It’s hard to tell with the chilly weather we’ve had in the DC area, but spring has officially begun and it’s nearly Easter! In today’s post, we’re encouraging Mother Nature to warm up a bit with some springtime listening activities and suggestions. The theme of beginnings, blossoming, and renewal might help to breathe fresh life into your learning plans, too.

Before we get started, we were curious about the Easter Bunny and his/her story. If you are too, this BBC article sums up many of the popular opinions we found regarding Easter bunnies, eggs, and chocolate.

Now, on to the activities!

Easter activities

• This one’s for the preschoolers - fine tune listening skills with a set or two of sound eggs. Adapted from a classic Montessori activity (the Sound Cylinders), these simple to make shakers help students focus on the slight differentiation in sound.
• Anyone who likes Peeps will enjoy this edible play dough. Tactile activities like this one can also be helpful for students with sensory processing challenges or those who might need to strengthen their hand muscles for fine motor work. If made just before or in class, the dough will still be warm which can be especially beneficial for hand muscle training.
• The classic Egg Drop Experiment is a wonderful STEM activity that can be adapted to suit students in elementary through high school. Pro tip: for less mess, boil the eggs prior to launch – you can even vary the boil time to test how much that affects crack-ability.
• Jellybeans and other candies make colorful and yummy teaching materials.
  • If you tried the Lucky Charm graphing activity on St. Patrick’s Day, you can circle back to graphs by trying other types of visual data representation. Line graphs? Pie charts?
  • If you’ve moved past graphing, grab a box of toothpicks and try building with candies.

Spring activities

• Rainbow flowers are a fun way to demonstrate how plants soak up water and nutrients via their xylem and phloem. For another variation, try splitting the stem over a few different colors for a rainbow effect.
• Get growing! There are many simple ways to sprout seeds and many things to learn about gardening, growing, life cycles, and plant parts.
  • This seed sprouting jar is great for giving students a 360° view of their seedlings. Create a growth journal with older students and encourage them to measure and make careful observations of the progress of their seedlings.
  • Even with your youngest students, this seed sprouting variation – zip top bags taped to a window. This can work really well for the younger students because they can observe without disturbing the seeds. Using the window saves valuable shelf space, and are simple to send home once the seeds grow.

Listening suggestions

Now you've got your lesson plans all sorted, choose some great titles to enjoy while you work. 

• Stories about bunnies and other animals will get you feeling spring-y! Try a folk tale or fable that tells a story about how animals came to be.

• For many, the best thing about this season is Spring Break! Try an adventure novel and enjoy a stress-free staycation this year.

• Religious titles include the story of Easter Sunday and some guided prayers: