Outdoor Activities for all Spring & Summer Long!
Whether we like it or not, nature and outdoor play have a very enticing competitor in modern society. Technology.
From the excitement of the newest toy being “unboxed” by their favorite Youtube star to the newest Minecraft mod on their Kindle. My kids are so drawn to computers and tablets and TVs, it can be a struggle to lure them away for some outdoor play.
But we all know spending time outside is so important for children. Cardiovascular systems and gross motor skills are strengthened through active physical play in vast outdoor spaces. Curiosity and creativity are fostered through exploring nature while playing outside. An appreciation for the Earth and it’s environment grows from exposure to the wonders our outdoor world. Even Vitamin D is absorbed from the warm sunshine. The list of benefits is endless!
Since I know how hard it can be to entice kids to get outside and play, I’ve asked my fellow blogging mamas to share their favorite outdoor activities for kids. Let’s see what they have to share…
This post contains affiliate links. Which just means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I will receive a small percentage of the sale – without your price being any higher! Thank you for your continued support. For more information, see my disclosure policy.
24 Awesome but Easy Outdoor Activities to Lure Kids from Tech
1. Go Off the Beaten Path
“We love finding and exploring new parks and trails in our area. I try to alternate visits to places with more natural playscapes with places that have traditional playground equipment. I want my children to have memories of playing hide and seek in the trees and fishing for crawdads in the creek, just like I did when I was little!” Stephanie of Twodaloo
2. Have a Playdate at the Park
“If you have your playdate in a park or wood it means you are on neutral ground. Neither you nor your parenting friends needs to play by each other’s rules. This takes some of the pressure off you and your children.” The Monko of Taming the Goblin
[Tweet “TIP: Meet at the park for an outdoor playdate – it’s ‘neutral’ ground for everyone.”]
3. Build Blanket Forts
“We love picnics and building blanket forts in the backyard.” Stephanie of Twodaloo
4. Build a “Beaver Dam”
“JDaniel loves to collect sticks and put them around a clump of bushes in our backyard. It is his ‘beaver dam.'” Deirdre of JDaniel4’s Mom
5. Take Photographs or Draw Pictures
“We love walks & hiking, parks, nature trails, and drawing or taking pictures of what we see.” Karyn of Teach Beside Me
6. Ride As a Family
“Both of our kids have several riding toys
, including a balance bike
, a scooter
, and a plasma car
. My husband and I decided we wanted to join in the fun so we ended up getting ourselves scooters so we could zoom up and down the driveway with the kids. My husband and I have so much fun in the afternoons zipping around on our scooters while the kids ride around. It truly makes us feel like we are young kids again and our kids love that mommy and daddy also ride scooters with them.” Katie of Gift of Curiosity
7. Make a “Machine Park”
“My son has a ‘machine park’ in our backyard – a patch of dirt where he plays with his cars and trucks
. He can stay there for hours!” Leanna of All Done Monkey
8. Dig in Some Cloud Dough
“We love anything you can use a truck to dig
with. Cloud dough is always a hit.” Jaime of Frogs & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails
9. Engage in Sensory Play
“In addition to the usual outdoor activities (running, swings, etc.), my kiddo loves digging in the dirt, making dams, and anything involving sensory play outside!” Mary Catherine of Fun-A-Day!
10. Play with Water
“A large plastic bin of water with cups keeps my 2-year-old busy for hours!” Amanda of Dirt and Boogers
11. Make a Nature Collection
“We do a lot of nature collections – my kids love rocks, sticks, leaves, bugs, flowers, feathers, etc. They always seem to be collecting them!” Karyn of Teach Beside Me
[Tweet “TIP: Go on nature hunts for “nature collections” with the kids!”]
12. Build Fairy Houses
“Building fairy houses and villages is a favorite, along with running in the sprinkler
, gardening, and our sandbox.
“ MaryAnne of Mama Smiles
13. Use Sidewalk Chalk for Learning
“I try to incorporate learning into [outdoor play] when I can, like in this sight word sidewalk chalk activity.” Becky of This Reading Mama
14. Learn Letters
“One of our Christmas Countdown activities was to play a letter game using chalk in our driveway.” Amy of Z is for Zel
15. Explore Activities with Rocks
“Rocks. It doesn’t matter how many exciting toys we have outside my son is always drawn to rocks. Here are ten things we like to do with rocks.” Melanie of Raise a Boy
16. Have a Kiddie Car Wash
“In the summer, we do lots of water play like with our Kiddie Car Wash.” Sara of Mom Endeavors
17. Have a Paper Plane Flying Party
“[We had an outside] paper planes party. The boys made paper planes
, and then had competitions flying them.” Tonya of The Crafty Mummy
18. Have Nature School
“We love being outside for school. Often, when it is nice, we go outside, spread out our blanket and do school in the back yard. We also take lots of field trips that include nature explorations.” Karyn of Teach Beside Me
19. Take Sunday Walks
“Starting when I was little, my mom always had us go on walks as a family. As we grew up, the Sunday Walk was a tradition that we didn’t let go no matter how busy the rest of the week was for all of us. We were out together and talking with each other. Now that I’m a mom, we go on walks as a family almost every day. I hope it continues so that when my boys are teenagers I get to chat with them on Sunday Walks as well.” Sheila of Pennies of Time
[Tweet “TIP: Make “Sunday Walks” as a family a tradition!”]
20. Do Mommy & Me Workouts
“We’ve been getting a little adventurous and have been doing some Mommy and Me Workouts together. It’s been so much fun to be playful with the kids and get fit at the same time.” Kim of The Educators’ Spin On It
21. Explore Nature in the Winter, Too
“Almost anything you do outside in the summer, you can do in the winter. And with the leaves gone, you often have a better view.” Erin of The Usual Mayhem
22. Garden
“Gardening brings Amanda’s family outdoors and eating healthy! Each week I love reading what they are up to and how much it’s inspired me to jump into our garden and experiment.” Kim of The Educators’ Spin On It
23. Share Family Time
“I’ve learned, that my kids don’t really care what we are doing, so long as the entire family is doing it [outside] together! They will walk around the neighborhood, read on a blanket in the yard, swing, or run around in circles – loving every minute!” MaryAnne of Mama Smiles
24. Use Your Imagination!
“Froggie jumps over soccer cones
, playgrounds, running through piles of leaves, walking through a ladder on the ground, looking for airplanes and birds in the sky, looking for good sticks, making those good sticks into walking sticks or swords, climbing hills (Zel calls them all ‘volcanos’) to name a few things.” Amy of Z is for Zel
More Outdoor Activities for Kids:
This post contains affiliate links. Which just means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I will receive a small percentage of the sale – without your price being any higher! Thank you for your continued support. For more information, see my disclosure policy.
Ashley says
These are just awesome! We would love doing all of them in summer.