Leap Day: 9 Awesome Activities Families Can Do To Squeeze The Most Fun Out Of Their Extra Day

There are few things that can make you feel as good as random acts of kindness, whether you're on the giving or the receiving end. And demonstrating performing acts of kindness is a wonderful thing to do with your kids, as it'll show them the joy you get when you help someone out.

There are so many activities that you can do on Leap Day that will gift kindness to someone else:

This idea is super straightforward. If you're planning to get out with your kids today, take them to a park or to your local library. While there, encourage your children to invite a child they don't know to play with them. They'll meet someone new, the child will probably enjoy having new friends to play with, and you never know — a lifelong friendship could be formed!

When my son was young, we loved to feed the birds that visited our various apartments and yards. In fact, we still do! One of the easiest ways to do this is to make your own DIY bird feeder. You can do this with a pine cone, a jar of peanut butter or your own nut butter alternative, and a bag of birdseed. Simply cover the cone with the nut butter, and then roll the whole thing in birdseed. You can hang the feeder or simply set it somewhere you can see outside, and just wait: All of your new feathered friends will descend upon it quickly.

There are several organizations that offer a way for people to write thank you letters to others. One of these is Operation Gratitude, which delivers thank you letters to veterans, troops, new recruits, and more servicepeople. It doesn't take long to have your child write or dictate a letter, and letters are accepted by the organization all year long.

Activities involving STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and STEAM (STEM plus art) are great for families, especially when you find yourself with a few extra hours and you're not sure how to fill them. Sometimes it can seem intimidating to try to engage your children into a new STEM or STEAM activity, but it doesn't have to be! Here are three that are pretty easy to try:

A lot of kids just love measuring things for reasons that mystify me. Luckily, there's one thing that is super easy to measure and also a lot of fun: animal tracks!

If you have pets, you don't even have to leave your home for this one, but you might want to. You could visit a local park and look for tracks from birds and small mammals or visit a larger natural area and see what you can find. Make sure you bring along a ruler or tape measure. You can even use this free printable.

If your kids love magic, this is the Leap Day activity to try! It takes more than 24 hours, so you'll want to get started ASAP and let the activity carry over as needed.

You need only a few things:

• Popsicle sticks/wooden craft sticks
• Water
• A glass

And that’s it! You boil your water, drop the craft sticks in for five minutes, turn off the heat, and soak the sticks for 30 more minutes. Then shape the sticks inside a glass. You’ll want to let the sticks dry inside the glass for 24 hours before you remove them, and then you can decorate. Ta-da!

If your kids are musical and/or they like making noise (so like every kid ever), DIY pan flutes will probably be right up their alley. Here's what you need:

• Card stock
• Scissors
• Double-sided tape
• Plastic straws
• Black marker
• Ruler

You can also use this free printable. The construction itself is pretty straightforward, and you can follow the steps that are listed on Buggy and Buddy.

Of course, many a family day has been happily spent outside in pretty much any capacity. If your kids are very physically active, there are a ton of activities you can do together. If your kids are more chill than not, you can still have a great day outside, rain or shine. In fact, some of our happiest family activities have taken place outside on misty days! Here are a few ideas to try:

My husband read The Hobbit to our son when he was young, around 5 or 6. Our kid loved the book, and it instilled a true love for adventure in him. They spent one misty morning planning their own "attack" on Smaug, the dragon from the book. It was pretty easy: Armed with cardboard swords and DIY cloaks that I had previously made (psst: you could make some in a pinch with a sheet and a clothespin or safety pin), they packed up homemade elven lembas bread (we used this recipe), went to a local park that happened to have a "mountain" (giant hill), and embarked on a journey that somehow lasted hours. Do recommend!

I am not always one for hyperphysical outdoor activities, but I really love spending time by the water. One of my favorite things to do is pack a picnic and some books and take my husband and son to a nearby river, stream, or lake and just kind of laze about. You can bring a blanket, your dog, and whatever snacks you want and spend hours just existing near and around one another. It's a dream.

Listen, making sidewalk chalk drawings is a classic because it's almost always a great way to spend your time. It can be a little messy, but it's amazing how long kids can stay outside armed with nothing more than a few pieces of chalk and their imagination. Also, there's no rule that says adults can't draw with chalk, too, so get out on the driveway or the sidewalk with your kids and have a blast.