63 Fun Things to Do Outside With Kids
Here's a huge collection of fun things to do outside with kids! We're gathering a growing list of parents' favorite outdoor activities, games and ways to use your outdoor toys to encourage kids to put down the screens and enjoy Mother Nature. So slather on that sunscreen and head out to try any of these backyard fun ideas for kids and families!
How do you like to encourage your kids to enjoy the outdoors? Add your favorite ideas to the list!
Run Through Sprinklers
Shila: Whether it's a planned outdoor activity on a hot day or you're just watering your lawn anyway, invite your kids to come outside and run through the sprinklers!
Outdoor Obstacle Course
Shila: Kids looking for an active (and creative!) outdoor activity can make their very own "American Ninja Warrior" obstacle course using any safe objects they can find. They can challenge themselves to hop through old tires, race around cones, walk the tight-wire across a broom - the opportunities for creativity are limitless!
Outdoor Movie Night
Marcia Alvarez Delgado: You can enjoy an outdoor movie night with a projector.
DIY Water Slide
Shila: If splashing in the slip and slide was one of your favorite backyard activities growing up, it’s an easy one to recreate for your own kids. You can purchase a plastic tarp from your local home improvement store and lay it sloped in your yard. Add some dish soap and turn on the sprinklers for a DIY slip and slide!
Water Balloon Fight
Shila: Fill up some water balloons and you know the rest! An alternative to water balloons can be to use soaked sponges. Try cutting sponges into strips about 1/2-1 inch wide and 3-4 inches long, then tying a few strips together around the middle longwise and fanning them out for a reusable “water bomb.”
Nature Scavenger Hunt
Shila: Encourage your children to discover the many odds and ends hiding in nature. From "a rock shaped like an oval" to "a bird's nest," choose from a variety of printables online or create your own for an engaging outdoor activity kids will love.
Blow Bubbles
Shila: Kids love bubbles! Younger kids may need assistance, but it's an outdoor activity parents can always do while sitting on lawn chairs. ;) There are also outdoor bubble machines for purchase, as well as kid-friendly bubble guns.
Sundial Clock
Shila: An easy DIY sundial clock can be a "full day" outdoor activity and science experiment for kids! Learn to tell time using the sun and a few common household objects. From Scientific American
Make a Fairy Garden or Dinosaur Land
Shila: Using any miniature toys you wish, create a shoebox-sized habitat outside and let your imagination go wild. Typically these are semi-permanent outdoor displays, so be sure to use toys that you don't mind staying dirty.
Wash Your Car or Bikes
Shila: Soak some suds in a bucket and get to washing your bikes (or the family car). Turn the kids' chores into fun things to do outside!
Paint Yourself
Shila: On a hot day, strap on the bathing suits and use water colors or DIY finger paint to paint yourselves and each other. Hose off and repeat!
Squirt Gun Target Practice
Shila: Playing with water on a hot day is the height of outdoor fun! In addition to squirting each other with water toys, kids can also set up target practice with random stacked objects, such a plastic cups.
Texture Rubbings
Shila: Bring easy arts and crafts outside with crayons, paper - and nature! Find any object with interesting texture, such a a leaf or a few blades of grass, and cover it with paper. Lightly rub your crayon over the paper to reveal the textured and traced effect of the objects.
Stare at the Clouds
Shila: Lay out a blanket under some shade, stare at the passing clouds and guess what they resemble. "Look! That one looks like ___!"
Sidewalk Chalk
Shila: One of the best ways to encourage outdoor time with kids is to play with sidewalk chalk! Buy some or make your own and use it to trace your shadow, make Picasso art, draw hopscotch, write inspirational messages to neighbors, etc.
Primary photo: Phil Goodwin on Unsplash
Upparent collects community-submitted recommendations and reviews, and any ideas that are shared reflect the opinions of individual contributors.
