8 Fun Carrot Activities for Spring

Spring - Hurry up and get here! 

Am I the only one who has early Spring Fever this year? I think my students have it too! Our winter has broken records for snowfall and low temps so we have had so many indoor recesses and snow days. It was fun at first, but now I'm completely over it! Bring on Spring! We still have a few weeks since March 20th is the first day of spring, but I'm OK with it feeling like spring much earlier. Forget what that grumpy groundhog had to say!


When I think of spring, one of the first things that comes to mind is carrots. Why? I guess because you see them pictured with rabbits so often and they can have such beautiful greens. So, in honor of the (hopefully) soon arrival of spring, I've put together a list of spring activities for you.

1. Do a Science Experiment

Ask your students if you can bend a carrot. They will be amazed when they see the results! A teacher guide for using this experiment to teach osmosis can be found at this OMSI (Portland Science Museum) site.

2. Read Carrot Books

I was surprised that it was difficult to find very many carrot books! Some, like You are the Pea, and I am the Carrot (pictured above) only have a brief mention of carrots. Here is a reading list of books to go with this theme:

*Tops & Bottoms by Janet Stevens (one of my favorites!)

*The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss

*Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds

*Carrot Soup by John Segal

*The Giant Carrot by Jan Peck

*You are the Pea, and I am the Carrot by J. Theron Elkins

3. Add Some Carrots to Your Vocabulary!

It's a fun time to learn about a carrot idioms and a homonym. Teach your students the difference between carrot and caret. You can also learn the meaning for the following idiom.

* Dangle a carrot/ Stick & Carrot - To “dangle a carrot” before someone is to encourage them with an incentive, and the carrot in “carrot and stick” is an incentive or reward. (The stick is the punishment.)

4. Decorate! Add some carrot color to your classroom!

There are some super cute & easy decorating ideas out there that will add a touch of spring to your room. Here are a few of my favorites:

* Carrot garland

* Bunnies & Carrots from plastic Easter eggs

* Button Carrot Art

5. Celebrate International Carrot Day

I love celebrating the unusual (and virtually unknown) holidays. Who knew carrots were important enough to have their own day?? While your celebrating the day, brush up on your carrot facts. Were carrots always orange? Do they help you see at night? Here are a few resources to help you become a carrot expert:

* Carrot Facts

* Carrot Trivia from the Carrot Museum! (Yes, there is an online museum - it even has fine art that features carrots!)

6. Grow carrots

This is a fun classroom activity. The best planters will be ones that let you see the roots. There are some for sale on Amazon, including one by Educational Insights.

7. Visit a Farmer's Market

I loved visiting the Farmer's Market with my 1st grade class. I haven't done it with 3rd graders, but I may need to consider it. It's wonderful for spring! We would prepare questions ahead of time for them to ask the vendors. 

8. Learn about Nutrition

Teaching kids about nutrition is so important. I have several resources in my Teachers Pay Teachers store that I created to help my kids learn the basic food groups and learn about the My Plate program developed by the US government. Many resources still have the Food Pyramid even though it was replaced in 2011. 

Here is a link to my Food Group Unit. I also have a few Nutrition games that are fun for review.

Thanks for reading! Have a great week!