Spring break is the unofficial kickoff to the season that brings us longer days and warmer weather. While some families turn spring break into a bona fide vacation, others look for fun things to do a bit closer to home. Luckily, there's no end to backyard spring break activities that will keep your family moving and entertained. Who knows? These activities might just have your kids declaring this spring break the best one yet.
Plant a Garden
Spring break is the perfect time to get those early veggies in the ground and begin planning your planting schedule for the rest of the year. Hearty plants like beets, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower can go into the ground in most planting zones in March or April. Warmer weather plants can be started and kept inside until they sprout and are ready to go in the ground. Enlisting your kids to help dig up the garden, plant the veggies and even make nameplates for the plants is a great way to keep them entertained during their break from school. Plus, your kids will be more likely to eat their veggies if they had a hand in growing them!
Take a Walk Through the Local Arboretum
Spring is the season when the trees, shrubs and flowers suddenly begin to burst with color. There's no better place to see Mother Nature's colorful show than at the local arboretum where gardens are planted to display the best blooms of each season. Another advantage to strolling the grounds of the local arboretum is to help familiarize your kids with the trees, plants and flowers that grow in your neck of the woods. The adventure isn't just a great way to stretch your legs after a long winter inside, it will help your kids become great naturalists too.
Ride a Bike
After a cold winter inside, strapping on a bike helmet and exploring the city while a warm spring breeze whips through your hair is one of those adventures that just never grows old. Whether your city has great bike lanes that make riding super accessible or a fun waterfront bike path far from the city streets, riding around with the family is a fun way to spend the day. For a great list of bike trails, check the rails to trails website.
Try a New Sport
From surfing to skiing and everything in between, there's bound to be a sport (or three!) that your family hasn't tried yet. Spending the week of spring break learning a new sport is an active way to dive into spring. Rock climbing, Frisbee golf and even hiking are off-the-radar sports that your family can try together. Who knows? Maybe your kids will find a new favorite activity that turns into a lifelong passion.
Take the Family Geocaching
Did you know that there are millions of secret treasures buried all over the world—and just down the street? Geocaching is an outdoor adventure where participants use GPS or their mobile phone to hide and find containers called "geocaches" at specific locations marked by coordinates. Kids will have so much fun seeking out treasures and leaving their own that they won't even notice the hours pass as they run from one cache to the next.
Visit an Indoor Water Park
Depending on your location, it may be way too cold to swim outdoors over spring break. But that doesn't mean you can't hunt down an indoor water adventure instead. Many cities have indoor water parks, and visiting nearby makes a fun daytime outing during spring break. If you don't have access to an indoor water park, consider spending the night in a local hotel with an indoor pool. The kids will enjoy a change of scenery and swimming in the pool will undoubtedly be a big hit with the whole family.
Turn a Regular Day Into a Day of Adventure
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and adventure is exactly the same. It's easy to get used to our day-to-day lives and overlook all of the fun experiences to be had right outside our front doors. Challenge your family to spend a day of spring break looking at "normal" life in a whole new way. If it's raining outside, take time to jump in the puddles. If the day is clear, hunt for four leaf clovers or go to an open field and fly a kite. Head to a nearby pond for a rock skipping competition, or challenge the family to a foot race around the neighborhood. There's fun to be had anywhere—sometimes it just takes a little creativity.
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