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Laughing toddler boy wearing a bee costume and holding a large yellow sunflower.

Summer is approaching, and parents of little ones look for ways to not just keep kids active but also find ways for them to learn. Try these educational ideas for spring and summer fun to keep kiddos engaged and outdoors.

For the Birds

The pinecone bird feeder is one of my favorite ways to do that. First, you need one or a few open pinecones. These can be purchased, but it also can be fun to explore with your kiddo first to find the pinecones. 

If the pinecones you find are not open, you can bake them at 200 degrees for around an hour to open them.

Now, help your little one create a bird feeder: 

  1. Tie twine around the top to act as a hanger. 
  2. Add peanut butter as binding. If your little one has a peanut allergy, you can instead use shortening. Make sure all the crevices are filled with the binding. 
  3. Add the bird seed. You can roll the pinecone firmly in the seed to make sure it’s fully coated. 

You did it! Your bird feeder is complete. Hang it outside and spend some time in the sun watching to see what birds come to have a snack. 

Bug Hotel

Another fun suggestion is to build a bug hotel. Together, you and your little one can gather such supplies as twigs, leaves, dirt or bark from a tree. Your kiddo can decide how big or small they want their hotel to be. 

Create your “hotel rooms” in an outside area that is a bit secluded. 

Once the hotel is complete, you can watch and identify what bugs are coming to stay! What do they look like? What colors are they? How many legs do they have? We love activities that get our kiddos thinking and speaking! 

Treasure Hunt            

A sensory texture hunt is a great way to prompt your child to identify textures found in nature. This can be done very simply or with a bit of preparation, depending on what you’re feeling that day. 

Depending on the age of your kiddo, it might be helpful to print out pictures ahead of time to help them see what they are supposed to find. Once identified, discuss the texture of what they’ve found. 

For children who are a bit older or more advanced, you can just prompt them verbally. “Can you find something scratchy or rough?” Ideas for things to identify could be smooth rocks or stones, soft leaves, fuzzy weeds or crunchy twigs. Use that idea with colors, too. “Can you find me something yellow?” 

Nature Faces

An idea that I’m super excited to try out with my little one this spring is creating nature faces. 

Simply sketch a circle on the concrete with chalk. From there, instruct your kiddo to search around outside for materials to create a face. It can be a self portrait or maybe a portrait of mom or dad. 

This activity encourages creativity and helps to prompt them to search for different shapes and colors to create the face on the ground. You can make the circle really big and have them look for larger items. Or, make a small circle and small items like blades of grass and small rocks. 

Just Have Fun!

There are so many options for fun outdoor play with our kiddos! 

Keeping our little ones out in the sun and away from screens as much as we can, sometimes feels like a big task and a lot of pressure. I hope these ideas help you get your child excited about being out in the fresh air!

Sophie Hamel is a freelance writer and works as a crisis responder. Her son is three years old.

Luminous removes the hassle of arranging for tuition vouchers and helps make childcare affordable. Vouchers can help ease your financial stress. Learn more about qualifying for HRA and ACS vouchers at our Bronx and Brooklyn centers. Payment can also be made by SEIU/1199 Child Care, check, credit card, and through the Luminous reimbursement program. Contact Luminous Early Childhood Learning Center at enrollment@luminouschildcare.org or call us at 929.228.1180.

Happy little African American boy in a pumpkin patch in autumn,

Hi, parents, and happy October! I’m so happy to celebrate my favorite season of the year. It's that time of year for fall fun with little ones. Here are some autumn- and Halloween-themed suggestions to keep your little one entertained.

As always, we are keeping these as simple as can be. Let’s get started! 

Squishy Fun

First is an activity that is great for our really tiny humans. If you plan to carve pumpkins, don’t throw away the guts of the pumpkin.

Instead, toss them in a gallon zip lock bag to create a super simple and squishy sensory activity for those 12-24-month-olds.

This way they are still involved in the pumpkin carving, but in a safe way. And this allows us parents to really focus on our own pumpkins, am I right? 

Pumpkin Washing

Another idea for our little littles is a pumpkin washing station. To keep it really simple, go for smaller pumpkins. You’ll need to grab a container, fill it with warm soapy water, and make sure there you’re set up in an area that is protected from the splashing or is OK to get wet.

Our three- and four-year-olds can really get involved in the activity by washing everyone’s pumpkins before the carving begins! 

With larger pumpkins, skip placing them in water. Instead, just give your little one a couple of washcloths and some warm soapy water. This way they can wipe down all the pumpkins, and get them nice and clean for carving. But you don’t have to find a giant tote to fill with water either. 

Sensory Bin

Another easy peasy sensory activity for our littles ones is a fall-themed sensory bin.

You could use multicolored dry pasta, pinecones, smooth acorns, or even some leaves. There is basically no mess when it comes to this activity since everything is pretty large and we parents love to hear that.

Give this one a try and let me know how it goes and how long your kiddo stayed engaged in the activity. 

Hunting for Decorations

This next one, I just did with my kiddo over the past weekend, and we had such a good time. I realized, I didn’t have any Autumn or Halloween decorations for our house! As such a huge fan of this time of year, that did not sit right with me. Lack of storage space keeps me from holding onto a lot of decorations, other than those we have for Christamas. 

So, I asked my kiddo if he wanted to go to the thrift store to pick out some decorations. Surprise, surprise, his response was “NOW?” It just so happened we had a few free hours before I had to go to work. So, I said “Sure!” and we were off. 

We headed over to our local Goodwill. I really tried to let him pick out the things he thought would be cute for our little home. He found some pumpkin string lights (LOVE), tealight candle holders (one black cat, a pumpkin, and a little ghost), a wooden pumpkin door hanger, and the cutest little stuffed pumpkin with a black top hat and black and white striped arms and legs. They are absolutely perfect.

Extra tip: Bring something to donate to the thrift store. Most thrift stores offer a coupon for making a donation. So not only was everything pretty cheap in the first place, we also got 20% off! We spent a total of only $10. And we had a great time doing it. 

But, the fun didn’t stop there. We still get to go home and decorate with our super fun finds. 

There you have it, friends! Easy peasy autumn activities to incorporate when you’ve got the time.

I hope they are just as much fun for you as they were for me. Let me know how it goes!

Sophie Hamel is a freelance writer and works as a crisis responder. Her son is a 3½-year-old preschooler.



Luminous removes the hassle of arranging for tuition vouchers and helps make childcare affordable. Vouchers can help ease your financial stress. Learn more about qualifying for HRA and ACS vouchers at our Bronx and Brooklyn centers. Payment can also be made by SEIU/1199 Child Care, check, credit card, and through the Luminous reimbursement program. Contact Luminous Early Childhood Learning Center at enrollment@luminouschildcare.orgor call us at 929.228.1180.