We are having a Spring (Eastery) Family fun Night on April 6th, and each grade level has a different activity for the children to participate in. I teach second grade, and need some ideas for something Springy.

When I think of Spring, I think of baseball! Lots of things you can do with that. What exactly are you looking for? We play math baseball, but you could do trivia baseball with different levels for children and parents. Serve hotdogs and peanuts or Crackerjacks.

Our FRC hold a Spring into Math night. This year it will be after Easter. They have a booth were you can make the Easter Bunny some food by mearsuring out oats and glitter. They also use pipe cleaners and cereal to make bird feeders. Each booth the kids get Bunny Money which they spend when they hop to the bunny shop to redeem their prizes. Ice cream is also served after you have completed all the booths. They usually have name tag necklaces made from with lamenated frogs or rabbits.

Spring always makes me think of flowers and trees. How about starting flower/vegetable seeds in cleaned out baby food containers or paper cups (clear works better so they can see the roots)? That lends itself to all sorts of educational materials and games that are age-appropriate. Or you could have them make tissue paper or sun-catcher flowers.

Good luck!

I can tell you a little about our Family Fun Night and what I'm looking for. I don't think I explained it enough earlier. (In a rush) Our school is K-5, me being second grade one of 8 teachers. The night is being held on April 6, from 5-7, with every grade level participating. It will be outside on the playground, and the children will be served hot dogs, chips, and soda. Kngt is doing a cupcake walk, first grade is Ring Around the Soda, there will be pictures with the Easter Bunny, spoon race with egg, and water balloon toss. For some of these activities there will be tickets for 25 cents each. We had first chosen the bean bag toss, which we had already done at our Fall Family Night, so I was trying to find something different. The children are expected to rotate around to all activities, depending on tickets. So time is another thing to keep in mind. I hope this helps, ideas so far have been great! Thank You!

[ 03-23-2004, 10:43 PM: Message edited by: Tiger ]

For a craft: Easter egg shakers are fun to make. Just fill an egg with rice or unpopped popcorn. Decorate with stickers over the seam and shake for music. These go for $2-3 each in the music stores. It's one of those things that parents probably won't get but the kids love.
Contest: Classic egg drop contest.
Carnival Games:
Catch the rabbit. Put a small stuffed bunny or two on a string. Pull across the table while the kids try to catch it with a butterfly net.
Pick an Easter egg - out of a basket of eggs, the kids pick one egg. There's a prize inside or a ticket for a larger prize. Recycle the eggs to lower the cost. (This is kind of the same level as the fishing game and duck pond which would also be cool.)