I'm putting together monthly play activity schedules to make it easy for you to create a month of fun for your kids at home or in the classroom, every month of the year. The April activity calendar focuses on egg, flower Earth Day and bird themed ideas for toddlers, preschoolers and school kids. The activities include a mix of art and craft, sensory, science and play ideas as well as books to read aloud during the month.
Each activity is explained in detail below, including how you can extend or adjust the activity based on your child's age. You can also download our free interactive April activity calendar pdf with links to instructions for every activity to save for future reference.
APRIL 2024 PLAY ACTIVITY CALENDAR
This play activity calendar includes activities that can easily be done using items from around your home {or classroom} and you can substitute items to make it suit what you have on hand. If you want to be fully prepared I've set up an Amazon supply list that includes all of the main items needed for every activity during April.
There are no activities listed for weekends as they can be used for free play/family time or to catch up on activities you may have missed during the week. Below you will find detailed explanations of each activity as well as how to modify them for children of different ages and some extension activities you can do if you're looking for additional ideas.
At the bottom of this post you'll also be able to download a copy of the interactive April play calendar PDF which includes direct clickable links to all of the activities featured in this months calendar.
The Great Eggscape {Read Aloud}
Easter may be over for the year, but that doesn't mean the egg hunt fun has to end! The Great Eggscape is when the Good Egg and his pals escape their carton and drop into the store for a morning of fun, enjoyed by everybody. But after a morning of hiding and seeking, somebody’s still missing. Will the dozen eggs friends ever be reunited. Find out in this hilarious egg hunt adventure that reminds us to break out of our shells and help our friends in need!
Read the story aloud in a group, read the book to your child, have your child read the book to you, or watch the story being read aloud here on YouTube. You can borrow the book from a friend or the library, or get your own copy from Amazon or Amazon AU.
Extension idea:
Egg hunt. If you still have some plastic Easter eggs floating around after Easter weekend, set up a fun egg hunt of your own. There are lots of different egg hunt ideas here that you can use to create your own. Don't worry parents, they don't have to involve chocolate.
Bouncy Egg Science Experiment
Do your kids love bouncy balls? Did you know you can make a bouncy ball from an egg? This simple science experiment will show you how to turn a regular egg into a bouncy egg in just a few steps using basic household items.
This experiment will take a few days to complete so it will be a lesson in patience for younger children, however they will be fascinated watching the changes occur to the egg each day. Follow our step by step instructions to make your own bouncy egg.
DIY Egg Cutting Puzzles
Your kids will have so much fun creating their own 2 piece egg puzzles with our free egg puzzle templates. They can colour, cut and assemble the puzzles themselves provided they have some scissor skills, otherwise they may need some assistance cutting out the puzzles.
The egg puzzles are designed for scissor skill practice so I've included dotted cutting lines in straight, diagonal, zig zag and curved lines to cater for children with different levels of scissor skills. Start with the straight line templates for children new to scissors and then work through to the curved lines as their scissor control increases.
Puzzles are a great way for children to work on their fine motor skills, hand/eye co-ordination and problem solving skills as they try and join the pieces together. Two piece puzzles are a great starting point when introducing puzzles as they're easier for children to work out, giving them a sense of achievement, and they're less likely to cause frustration.
Pressed Flower Eggs
Follow these instructions to create your own beautiful pressed flower eggs using wax paper {baking paper if you're Aussie} and nature items. If you don't know how to press and dry your own flowers, you can get lots of different types of already pressed and dried flowers on Amazon. The finished eggs look great strung on a garland to decorate for spring.
Flower Painting
Flower painting, also known as flower printing, is a fun sensory painting activity that doesn't need a paintbrush, because the flowers are the paintbrush. Flowers can be gathered on a nature walk at the local park, school, your backyard or in the local neighbourhood.
Painting with flowers is a great way to combine a nature activity, sensory play and process art. It's particularly beneficial to toddlers and preschoolers because of the sensory and fine motor benefits which will help prepare them for writing later on at school.
Extension Idea:
Painting with leaves/grass. If you have other leafy plants or long grass you can collect some of those and tie a few pieces together to create a nature paintbrush and explore the different textures and strokes they make with paint.
Colour Changing Flowers Science Experiment
The colour changing flowers experiment is an easy science experiment that even young kids will enjoy watching unfold in front of them. This experiment visually shows children how plants drink and is a great way to learn about capillary action. Capillary action is the ability for liquid to flow upward, against gravity.
As the flowers absorb the water from the glasses, the dyed water flows upward through the flower’s stem and travels to the flower’s petals resulting in a colour change. You will need some white flowers, gerberas, daisies and roses work well, and some food colouring {concentrated food colouring will give the best result}.
Flower Sensory Bottle
Bring the beauty of flowers inside with this easy flower sensory bottle. If you're making the sensory bottle as a once off activity and don't plan to keep it long term then you can use real flowers, however if you want it to stay vibrant and last forever then you'll need to use fabric flowers.
Sensory bottles are a great tool to have on hand at home and in the classroom, not only as a learning resource, but also as a calm down tool. Watching the contents of a sensory bottle slowly move around helps children to focus, calm down and reduce anxiety. They're particularly useful during transition times between activities. This flower sensory bottle would also be a great resource for a nature, seasons or science {living things} unit.
Nature Weaving
Explore your garden, backyard or go on a nature walk and create fun transient art as you go by creating a nature web. This activity is a great way for children to observe flowers, leaves and other nature items like grass, seed pods or sticks up close. It's also a great way for them to build their hand strength and fine motor skills as they weave the nature items into the string.
If you have younger children you can set up the board and string for them, however older children should be able to hole punch the cardboard and thread the string themselves. If you use stronger cardboard like a side of a cardboard box then you should be able to reuse the board many times.
Change Starts With Us {Read Aloud}
Change starts with us teaches children different ways they can help change things for the better. It's a very simple, colourful book with age appropriate actions children can take such as refilling water bottles and reusing recycling material for crafts.
Read the story aloud in a group, read the book to your child, have your child read the book to you, or watch the story being read aloud here on YouTube. You can borrow the book from a friend or the library, or get your own copy from Amazon or Amazon AU.
Ocean Pollution Small World
An ocean pollution small world tray is an engaging and interactive way to teach children about the dangers rubbish causes aquatic life in our oceans and also a great way to open a discussion about recycling and putting rubbish in the bin.
We set up ours as a rock pool pollution small world to represent the rubbish that can get washed into rock pools near the shore and how it can affect the animals that live there. We used a mix of real rubbish such as bits of plastic, bottle top rings and straws, as well as some toy mini food items to represent discarded rubbish.
Extension Idea:
Jelly Boy bookish play. If your children like this small world tray, we have also done a jelly boy small world after reading the book jelly boy, which teaches children about the dangers plastic bags pose to jelly fish in the ocean.
The Earth Book {Read Aloud}
The Earth book shows children small things they can do every day in order to help the Earth and how each specific action helps save different parts of the Earth. Todd Parr shows children that every one of us can help protect the earth and make it feel good. If we take care of it, it will take care of us.
Read the story aloud in a group, read the book to your child, have your child read the book to you, or watch the story being read aloud here on YouTube. You can borrow the book from a friend or the library, or get your own copy from Amazon or Amazon AU.
Extension Idea:
How to help the Earth poster. On a piece of paper write up your own list of 10 ways we can help the Earth. Either copy the ideas at the back of the book, or brainstorm your own ideas with your kids.
Earth Day Colouring Sheets
If you're looking for a fun and engaging, no prep way to celebrate Earth Day with kids then print out this free printable Earth Day colouring page. Colouring in is a great way for kids to get creative and express themselves while also working their fine motor skills. It's also a great way to get younger children thinking about the Earth and how we should be taking care of it.
If your kids love colouring in this sheet and they want to do more, have a look at these Earth Day themed colouring sheets. There's 57 free printable Earth Day colouring pages including recycling, planet and environment themed pictures as well as some colour by number sheets.
Earth Day Paper Plate Craft
Making this Earth Day paper plate craft is a great visual reminder for children that we all have the ability to change the world and we're all responsible for making sure it's looked after. It's also a great process art craft with lots of fine motor practice which could easily be replicated in a classroom setting.
Earth Day Oobleck
Make some fun Earth day oobleck with just two simple ingredients - cornstarch and water. Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid which can act as both a solid and a liquid. Kids will love feeling the oobleck change from a solid into a liquid as they pick it up in their fingers.
Whoever Heard Of A Flying Bird? {Read Aloud}
On Pip's island birds don't fly, but she wants to eat the fresh fruit way up high in the trees. So she tries and tries to fly. After many failed attempts will she be able to fly up high?
Read the story aloud in a group, read the book to your child, have your child read the book to you, or watch the story being read aloud here on YouTube. You can borrow the book from a friend or the library, or get your own copy from Amazon or Amazon AU.
Nest Building Stem Activity
Can you build your own nest just like a bird? Set up a nest building challenge for children using a cardboard base, some soft craft feathers, felt, string and cardboard strips and see what type of nest they can create. Add some pom pom eggs into their finished nest.
Extension Idea:
Nature Nest Challenge. If you have older children you can get them to try and make their own nature nest using proper twigs, leaves and moss by weaving it all together just like birds do.
Bird Seed Sensory Bin
Set up a fun bird sensory bin using a base of birdseed and some bird figurines. You can add in items like cut up cardboard, pipe cleaners, shredded paper or straw and bowls so your child can build nests for the birds. You can also add in some pom poms to use as eggs laid in the nest.
Milk Bottle Recycled Bird Feeder
Encourage birds to visit your garden and teach children about recycling by make this recycled milk bottle bird feeder. Use an empty 3L plastic milk bottle, or a 1 GL plastic jug as they're a great size for smaller birds to access and provide storage space for the seed.
Make sure you use an appropriate seed or fresh food for the native species of birds in your local area {you can reuse the birdseed from yesterday's sensory bin}. There's also plenty more recycled bird feeder ideas to make with kids here.
I-Spy Bird Sensory Bottle
Make a fun I-Spy bird sensory bottle with just a few simple items. You'll need an empty plastic bottle, plain rice or sensory rice and some mini bird figurines or bird buttons. Children can roll, spin and shake the bottle around to find the hidden birds.
Yarn Wrapped Bird
Children can create bright, colourful birds and work on their fine motor skills while making these yarn wrapped birds. Carefully wrapping the yarn through the slits and around the cardboard is a great way to build pincer grip and finger strength as well as hand/eye co-ordination. You may have to prep the cardboard for younger children who don't have well developed scissor skills.
DOWNLOAD THE APRIL PLAY CALENDAR PDF HERE
Click the download now button below to download the interactive PDF file. Each image on the PDF calendar can be clicked to go directly to the instructions for the individual activity.
Please note that this activity calendar PDF is for personal or classroom use only and may not be shared, electronically uploaded or sold on any platform. If you would like to share or feature the calendar in a blog post please link back to this post directly.
Disclosure - This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience, which means I may earn a small commission at no cost to you, should you make a purchase.
