Betsy of Fluffy Windover's Diary discusses the importance of enjoying the outdoors with your toddler in this week's Toddler Thursday:

Like most toddlers, Edwin loves being outside. And now that the weather is finally warming up, we are moving a lot of our activities outdoors. Here are some ideas to get out there and enjoy the weather with your little one, before the Baltimore humidity strikes!

Have a picnic in your own backyard. Edwin is rarely interested in lunch, but when offered the option of dining al fresco, suddenly he’s ravenously hungry.

Take your craft projects outside. The driveway or front porch is a perfect place to spread out and paint something. It’s so much easier to relax when you know you can literally hose down the mess afterward.

Make a tree rubbing. Use the side of a large crayon and a piece of thin paper to make a rubbing of bark on a tree. But don’t stop there—see how many different patterns your child can make on the paper using different things he finds outside.

Go on a nature scavenger hunt. Give your toddler a bucket and head into the woods. Have him look for specific things like pine cones, small sticks, leaves, and stones. (Edwin likes to collect leaves and small stones to paint when we get home.)

Garden. Getting your yard and garden cleaned up in the spring can seem impossible when you are minding a toddler, but even small children can get to work pulling weeds and digging in the dirt. Edwin loves to “help” us in the yard. We give him a trowel and a spot where he can dig and he’s happy as a clam.

Puddle-jump. Even during a spring shower, you can still enjoy outside time. Edwin loves to splash in puddles, so sometimes if it’s raining we’ll put on rubber boots and head out with an umbrella to find puddles to splash in.

Play hopscotch. Ah, a simple game from a simpler time. I haven’t tried this with Edwin yet, but I suspect even a kid his age would have fun with a modified version. What toddler doesn’t love to jump (and throw a pebble)?

Make a water table. As you may know, water is very big with the toddler set. Fill up a bucket or small kiddie pool with a little water, add some toys and cups and your toddler will be occupied for a good half hour. (Just enough time for you to fix the parts of the garden he just dug up.)

Enjoy the spring!