a small circle from yellow construction paper. Next, they will create petals by cutting a paper plate in half, and then cutting each half into five or six pieces. Glue or staple the petals to the yellow circle to create a lovely, simple paper plate daisy.

If desired, this craft can easily be converted into a sunflower by using a black center circle and yellow paper for the petals. Sunflower seeds can also be glued to the center of the flower for additional decoration.

Children love finger painting because it's a hands-on activity that allows them to get a little dirty. Here's a craft called "Foot Flower" that's sure to be equally as popular as finger painting because children get to paint their feet instead! Have the children dip one of their feet into a small dish filled with washable paint, then stamp their painted foot onto a piece of white paper. After the paint has dried, they can add a stem with green paint or other decorations to their foot flower garden.

Make sure to perform this craft in a newspapered area since it tends to get quite messy. Also ensure each child washes the paint from their foot before putting their sock and shoe back on.

Let's Go Fly a Kite

Another great craft for exploring the preschool theme of spring is the kite. Kites are colorful, easy to create, and provide hours of entertainment on breezy Spring afternoons. Here's a simple kite that can be created from paper plates, tissue paper, streamers and string that actually flies!

To begin, have each child design their kite on a paper plate using crayons, paint, markers, or tissue paper. Once they're finished designing and coloring, staple some foot long streamers in the color of their choice to the bottom of the paper plate.

Next, using a hole punch, make a hole in the top of the plate. Tie a piece of yarn or string through the hole, and wrap the rest of the length of yarn or string around a piece of craft stick. Don't forget to tape the yarn to the string before wrapping it around to make sure it sticks.

Mary Robinson has been teaching preschool for well over a decade. You can get instant access to her preschool activities, crafts, and lesson plans by visiting her website:

http://www.preschoolwhiz.com

For a limited time, all visitors to Mary's site will also get a free copy of her special report: "The 7 Biggest Mistakes Preschool Teachers and Parents Make". Go get your free copy today!