Leap Day Activities for Kids

Leap day, that extra day added to February 29 every four years, exists for a very important reason: to keep our calendar in sync with Earth’s actual orbit around the Sun.

A year isn’t exactly 365 days long. It takes Earth roughly 365.2422 days to complete one revolution around the sun. That extra 0.2422 days might seem tiny, but over time, it adds up. If we didn’t account for it, our calendar would slowly drift out of sync with the seasons.

But the good news is that extra day gives us something fun to celebrate! Leap Day activities often have to do with frogs, as you’ll see below, but you don’t have to include frog themed things if you don’t want to. Let’s check out some fun Leap Day activities for kids.

The teacher behind Tejeda’s Tots is actually a leap day baby, so reading about what she does in the classroom (post includes links to paid resources) is a lot of fun. Ask your kids what day you think leap day babies should celebrate their birthdays and see if you get different answers.

Mama’s Learning Corner has a printable leap day unit study activity book that works for elementary school kids. It includes information on why we have leap year and how cultures have dealt with time through history. You can download a personal copy free when you sign up for emails, or buy a license for classroom use.

Teach Beside Me also has a little printable book about leap year and why we need that extra day.

Woo Jr. has some printable leap year activities including mazes and a word search, as well as a collection of frog coloring pages, a tracing page and other crafts.

If you want to go all in on frog things, try making a paper plate frog (Our Kid Things), a frog fly catch game (Toucan Box) or try your hand at making origami jumping frogs (Origami Fun).

If it’s warm where you live or you have space for jumping inside, you can have a long jumping contest, play leap frog or hopscotch. Spend some time in math counting to 29 or doing math problems that add up to 29. Do some leap year STEM with Science Schoolyard. And don’t forget to read a leap year book like Leap’s Day or tell some leap year jokes!

Last month I shared a collection of beach crafts that used items from the beach like seashells and sand. This month’s collection is all about beach animals and things you might see at the beach that don’t require beachy materials to make. In fact you’ve probably got what you need to make most of these beach crafts in your house already.

How about paper plates? With a paper plate you can make this cute watercolor seashell from The Educator’s Spin on It, or an adorable seagull like this one from Glued to My Crafts.

Add some white beans and you can make paper plate sand dollars like Crafts by Amanda. Or use a paper plate as a frame for a sweet beach scene like this crab and turtle one from Artsy Craftsy Mom, which includes a downloadable template and instructions to make it super easy.

Or grab a paper plate and some bubble wrap to make a jellyfish like this one from Happy Toddler Playtime. If you have paper bowls instead of plates, you can also make a jellyfish from one of those, like Natural Beach Living did.

Use your stash of craft sticks and googly eyes to make crabs, fish, sharks and more with this craft idea from The Keeper of the Cheerios.

I love this little crab made with a cardboard tube from Hunny I’m Home. With this same idea I’ll bet you could make lots of different creatures.

Grab some construction paper to make the loopy tentacles on this watercolor jellyfish from Craftsy Hacks. Or make a stained glass jellyfish like this one from Life Anchored.

Make easy puffy paint to make these fun fluffy starfish from I Heart Crafty Things, or use cupcake liners to make cute little crabs (also from I Heart Crafty Things).

Turn an old pool noodle into some super cute fish with this tutorial from Happy Toddler Playtime.

And if you’ve got some leftover yarn lying around, make pompoms and turn them into turtles like these from Craftsy Hacks. (And check out my post on different ways to make pompoms if you need a refresher!)

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