We are all going stir crazy, so now that I'm thinking about things to do in March, my main criterion is "Must Be Outside."

Fortunately, it seems everyone else feels this way too, and there are a lot of outdoor activity options that are family-friendly next month. 

The county parks association where I live is sponsoring numerous nature activities, including nature walks, spring peeper spotting, bluebird box-building, and park clean-ups.  Most of these are for ages 6 and up, but we'll be attending "Lessons from the Lorax," in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2.

St. Patrick's Day Parades are fun for kids of all ages - if your community has an Irish heritage, wear the green and take to the streets for pipes and drums!

And those aren't the only parades - many communities still do Easter Parades, with bonnets and baskets and bunnies.

Maybe next year we'll be able to participate in the White House Egg Roll, but this year we will dye our own eggs and participate in the community egg hunt on the grounds of a local historic mansion.  Check your local parks - I found about 15 egg hunts in our area.

If you are at all able to make it to DC at the end of the month, the National Cherry Blossom Festival starts on March 29, and as always, it kicks off with the Smithsonian Kite Festival.  Kids from 1 to 100 are amazed and delighted at the beauty and speed of the kites, and there are far more activities than you can hope to do.  The cherry blossom festival draws large crowds, but nothing is quite so beautifully "outside" as the pink and white masses of flowers next to the Tidal Basin, and the green grass of The Mall under a crystal blue sky.