9 Fun and Easy DIY Spring Crafts for Kids to Boost Social Emotional Learning

April 3, 2023

It’s the changing of the season, which calls for a fresh spring in our step, as we dramatically shed our former seasonal affective disorder suits and re-emerge to seek the great outdoors and Vitamin D. Full of optimism and hope, we don’t mind a little grey in our skies, sludge on our sidewalks, or the occasional allergy plague, on the journey to picnic season.

For those rainy, spring days, I’ve got some engaging and mindful DIY crafts that might just be what you need to make a positive impact on the mental health and wellbeing of your students or children.

Whether you are crafty or not, there are numerous simple and accessible spring crafts that even the most artistically challenged among us can tackle to inject opportunities to collaborate, be mindful and to be inspired by nature.

So hold on to your galoshes, as I share some of our favorite DIY spring SEL crafts to support social emotional learning.

Flower Feelings Check In

Use this simple eco-friendly, non-verbal tool to help your petunias co-regulate through any of the rainstorms that April may bring.

Worry Worm

This spring coping craft will support your child's anxiety, as they imagine their worry as a worm who they can disguise. By dressing up their worry they are taking back control of intrusive thoughts. You can find this template and accessories here.

Sun's Out Bun's Out

This bunny activity supports deep breathing, which can help our children regulate during family events around Easter, in car rides or as a fun, seasonal addition to your calm corners in class or in your small counseling groups.

Caterpillar Breaths

Use this breathing tool to support your talks about growth mindset and the life cycle of a butterfly in Science. Push and pull the caterpillar to mimic your gentle inhale and exhales.

Honeycomb Bee Craft

Use this craft to support character education discussions surrounding how to be our best self-assured, kind selves in this world. Don't forget to grab your free bee posters here.

Easter Bunny Maze

This quick and easy labyrinth supports mindfulness as you use a magnetic want to help Uber the carrots (secured to a metal brass fastener or small binder clip) through the maze to the hungry Easter bunny. You can easily substitute the images (I just found mine through a quick Google search) to keep it interesting for your child throughout the season and beyond.

Clay Pot Windchimes

Invite your child to visualize a unique fairy home, and then bring it to life by painting a front door with maximum, magical curb appeal on your dollar store clay pot. Then, have them create patterns with pony beads to add to rope that will hang from pot and create a subtle, beautiful windchime sound.

Anger Eggs

Anger is often just an emotion used to shield ourselves from much more vulnerable and unresolved feelings, such as: disappointment, guilt, regret, embarrassment or loneliness. Use this activity as a prompt to see what feelings might be hiding underneath the surface.

Spring DIY Fidget Tool

If you are looking to support attention and focus at home or in the classroom and are in a pinch for resources, this 2-step craft is the perfect one for you! Simply spread foam stickers out across a paper plate (I get mine at Michael's with adhesive all ready to go on the back). Ensure you have enough space for a marble to travel through and pop out the pollen centers of the flowers- these floral centers will be your target for the marble!