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The wind howled fiercely, blowing snow vertically and piling it up on one side of our home. The mercury had plunged below zero. I picked up binoculars and watched a lone bald eagle cling to a bare branch on one of the cottonwood trees that edge the Yellowstone River. Near the house, a lone rabbit huddled miserably, brown fur buffeted by the wind, ears laid flat back against its body. It pawed at the ground and nibbled stems of frozen grass. And yet, I was thinking of spring. That winter my children and I made a banner on an end-roll of newsprint. It was great fun to lay out a long length of paper on the kitchen floor, along with assorted markers and paints, and discuss the possibilities. We wrote the words THINK SPRING in enormous letters on the paper. Then we discussed what made us think of spring . . . and got to work!
What You Need:
Roll of newsprint or sheets of construction paper taped together to make a banner, colored markers or paint, pictures (cut from catalogs or magazines or printed from the internet), glue, glitter (optional)
Note: If using glitter, supervise closely so your child doesn’t get any in her eyes or mouth. Make sure she washes her hands immediately after using it.
Activity 1:
Sit with your child and discuss the four seasons of the year. Imagine the warm days to come and talk about what she will see and do once the season changes. How will the plant and animal life change? What clothing will she wear? What fresh fruits and vegetables will become available.
Make a list of things that she looks forward to doing or seeing when spring arrives.
Activity 2:
Lay out the banner on the floor. Invite your child to decorate it with bright colors and drawings of bunnies, flowers, birds, the sun, young animals. . . anything that makes her think of spring. She might glue on pictures cut from seed catalogs or drizzle on glue and sprinkle glitter over it.
Let the banner dry flat, then hang it on a wall to brighten your home.
Think spring!
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