Spring is in full swing! Don't let it pass you by. Take advantage of the warmer days and longer daylight hours with these seven fun ideas for a spring bucket list that you can complete with your family!
1. Plant a garden!
Never planted a garden before? No need to dig up your yard! You can start small (and manageable!) with just a few pots placed in the sun. You and your kids will learn a lot together about gardening and will have a chance to enjoy the results of your hard work when it's time for harvest! Here are more tips on starting a family garden.
2. Hold a garage sale
Take the time with your kids to pull the clothes, toys, and books that they don't use anymore and sell them! You will end up with much less clutter, and your kids will earn some spending money! (Make sure to donate what you don't sell so it doesn't end up back in your house!)
3. Take a hike
Time to get outside and let those kids burn off some pent up steam, and what better place than Vancouver Island. As anyone who has ever been here knows, it doesn't get much more beautiful than this! I love to use the AllTrails website or app to look up the difficulty of hikes, when I am trying to gauge the friendly factor for beginners or littles. There are so many hikes on Vancouver Island that it is easy to find a lot to fit all skill levels. A few of my faves with kids are:
- The Wild Pacific Trail on the West Coast
- Little Qualicum Falls in Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park
- Centennial Trail in Strathcona Park
- Galloping Goose Trail between Victoria and Sooke
- Stoney Hill Trail Loop in Duncan
- Elk Falls near Campbell River.
4. Go on a picnic
Going on a family picnic can seem like a daunting task, another item to add to your never ending list of things to do. But honestly it can be as simple or as elaborate as you want to make it, and can be an easy way to break up the monotony of "what's for dinner?" The food can be as simple as a take-out pizza or as elaborate as homemade salads, fresh fruit and grilled fish, honestly there are no rules. You can make a whole day of it, and drive to a beach or park that you have never explored, or you can head to you local favorite, only 5 minutes from home, and warp the whole affair up in an hour. Will the kids really care? Absolutely not! They will be so taken by the idea of a meal outdoors, that you will score brownie points no matter if you put mere minutes or painstaking hours into planning the picnic, the secret will be between us
Here is a list of some of our favorite island picnic spots:
- Esquimalt Lagoon, Esquimalt
- Glenora Trails Head Park, Cowichan Valley
- Transfer Beach, Ladysmith
- Pipers Lagoon, Nanaimo
- Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, Parksville
- Miracle Beach Park, Comox Valley
- Tonquin Park, Tofino
5. Play in the rain!
As simple as this sounds, this is one of my best spring memories as a child. Splash in the puddles and let your kids get dirty! No rules apply here ;)
6. Go fly a kite
Visit a favorite park on a breezy day and set your kite loose in the sky! Don't have a kite? Here's a fun tutorial on making your own!
7. Get out a ball
Host a neighborhood game of kickball, stickball, baseball, basketball, soccer ... or whatever game you can make up! Not enough room in your yard? Gather up the kids and take them to a local park.
Don't forget to check out your local Macaroni Kid calendar of events HERE for more springtime fun! Now go fill that bucket with happy spring memories!
Cindy Fletcher is the publisher of Macaroni Kid Vancouver Island Canada & Helen Bryant is the publisher of Macaroni Kid Louisville Central & Louisville SW.
