Spring has sprung! So put on your walking shoes, gather up a grandkiddo or two, and hit the road—or sidewalk, as the case may be—for one of these springtime strolls with a goal.

Hey, bud

Signs of spring are bursting forth any direction you look. Point out buds on trees, shrubs, flowers. Maybe draw pictures of favorites or research details on the varieties when your outing's complete.

Penny walk

First, a word of warning: Don't try this not at home, for you just may end up lost if traversing an unfamiliar neighborhood. As you venture off, use a penny toss to determine your route by declaring a toss for heads being a left turn, a toss for tails being right. At each street corner, toss the coin again to decide which way to go. Once you've tossed and turned time and again, you may need to toss once more (or off and on throughout the walk) to decide whether to head back home or continue on.

Oh, baby

There's no shortage of babies in my neighborhood this time of year. Baby squirrels, baby birds, baby deer. Keep your eyes open and tell the kiddos to do the same as you're likely to see a baby of some sort or another while walking and talking and taking in the sites.

Flower pickin'

No, don't really pick the flowers, but have each walker choose a type of spring flower—be it tulip, daffodil, grape hyacinth, lilac, crocus, and such—and keep track of how many are seen along the route. Perhaps come up with a fun treat for the winner of the top flower pick.

Litter pickin'

Forego the flowers and bag the bits of litter found along the way. Be sure to bring trash bags (plastic grocery sacks work fine) and disposable gloves for each walker then deposit bags and gloves directly into your garbage cans upon your return home.

Alphabet walk

Print the alphabet, A to Z, down a piece of paper, then cross off each letter as you see things starting with that letter. A is for airpline, animal, ant. B is for blue sky, bike, buildings. C is for car, cat, cactus. And so forth. With 26 letters to mark off the list, this walk requires plenty of time—and creative thinking for a handful of letters, such as Z, X, K and Q.

Picture this

Budding photographers of all ages will enjoy heading out with camera in hand to capture pics befitting a designated category. Ideal nature themes: leaves, animals, signs of weather (clouds, blowing trees, etc), bugs, awesome trees for climbing, and more.

Do you hear what I hear?

Going for a walk typically means looking about and taking in the sights. Add a twist to your outing by keeping track of all the sounds you hear while out and about, too. With big sounds like trucks, sirens, dogs barking and motorcycles, down to lower volume beauties including wind chimes, bees buzzing and leaves rustling, there's no shortage of audible delights when outdoors.