Updated for 2025: Spring Sensory Celebration Spring is here, and with it comes OutGrown’s Spring Sensory Celebration! This season, we’re inviting families to explore the outdoors using all five senses, starting with sight. From the vibrant colors of blooming flowers to the tiny details of an insect’s wings, nature is full of beauty waiting to be discovered. But how often do we slow down and truly see it? Whether watching the clouds drift, spotting hidden patterns in tree bark, or noticing how sunlight filters through the leaves, every outdoor adventure offers something new to observe. Let’s take a closer look and experience the world through fresh eyes! Photo by: Kyla Phillips @mirroredmomentsphotography Five Ways to Slow Down and Experience the Sense of Sight in Nature 1. Find the Colors of Nature  Take a color walk and search for all the rainbow colors in nature! Younger kids can simply point out colors they see, while older kids can try to find the colors in order—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Want to make it hands-on? With permission, collect small nature items of different colors and create your own rainbow collage at home! 2. Nature Scavenger Hunt Adventure  Turn your next walk into a nature scavenger hunt! Make a list of things to find—like a heart-shaped leaf, an insect crawling, a bird flying, or a tree with rough bark—and see how many your family can spot. For extra fun, take photos or draw pictures of your discoveries! 3. Slow Down & See Like an Owl  Owls have incredible vision, allowing them to spot the tiniest movements in nature. Can you see like an owl? Find a quiet spot in your yard, on a trail, or in a park. Sit for 1–5 minutes and observe the world around you. What small details can you notice? A bee hovering over a flower? The way the wind moves the leaves? The patterns in a butterfly’s wings? Take turns describing what you see, then continue your adventure with fresh eyes! 4. Take a Closer Look  We pass by the same trees, flowers, and rocks every day without really noticing them. What if you took a closer look? Choose one object—a tree, a flower, a rock, or even a patch of grass—and observe it for 1-5 minutes. What small details do you notice? Are there tiny bugs crawling on it? Patterns in the bark? A hidden bird’s nest? Looking deeper helps us appreciate the small wonders in nature that we often miss! 5. Nature I-Spy: A Game for Sharp Eyes  Put your observation skills to the test with a Nature I-Spy challenge! 🔎 How to Play: One person picks something in nature and says, ‘I spy something round and green’ or ‘I spy something that flies.’ The others take turns guessing what it is! Try playing this game on a hike, in your backyard, or even on a rainy day by the window. Want an extra challenge? Make your own Nature I-Spy checklist! Keep Exploring! Want to engage all five senses? Join our Spring Sensory Celebration and experience nature in a whole new way! Share your outdoor sight adventures using #SpringSensory and tag @WeAreOutGrown! Then check out our other sensory guides on taste, hearing, touch, and smell to continue the adventure! About OutGrown OutGrown is a national nonprofit working to ensure that every family, especially those with babies and young children, can experience the benefits of time outside. Since our grassroots beginning in 2013, we have supported more than 300,000 families with the help of thousands of volunteers across the country. We believe nature belongs to all of us from the very beginning. That means creating opportunities, removing barriers, and supporting families in finding their way outdoors, whether that starts with a stroller walk, a community outing, or a quiet moment under the sky. You can learn more and explore our programs at WeAreOutGrown.org. Editor’s Note Thank you for reading. At OutGrown, we believe content should offer more than information. It should create a connection, support real-life caregiving, and reflect how families grow together through nature. Everything we share is made with care by our team and volunteer community. If this piece inspired you or helped you feel more confident in your outdoor journey, we invite you to support our work by donating today. Your contributions help us keep resources free and accessible to all families. Please remember that the experiences and tips shared in this article are for general information only. They are not a substitute for professional medical, mental health, or safety advice. Always consult with a qualified provider if you have specific concerns or questions. We are glad you are here. We are growing something meaningful together

Updated for 2025: Spring Sensory Celebration As we step into a new season, we’re refreshing this post with new insights and activities for our Spring Sensory Celebration! This annual initiative encourages families to slow down and experience nature with all five senses. Whether you’re a longtime follower of OutGrown or discovering us for the first time, we hope these ideas inspire fresh ways to explore the outdoors with your little ones. While wandering through nature, we take in our surroundings using our senses. We smell flowers, touch tree bark, listen to bird calls, see details (like an ant trail on a tree), and even taste some of the natural objects we come across (think berries or edible flowers). And, while investigating nature in this way comes naturally to most children, sometimes we forget to allow children the time and space they need to do it. As part of OutGrown’s Spring Sensory Celebration, we’re sharing simple, engaging ways to activate each of the five senses outdoors with young children. Photo Credit: Michelle Pearl Gee Exploring Nature by Touch Touch is one of our most immediate ways of experiencing the world. Every moment outside offers a chance to notice new textures and sensations, from the sun's warmth to the rough bark of a tree under our fingertips. Though we take almost all of our touch sensations for granted and do not think much about them, one minute outside can feel like this: You touch the doorknob to let yourself outside and immediately feel the warm air and a slight breeze on your skin. You step outside, and your bare feet feel the warm cement ground. You walk toward your front yard and brush your arm up against a bush. You touch some flowers right before your feet touch the cooler grass. You take a moment to relish the feeling of the grass before you sit down and feel the soft ground under your body and maybe a slight itchy feeling on your legs. We often take these sensations for granted, but when we slow down and focus, we can turn everyday outdoor moments into a mindful, sensory-rich experience. But, if we slow down outside, practice a little mindfulness, and think about each feeling as it touches our body, it can shift any outdoor experiences greatly. Five ways to slow down and experience the sense of touch in nature: Create a touch box. A touch box is a fun, hands-on guessing game that helps kids explore nature through feel alone. Gather natural objects, such as pinecones, feathers, and smooth stones, place them in a box, and have kids guess each item by touch. You gather some simple natural items and put them inside a box. Don’t let your children see what is in the box and have them guess what nature item it is based on touch alone. You can put one item in at a time (good for younger children) or all at once to make it more challenging. Walk barefoot in nature. Our feet are packed with nerve endings, making them perfect for sensory exploration. Walk barefoot on grass, sand, or dirt, noticing how each surface feels differently. When you intentionally think about each sensation your feet feel, the whole experience of walking barefoot shifts just a bit. Find different textures in nature. Try a texture scavenger hunt! Challenge kids to find something rough, smooth, soft, bumpy, cool, or warm. You can also just have the ideas in your head and have the kids search for one at a time while you meander your favorite trail. Some examples of easy-to-find nature textures are rough, smooth, cold, warm, wet, dry, hard, soft, etc. Hug a tree. Tree-hugging isn’t just for fun; it’s a great way to explore texture and size. Notice whether the bark is rough or smooth, warm or cool, thick or thin.. Are you able to wrap your hands all the way around? Is the bark rough or smooth? Count the skin sensations. Pause for a minute and count all the sensations on your skin, the breeze, the sun, and the feeling of the ground beneath you. You’ll be amazed at how much you notice when you focus! The wind on your skin, the sun's warmth, the feeling of the ground under your body, the fly that landed on your leg, and so much more. It is hard to focus on only the sense of touch, but how many different things our skin can feel in just one minute is fantastic. Ready to explore more? Join our Spring Sensory Celebration! Share your sensory nature experiences with us using #SpringSensory, and check out our other posts on hearing, taste, smell, and sight for more ways to engage with nature.   About OutGrown OutGrown is a national nonprofit working to ensure that every family, especially those with babies and young children, can experience the benefits of time outside. Since our grassroots beginning in 2013, we have supported more than 300,000 families with the help of thousands of volunteers across the country. We believe nature belongs to all of us from the very beginning. That means creating opportunities, removing barriers, and supporting families in finding their way outdoors, whether that starts with a stroller walk, a community outing, or a quiet moment under the sky. You can learn more and explore our programs at WeAreOutGrown.org. Editor’s Note Thank you for reading. At OutGrown, we believe content should offer more than information. It should create a connection, support real-life caregiving, and reflect how families grow together through nature. Everything we share is made with care by our team and volunteer community. If this piece inspired you or helped you feel more confident in your outdoor journey, we invite you to support our work by donating today. Your contributions help us keep resources free and accessible to all families. Please remember that the experiences and tips shared in this article are for general information only. They are not a substitute for professional medical, mental health, or safety advice. Always consult with a qualified provider if you have specific concerns or questions. We are glad you are here. We are growing something meaningful together.