It’s hard to believe, but it’s almost time to “spring forward”- that dreaded time of year when we lose an hour to daylight savings. This year daylight savings starts on March 10th. There’s lots of advice on how to prepare your kids for the time change, but it still can be rough. So maybe instead of dreading the change this year, let’s celebrate instead! Here are 3 ways to create some fun while springing forward:
Game Time
Grab a battery operated alarm clock or even a kitchen timer. Set it for 5 minutes and hide it somewhere in the house – this game works great with timers that make a ticking sound as a little hint. Send your kids on a scavenger hunt to find it before the timer goes off!
Most people turn their clocks forward when they head to bed (rather than the universal 2am time). So using your child’s bedtime, create a countdown. This can be as simple as a paper that gets ripped off a stack. Or you can take it up a notch by having balloons with each hour written on them to be popped. You can also fill bags with small treats to be opened each hour until it’s time to spring the clocks forward.
What better way to celebrate springing forward, than with some actual springing! Create an obstacle course using painters tape (or any easy to see, easy to remove tape) and household items like broom sticks, pillows, laundry baskets, etc. Once the course is set, start springing! Each player must hop, jump and spring through each obstacle. If that’s a little too much, try creating an indoor hopscotch using tape as well.
DIY Clocks
Since we’re all about time, why not use daylight savings to practice telling time? Grab some plates, a metal brad and some construction paper to craft your own clocks. Label the plate like a clock face. Cut two strips of paper, one about an inch shorter than the other, and secure them to the center of the plate. Make sure the brad is tight enough to hold the strips of paper but loose enough that they can be moved like the hands of a clock.
Or using two plates, draw a clock face on the back of the plates. Draw the hands of the clock to the time you’ve determined to be bed time / daylight savings time (i.e. the time you’re counting down to). Pour some rice into one of the plates – about a 1/4 of a cup. Hot glue the two plates together, with both backs facing out to create a noisemaker. Use your new “clock tambourine” to celebrate the countdown!
“Timely” Foods
What good is a party without snacks? Create fun and delicious clock themed treats to eat as you wait to spring ahead. Create a clock face on a pizza using pepperoni as the number and strips of peppers for the hands. Ice cookies, a cake or cupcakes with clock faces. Or use the cupcakes as individual numbers of a clock. Use chocolate syrup to create a clock on waffles or pancakes.
