It’s been a really long, dark winter this year, so despite the curve that Mother Nature may throw at us this week, I’m trying to be positive. I’m hoping that spring (the real spring, with flowers and trees and warm air) is just around the bend.

In keeping with my positive attitude (which has been fueled by lots of coffee), I’m thinking ahead to my to-do list for getting our household ready for the change of season and all the great outdoor activities to come. As a kid, I loved helping my mom go through our closets and exchange the bulky winter sweaters and coats with lighter spring and summer shorts and t-shirts. As a mom, I’ve always recruited my kids to do the same.

Here are some our favourite ways that you can get your kids involved with the coming of spring:

Have a fashion show of last year’s spring/summer clothes to see what fits and what doesn’t
Create a scavenger hunt to find different outdoor items, like balls, hats, skipping ropes.
Get your kids to help with “donation” piles and take them with you to drop stuff off.
Have them fill laundry baskets with wool sweaters, socks, and long-sleeved shirts to wash before it’s put away for the summer.
Have a bicycle “car wash” to get their bikes outdoor clean and ready. You can include pumping tires and adding ribbons too.
Inflate your soccer balls, set up outdoor nets, and buy some sidewalk chalk.
Give your outdoor toys a bath to clean them up.
Buy some seedlings and get ready to plant your garden.

What are your favorite change of season activities?