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Spring Scavenger Hunt

Is it spring yet? Clues to the season's arrival aren't always as bold as a daffodil in bloom. Here are the clues to get your kids excited for spring.

What You Need

Paper

Markers

Instructions

Write these clues on a piece of paper and set your little ones off in search of spring fun.
SOUND EFFECTS
You can find these clues with your eyes closed. The sound of spring: peepers, frogs, and toads
A clap of thunder
Music from an open car window
A woodpecker knocking
A bird singing
Your own clue __________
Spring Smart Fact: That sweet music emanating from the woods may sound like birds, but it's likely to be spring peepers?tiny tree frogs that really make a racket as the weather warms. In the Midwest, you'll probably hear chorus frogs?who make a rrrp, rrrp, rrrp sound like what you hear when you drag your fingernail over the teeth of a comb.

PLANT SIGNS
These clues are straight from Mother Nature. A plant emerging from the ground
A bud on a tree or bush
A flower in bloom
A mushroom
Sap oozing from a tree
Your own clue __________

Spring Smart Fact: In the Northeast, skunk cabbage is one of the first plants to break through the snow. That's because the plant's sheath (called the spathe) generates so much heat when it grows that it melts the ice around the plant. And you thought it just smelled strong!

CRITTER CLUB
Pets and other animals don't need a calendar to know it's spring, as these clues tell you. A dog or cat shedding
A brightly colored bird
A salamander
A newborn of any species
A turtle sunning on a log
Your own clue ________

Spring Smart Fact: Did you know some male birds signal spring?and the coming mating season?by getting dressed up? Male goldfinches, in winter a brownish gray, sprout yellow feathers. Many ducks, like mallards, change too. And even the chunky black starling gets a new look: His black beak turns bright yellow. It's not for our benefit, of course. They want to show off for the chicks!

HUMAN HINTS
Every year we humans do little things that announce spring's arrival?here are a few to look for. A baby out in a stroller
A screen where a window used to be
Laundry hanging out to dry
Bathing suits in a shop window
Someone in-line skating or skateboarding
Your own clue __________

HOW'D YOU SCORE?
20 or more: Super Spring Sleuth! Spring's here, and you know where to find it.
10-19: Getting warm. You can take off your earmuffs now.
9 or below: Brrr. You need to wait a few weeks before spring knocks at your door?or somebody shakes you out of your winter slumber!