Inspired by Elizabeth O’Neal’s May “Spring Fever” Genealogy Blog Party, I decided that we could all use a few spring story prompts to get our creative juices churning, blogger or not. (If you are a blogger, however, please play along!)

Use one (or more!) of the prompts below to describe a personal memory or family story.

Alternatively, you can use them as brainstorming sparks. Pick a topic and jot down key words for all the memories and stories that come to mind. Of course, I hope you come back to write a few of those stories.

Spring Story Prompts and Brainstorming Sparks

Which of these resonate with you? What family stories come to mind?

Springtime

1. Favorite spring memories growing up
2. What Spring was like for you as a child (include location and time period)
3. Signs of spring (now or any other time period)
4. Spring planting on farm
5. The gardener in your life or a gardener ancestor
6. Spring snowstorms, floods, or other weather events
7. Rainy days in spring
8. Bird or animal rescues
9. Spring chores
10. Spring joys
11. Hobbies you enjoy (or enjoyed) in spring
12. Spring sports (whether it’s playing them or schlepping kids to them or sitting through them–See also Remembering Sports Traditions and Sports Memories: Ideas that Win)

Spring Memories – Formative memories around spring

13. Your hometown in the springtime
14. Last day of school
15. Animal births or animal sightings
16. A spring dance
17. Spring fever – a literal illness or how spring inspired you
18. Spring break, a great spring trip, or vacation tradition
19. A spring illness or springtime injuries
20. Favorite spring pastime
21. Favorite games or activities with siblings and/or friends
22. A spring day you remember and why
23. A death in the family in spring
24. Spring cooking
25. Spring cleaning

Holidays (U.S. Version. Substitute Spring holidays where you live)

26. Mother’s Day memories
27. Memorial Day memories
28. Easter memories
29. Passover memories
30. Patrick’s Day memories
31. April Fool’s memories or pranks

New Beginnings

32. Baby animal sightings
33. Moving to a new place
34. Being the new kid in school, at work, or elsewhere
35. Spring romance
36. Spring weddings
37. Graduations

Introspective Spring Story Prompts

38. What does spring mean to you?
39. What does spring symbolize for you?
40. How spring was different as a child versus an adult
41. Worst spring ever
42. Best spring ever
43. The springtime story that’s the hardest to tell
44. Look at a famous piece of art which portrays springtime (examples from the Detroit Institute of Art can be viewed here). How do they reflect your experience of spring? How are they different?

Bonus Spring Story Prompt

45.  Look back at photos you’ve taken during springtime. What stories do they tell? Why was that day important?

Your Turn

What spring stories are important to your family story? Which ones do you yearn to tell? Which ones are hard to put to paper?

All photos © Laura Hedgecock, used with permission.