Springtime -- when the world wakes up from her winter slumber and becomes fresh and new again!  Spring is also a great time to set new family goals.  You might want to focus on:

Healthy Food

• Eat your homegrown veggies this summer!  Now's the time to plant vegetables -- depending on the weather, either seeds in small containers in the house, or small plants outside in containers or in the yard.  It's a fun learning adventure to nurture seeds and watch them grow! 
• Cook up a storm!  Plan the menu, shop for the ingredients (or pick them from your garden), cook the meal and eat together as a family.  Children often eat better when they help create the meal and then share it with their family. 

Outdoor Exercise

• Go for frequent family walks.  Count the number of flowers poking their heads out of the dirt.  How many different colors do you see? 
• Turn off the TV, go outside, and kick around a soccer ball.  Studies show that obesity in children increases the more hours they watch TV (Crespo, 2001). 
• Spring winds help warm the Earth and make great kite-flying adventures.  Pack a picnic lunch, grab your kite and head to the park for an afternoon of family fun!

• The best way to wind down after a fun day (or even a not-so-fun day) is to climb into bed and read books before falling asleep.  This routine calms everyone down and creates a positive, loving way to end each day.

• Recommended Books
• Spring Has Sprung -- Bear in the Big Blue House by Kiki Thorpe
• Henry and Mudge in Puddle Trouble by Cynthia Rylant
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

What kinds of things are you working on in your family this spring? Do you have more great spring reads to suggest?

Judy Schumacher
Director of Education, Minnesota Children's Museum