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The days are starting to grow longer and warmer. Children are able to spend more time outdoors. When you can, go out and help them discover the wonders of spring.

• Put some string or yarn outside. Watch to see if it gets carried away to become part of a bird’s nest. If you see a nest don’t touch it because it will scare the mother bird away, but you might be able to see young birds after they are hatched.

• Watch for sprouts of early bulbs and look for buds on trees and bushes that are starting to swell. Cut small branches and put them in a vase of water in the house. Watch as the flowers or leaves start to unfold.

• If you live near a pond look for frogs’ eggs. You can bring some home by putting pond water and a small clump of frog eggs in a container. Take some weeds from the pond too. About a week after they hatch feed them fish food. When their back legs have grown put them back in the pond. It would also be fun to go ponding with a long handled net. Sweep the net through the water and then empty your “catch” into a pan with some pond water in it. Examine what you’ve caught with a magnifying glass. Always put whatever you have caught back into the pond.

• Take advantage of the spring breezes and blow bubbles, fly a kite or make a homemade pin- wheel. Draw an X on a square piece of paper from corner to corner. Cut halfway along each line and fold alternate corners into the center. Overlap the points and connect it to a stick with a pin. A bead behind the head of the pin may help it to spin better.

• Collect early spring flowers and press them between sheets of newspaper weighted down with heavy books for a week or two. Once they are dry, arrange them on paper and glue them down – make greeting cards, book marks, or a picture.

• Soak a dried bean in water overnight then place it in a jar with a damp paper towel or cotton balls. Put the bean next to the glass so you can watch it change. After a few days it will start to grow roots, and then leaves. If you wish, you can plant it in soil in a flowerpot so that it will grow longer.