Ten Best Spring Activities for 2-3 Year Olds to Enjoy

The sun is coming out, the air is warmer, and birds and bees are busy at work. If you live in a cold, snowy place, you may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel from being cooped up inside, surrounded by toys, piles of laundry, and winter attire scattered everywhere each day. Yes, more pleasant weather beams from beyond your front door. Spring has sprung! Greenery and flowers are finally in bloom. And, Spring is the perfect time to head outdoors with your toddler or preschooler to engage with the world around them!

Though I live in California, where sunshine abounds year-round, here are ten fun activities that I've enjoyed with my child in springtime that I hope you'll enjoy too. Read on to find recommendations on my top ten spring activities for young kids.

(Please note, there are a couple of links to products mentioned within this article and if you do happen to click on those links to read about them or make a purchase, I may make a small percentage from the purchase due to the Amazon Affiliates program. I only recommend places and products that I truly like and have used.)

1. It's Gardening Time!

As soon as the weather changes for the better, it's an invitation for you and your little one to get your hands dirty. Gardening is a great sensory activity that is interesting, engaging, allows for lots of exploration, and offers many opportunities for teaching moments to learn about nature, plants, and the regular care it takes to help things grow.

The time, the age, the attention level of your child, and budget may impact your choices for how big or small a garden you want to create, but know that you can both enjoy gardening together, whether it is with one plant or twenty. If you want something simpler, you may choose to start with just repotting an already grown seedling or flowers to enjoy. For a longer gardening activity to engage your child with, I recommend either an herb garden or a vegetable garden so that they also get to experience the excitement in picking and tasting what they've grown!

For readers who aren't sure how good of a green thumb they may have, don't worry, I've got you covered. Here's my quick recommendation on the most forgiving plants or vegetables to grow: sunflowers, cosmos, succulents, marigolds, radishes, carrots, lettuces, or bush beans.

2. Go on a Nature Scavenger Hunt

Put on your explorer hats! A fun activity for your little one is to embark on a hunting adventure in your own front yard, backyard, or around your neighborhood. You can start by creating your nature scavenger hunt list, starting with more basic things for younger children, such as finding things by their color, or more complex nature hunts to find things based on their shapes, textures, or type of item, like a rock, pine cone, flower, leaf, feather, or bug. Go for a walk, magnifying glass optional, and enjoy peeking around every leaf for hidden gems. You'll be out and moving and surprised to see all your little one notices along the way.

For an additional activity that can be enjoyed later in the day or in your week, bring a bag or box with you on your nature scavenger hunt so your toddler or preschooler can collect their unique nature finds to bring back home. Young children will enjoy taking all of their items out to glue on paper for a nature collage (as seen pictured below). Older preschool children may enjoy art or creative projects such as building something from their found items, tracing the flowers or leaves, or even doing leaf and flower rubbings.

Looking for unique plants in Griffith Park.

Glued leaves, flowers, tree bark and sticks found from a nature walk at Fern Dell.

Shoutout to my own mom for snapping this picture of us exploring South Coast Botanic! Thanks, Mom!

3. Bring Out Your Inner Sidewalk Chalk Artist

For those moments when the weather is pleasant, and you want a very simple, easy activity as a part of your day that is close to home, grab a bundle of sidewalk chalk and hit the pavement. Sure, you can give the box to your toddler or preschooler for them to have free time creating on their own, and you can also engage with them by drawing basic flowers, animals, the ABCs, or simple geometric shapes right alongside them. Kids learn by trying things themselves and by observing, so it's great to be there showing how you, too, can let loose with chalk.

If you feel like your child isn't too interested in drawing or is a more active kid, you can take this time to introduce them to the game of hopscotch, or draw out a maze for them to practice walking with one foot in front of the other, or draw chalk pictures for them to run to and create a chasing game of your own, complete with boundaries meant as "safe" zones.

4. Water Play in the Rain and Rainbow Hunts

As the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers! Some of the best times I've had with my child have been on easy-going, rainy days. That's why water play in the rain absolutely makes the list for ten best spring activities for 2-3 year olds. Make sure to seize those early spring showers with your toddler or preschooler as a super fun, and FREE, activity you can enjoy together.

Water play in the rain is a simple activity that can take up hours and hours of the day with your kid excited, splashing, and having a blast. If you're worried about mess, make sure to prepare ahead of time by setting out towels by your entryway for wet, muddy boots, and some spare dry clothes at the ready. If your child is at the age when they are still learning how to get dressed, they will be interested in the fun of dressing up in the special gear required for rainy days, from head to toe, complete with rain boots, a raincoat, rain pants if you have them, and an umbrella. Accessories are exciting to little kids! When everyone is ready, let the splashing fun begin! As kids get older and more confident, trust me, the game of splashing will advance to the goal of how to make the biggest, muddiest splashes possible, or the goal of splashing mom! So watch out, moms!

If splashing in puddles becomes old, a fun thing to do is to look for natural, small rivers that have appeared from the rain in your yard, park, or just the water going down the sides of the street. (Not recommended for busy streets, of course.) You can create a science experiment by trying to see which items float the best, and what items make the fastest or longest running "boats" with a variety of leaves, flowers, or sticks you find outside.

When the rain stops, the splashing party and "leaf boat" experiments are over. But there's more! Then you and your little one have another opportunity to look at pretty raindrops resting on plant leaves and flower petals, or to point your eyes to the skies in search of rainbows.

My child enjoyed tappity puddle splashes in their rain gear, seen here around age 2.

A photo I took of a rainbow after an LA rain.

5. Go on a Bug Hunt

All of the flowers beginning to bloom aren't going to pollinate themselves! Calling all bugs and critters! Spring is full of insects waking up from winter.

Now, I have a little secret... I am absolutely TERRIFIED of bugs! True story: as a child, my mom once took me to a lovely butterfly pavilion at a museum and everything was just fine and dandy until a lovely butterfly chose me as it's special landing spot, causing me to turn white as a ghost, frozen, with a silent scream. And this was a butterfly, folks. To this day, I don't want to be too near to bugs of any kind, I don't want to touch them, and I REALLY don't want any to land, jump, or crawl on me. No thank you!

So, believe me, it's a shock to me as well to encourage other moms, who may have a major aversion to bugs like I do, to seek them out with their child. Here's the thing though, with the right tools (hint: gardening gloves, butterfly net, a jar, magnifying glass or this handy bug catching contraption I found in a gift shop traveling through Arizona one time that you can read about or purchase HERE) you can find a safer, more tolerable way to explore all of the varieties of micro life with your curious kiddo to talk about the very real and important jobs they have on this planet and why we ultimately count on them.

Here are some of the typical springtime critters to keep an eye out for while exploring in your yard or garden: ants, ladybugs, caterpillars, butterflies, rolly pollies, earthworms, slugs, or even baby praying mantis. For those lucky enough to still live in areas with more nature and land, late spring will bring out lightning bugs (or fireflies, as some regions call them), which was pretty magical to watch even for those of us who are scared of bugs. This activity will help your child to slow down, focus, keep an eye out for details, have scientific curiosity, and develop a respect for nature.

Here we are after catching a Southwestern Fence Lizard at the South Coast Botanic Gardens with the handy Carson Bug Catching Tool I mentioned in the text. It has a magnifying glass so you can closely inspect what you've caught and easily, harmlessly release them. Earlier that day but not pictured, we caught a giant bumblebee, a bee, a beetle, and ants.

6. Order Up! It's Mud Kitchen Cooking Time

*Sniff, sniff. What's that unique smell coming from the kitchen? Ooh, how about a freshly made mud pie or cupcake?

If you have a toddler or preschooler and access to an outside yard space or patio, do yourself a favor and invest in or build them a mud kitchen. Right now! It is so enjoyable for them to create, test out mixing ingredients they find in the great outdoors, pour water, and act out their chef or baking ideas. Finally, they can be as messy as their hearts desire. And in all that time of intense play focus, you can actually sit and relax nearby. Wow! Relaxation time? Sign me up! That's why Mud Kitchen playtime definitely is in my list of ten best spring activities for 2-3 year olds.

My husband and I actually built and designed a mud kitchen for our child's second birthday and it was amazing to see their immediate fascination! If you'd like to read more about that, head over HERE. However, if you don't have the space for a mud kitchen, you can always just set out a variety of old pots, pans, mixing bowls, and other cooking gear for them on a table, and it will be just as fun.

Pouring water and mixing will strengthen their coordination skills, using natural materials will give them fun sensory play, and the freedom to experiment with materials will enhance their imagination and creative muscles.

My preschooler still using their mud kitchen, thoroughly invested even after a year of play already! Most utensils, watering can, muffin tins, pots, and measuring cups were purchased at a local dollar store! They tend to have smaller-sized items, which works great for kids!

7. Play Ball!

"Take me out to the ball game...take me out to the crowd..."

Whether you decide to take your toddler or preschooler to watch their first ball game with guilty-pleasure snacks in the stands, or you pack up some beginner gear to let your little slugger or kicker experience the games for themselves, springtime is the perfect season for enjoying baseball and soccer.

Some local parks or parents may have early t-ball or soccer teams to sign kids up for their first experiences as early as three years old! (Out in Los Angeles, many city park offices have seasonal sports often as low as just a $10 registration fee, which will last for several weeks!)

Otherwise, it's great to just grab a soccer ball or child-friendly t-ball set and practice in your own backyard or park. Toddlers and preschoolers will love to practice their coordination skills, whacking the ball with the bat, and practicing powerful kicks. Be ready for giggles to ensue, especially if a fly ball bonks you on the head!

8. Petting Zoo Visit

If you're not into bug hunting as recommended earlier in this blog post (can't say I blame you), this springtime suggestion may be more appealing. Head to a petting zoo! Spring is known to bring lots of cute baby animals, such as baby chicks, baby ducks, baby goats, lambs, piglets, calves, and more. Who can say no to those sweet little faces? The tricky part is finding a petting zoo, particularly one where the animals are well cared for. Usually, some zoos have a petting zoo station, many farms welcome visitors, animal sanctuaries may allow visitors, otherwise look for actual petting zoos or local festivals and rodeos for petting zoo experiences.

Approaching these bigger animals can be a bit overwhelming or scary at first for some kids. Let's face it, animals can jump, bite, or kick. So stay close by, parents, and guide their hands to have open, gentle touches in appropriate areas for the animals they are visiting. It's a great experience for children to learn, while they are young, the art of being gentle, how to care for and feed animals, empathy, and curiosity for the animals around us. Pro tip: Make sure to wash your child and your hands well before and after your petting zoo experience. You don't want to walk in to pet the animals with the tasty smell of just-finished snacks all over your toddler's little fingers or clothes.

For readers who live in Los Angeles, California, or the surrounding areas, I recommend petting zoo experiences at the LA Zoo, Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark, the Montbello Barnyard Zoo, and The Gentle Barn.

Toddler pets a friendly goat at The Montbello Barn petting zoo

9. Bubbles, Bubbles, and More Bubbles!

(One of the simplest of the ten best spring activities for 2-3 year olds)

Oh, bubbles! They are fun to watch float in the breeze, fun to chase and pop, and even more fun to splash around in.

With warmer spring weather, there are so many ways to have fun with bubble play! For young toddlers and preschoolers, blowing bubbles from a regular jar and bubble wand is a real skill that takes time to master! This takes great coordination skills, focus, and an awareness of how to breathe and exhale slowly, just right, to maximize the quantity and size of the bubbles.

In addition to traditional bubble blowing, you can invest in a battery-powered bubble machine that will make tons of bubbles for your child to laugh and squeal running through, or you can fill up a kiddie pool with warm water and tons of bubbles for an outdoor bubble bath, or have fun with a bubble blowing lawn mower which is great for kids who love to be on the move.

For more bubble fun, I have a tutorial post HERE on how to DIY your own giant bubble-making wands!

For the BEST children's push lawn mower toy that blows bubbles, I personally recommend this John Deere kid's bubble lawn mower. We used other bubble lawn mowers for kids before getting the John Deere one, and all others broke easily, were cheaply made, and required tons of batteries, which frequently needed replacing for the bubbles to work. The John Deere kid's bubble lawn mower requires ZERO batteries (Finally! A toy without batteries!), and it is super sturdy. The bubbles work by the child pushing and propelling the lawnmower forward; it's really as simple as that. It's awesome!

The giant bubble-making station at Underwood Family Farms

My toddler is pictured with the simple joy of riding bikes through bubbles

My child walks around the neighborhood with their John Deere bubble lawn mower

10. Have a Picnic in the Park

Whew! You made it to number 10 on the list! Shall we celebrate with a relaxing picnic in the park? Yes! Let's do it.

My last favorite springtime activity that I recommend for toddlers and preschoolers is a morning or day to just relax and have a picnic in the park. You can choose to make it as fancy or simple as you want but make sure to bring a big blanket and an assortment of yummy things to snack or crunch on.

There's just something about eating outdoors with the sunshine and breeze in the air that adds a level of excitement and fun to mealtime. You might be surprised to find your little one sampling things that they may not normally taste at home, such as a crunchy piece of raw broccoli or bean in a hummus dip. Who would've thought!? For simple fun, you can bring some books to read and relax with, music to play and have a dance party to, or for magical days with a solid wind blowing, make sure to pack a colorful kite to fly. Whatever activity you choose, your young child will delight in the simplicity of snacks in the park.

Thanks for reading!

From Dog Mom to Baby Mama: Opening up to the Adventures and Growing in Confidence in Parenthood

This may be risky to publish and come as a shock on a blog meant for moms, but here goes: for much of my younger life, I was not interested in having kids. There it is, out in the open. There once was a time that I only had eyes for this guy right here.

My dog Huckleberry is pictured here as a puppy. The one who made me a Dog Mom.

Growing up, I always loved animals. My family always seemed to have a pet, or five, around. But did that love carry over to the idea of having children? Not so much. The only kids I ever thought could be in my future would be if I were to start a goat farm and have the baby goat kind of kids. (In case you are wondering, I do not have a goat farm.) Still, it seemed a far more likely scenario in my mind than having a child of my own.

Even with a love for animals, I internally doubted whether I had the time, energy, finances, and space to really take care of one. And, when I least expected it, the stars aligned and I found myself driving to go look at a litter of puppies. They were blue heeler mixes, and I was immediately entranced seeing those adorable puppy eyes, happy wagging tails, speckles and spots, and floppy ears bouncing around. Inhale! Ahh...I guess that's why they call it puppy love.

Becoming a dog mom changed my life quite drastically. I had a very active, energetic, adventurous working dog who needed lots of love, training, and a shocking amount of playtime. Much like kids, wow, these cattle dogs can go, go, go until finally back at home, they will crash asleep in bed (most likely your bed, not their own) only to wake up bright and early, ready for more. We eventually nailed down our routines, the routes we would walk or hike, we tested out almost every dog toy on the market to find the most durable for those powerful chompers of his, and together we learned how to understand each other with quiet stares, points to a leash or the door, and paws at my leg. I remember having to troubleshoot my dog's fear of stairs, which we patiently worked on together with peanut butter frozen on a spoon to coax and teach him that he could succeed in going up and down confidently. Like a proud parent at a school recital, I clapped and cheered for Huck's bravery and growth as he reached his milestones! For a very long time, my every waking moment outside of my work day became obsessed with reading parenting books, I mean dog training books, researching food and treat nutrition, trying out the steps of positive play and positive dog training techniques. Hey, wait a minute...does some of this sound familiar to the life of a human parent? Oh yes, I promise I will get more to the human parenting bit...

Huckleberry, all grown, playing frisbee in the park.

In time, I was so devoted to my dog that I couldn't imagine life without him. Instead of heading straight out after work to a happy hour with a friend, I made sure to head home and go for long, leisurely dog walks. I met new people and made new friends with people who also had dogs, and we would get together for doggie playdates or weekends filled with lots of barking, wagging tails, and wine sampling. Instead of fancier restaurants, I opted for casual eateries and coffee shops with outside patio environments that were dog-friendly, never to be seen fully clean again due to clothing perpetually accented with white and black fur sprinkled all over like confetti. It feels silly to think back on the fears that I had. I had been afraid to commit to becoming a dog owner because of, well, all of the commitment and care I knew would be needed, but soon found that I enjoyed life so much more and had all kinds of new adventures thanks to the one who made me a dog mom.

Huckleberry and I together after a sunset hike. Photo by Desiree Hunter.

My life had changed due to having my dog; sure, there were a lot more responsibilities and sacrifices, but it had become exponentially richer and more joyful.

All of this is to say to anyone out there who may have doubts or questions on whether or not they should be a parent (to a fur baby or human one), it will be okay, whatever your path. For me, I found it to be the beginning of lots of new adventures and lots more love. Thank you to my faithful companion, Huckleberry, for teaching me the ways of being more present, playing more, enjoying the journey more along the way, and embarking on my first taste of parenthood.

Growing in Confidence From a Dog Mom to a Baby Mama...

True to my nature, I suppose, I was absolutely shocked the day I found out I was pregnant. Particularly because doctors had told me it'd probably be hard for me to have one. But once again, the stars aligned when I least expected it and now I was going from a dog mom to a baby mama.

I instantly had lots of questions about whether I felt like I could do this, would I be able to be a parent, and thoughts of: what if I didn't love my kid?

I bring these things up to say, dear gentle reader, if you are having fears and doubts about your abilities and need some support, there's no need to feel shame. You are allowed to have any or all of these thoughts. I don't think there is enough open admission of having fears, doubts, anxiety, or worries that come up when facing a pregnancy or motherhood.

If you already feel like, hey, I got this! Amazing! You've got it!

If you're not feeling that yet. Amazing! You are normal, allowed to feel and think your way through all of these things, and you've also got this!

Somewhere along the way, I did feel open to positive possibilities, reminded again of new adventures to be had, and that hey, I could be a good mom or at least had the ability to try my hardest.

When I decided to announce my baby-to-be, I stayed true to the one who first showed me how to love like a mom, my dog Huck.

Huckleberry models his new badge of honor, a bandana reading "Baby Security (in training)."

I spread the news with a silly video to family and friends showing a growing pregnant belly covered by a t-shirt reading "From Fur Mama to Baby Mama."

Thank goodness for all of that great parent-to-be experience with my dog; I needed it!

Once I made it through my pregnancy and first had my infant in my arms, "baby mama" mode kicked into gear. Did I know what I was doing? Absolutely not! Did I understand what my baby's cries meant each time? How to feed him? When does he need a diaper? How to burp him or bathe him comfortably? How to appropriately buckle him into his first car seat? Heck no! I was so clueless that our hospital nurse thankfully checked our every move, showing us newbie parents how to swaddle, correctly align and attach a diaper, and correctly fasten carseat buckles.

Despite being deliriously tired, things are figured out over time, with help and sometimes on your own, until a solid footing is found. Much like my dog by my side, I realized too that my baby and I were a team and we would both learn how to communicate to understand one another with lots of patience, love, eye gazing, practice, repetition, and yes, hunting for answers in parenting books through all the hours of the night. Before you know it, you'll find yourselves in a trusted rhythm, growing with one another into a sense of ease and routine. Then you'll be smiling, laughing, enjoying a quieter, slower pace for a while on stroller walks, with giggles, chases, and adventures on the horizon.

So, if you are still at a stage full of questions and what-ifs, perhaps thinking that you could never do such a thing as become a parent, I highly recommend embarking on finding that perfect furry companion who will show you a glimpse into all that you are capable of by becoming a dog mom.