1. Collect things

There’s not a lot growing yet you can pick but there’s still lots you can collect. You could start a feather collection, or find the best twigs. As the month goes on there’ll start being blossom too. Last year we found weird round spongy type flowers and got obsessed with them

Our favourite thing to collect we call ghost leaves. They’re really old leaves which have worn away so just the skeleton remains. They’re really pretty.

2. Look for frogspawn

There should be lots about now if you can find a frog favoured pond. It’s illegal to take it (or tadpoles) home these days due to declining frog numbers. However if you are lucky enough to have a pond you pass regularly you can watch them develop into tadpoles perfectly well from there.

Tadpoles are around for longer than the frogspawn in our experience, but we found it impossible to see them develop into baby frogs. They disappeared into the undergrowth as soon as they got their legs.

3. Play hide and seek

You don’t need equipment to play games outside. Hide and seek is brilliant in the local park. Depending on the age of the children playing you may need to set boundaries on the area you’re using.

We like listening hide and seek – where the person hiding has to make some sort of sound or call (B makes up a bird song) and the other follows it to find them.

4. A Spring scavenger hunt

There’s lots of new flowers growing and changes happening this month which makes it the perfect time for a Spring scavenger hunt.

All you need is a list (though pictures help too) of all the things that might be growing and challenge the kids to see how many they can spot when out and about. Good candidates are daffodils; blossom; primroses; catkins; daisies; crocuses and dandelions.

5. Plant things

It’s the perfect time to think about planting some seeds. This year we’re going to be ambitious and attempt a fairy house and water feature to go in the middle.

There’s loads of easy cheap options around in the shops at the moment. B tends to go for something random which looks pretty and fails to read the packet properly before getting attached. The good thing about starting now is there’s lots of time to try again if the first lot don’t work.

6. Find the little bird

With the trees still empty of leaves but the birds thinking about nesting it’s a great time for a game of ‘who can find the bird that’s making all that noise’. They’re quick though. It can be quite a challenge.

If you manage to spot it can you work out what type of bird it is?

7. Spotting nests (and giving the birds a hand)

How many nests can you spot? How are they different?

Can you spot a bird whose building a nest? How about giving it a hand by finding some good nest materials for it and putting them where it can find them?

8. Make a daisy chain

There’s finally some daisies about again. Can you make a daisy chain? Will you make a really long one? Or make one that you can wear on your head?

I find splitting the stems tricky. My big nails tend to split them too much. B has no issues at all and is very fast.

9. Make a Makka Pakka tower

How many stones can you get to balance on each other? Can you make an archway? Maybe a palace?

Beaches are the obvious place but there’s stones in lots of places. An opportunity to build could be around any corner.

10. Make stories in the clouds

With a bit of better weather we might finally get some nice white fluffy story clouds. Can you see shapes in them? Or animals? What are they doing? Can you make a story?