There’s something about spring that makes more than just the sun shine and the flowers bloom. Look around and you’re bound to see more smiles and more light in not only our longer days, but in each other’s moods and even as a lightness in our steps! So get outside and celebrate the start of spring!

1. Geocache. Use GPS systems to seek out and hide treasures all around your neighbourhood. Use a series of coordinates, solve puzzles or decipher clues for specialty caches. geocaching.com

2. Dog swap. Or if you don’t have one of your own, borrow a friend’s dog for the afternoon and find a trail you’ve always meant to explore.

3. Create a new ritual. Sunday brunch in the backyard? Dance before dinner? Take an early morning cold-water swim (like the Oddballs at Willows Beach, facebook.com/groups/oddballsvictoria).

4. Do a random good deed. Drop off a bouquet of spring flowers, anonymously, at a neighbour’s. Paint and hide rocks with encouraging notes. Or do the same with sidewalk chalk around your neighbourhood.

5. Celebrate anything. Make a cake. Light some candles. Pick some flowers. Open the windows, get dressed up, play your favourite music and silly dance.

5½. And remember: bike parades are always a good idea.

6. Make plans. Sure time flies while you’re having fun and spring won’t last forever but summer is on its way. Start making a list of what you’d like to do. From staycations to local road trips, planning is half the fun.

The National Ballet of Canada’s Ballet Fun for Kids gives access to fun projects and resources designed to bring the beauty of dance and live theatre right to your home. Learn more about ballet, watch clips of your favourite performances, practice your dance moves or get creative with arts and crafts. Just use your imagination and have fun!

national.ballet.ca

UBC is bringing a guided Play & Learn program to your living room with free live-streamed activity sessions on a variety of topics: art, science, nutrition, drama, wellness, enrichment and more. Sessions are accessible through a smartphone, tablet or laptop, and are designed for children to be able to participate without hands-on involvement from parents/guardians.

recreation.ubc.ca/get-moving/play-learn/

The YMCA’s YPlay aims to help build strong kids and a strong family at home. Activities are designed for a variety of ages and levels of ability and can be done from your family room for free. Choose from activities including: songs, arts & crafts, healthy play, physical literacy, physical activity and—coming soon—safety and story time.

www.ymcahome.ca/yplay

Sport for Life presents “Physical Literacy at Home” to help support parents and guardians and kids to develop physical literacy at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. These activities are selected from the PLAYBuilder resource. Sport for Life provides a new video on Tuesdays and Thursdays at

sportforlife.ca