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If the words \u2018I\u2019m bored\u2019 make you cringe, this list of fun Outdoor Activities for Kids<\/strong> is your solution for getting your kids outdoors, moving their bodies, and having fun in the sunshine! Scroll for my free printable<\/strong> with all 75 kids outdoor activities. <\/p>\n\n
Why is Outdoor Play Important?<\/span><\/h2>\nWhen the weather is nice, it should be easy to get your kids to go outside to play. Right?\u00a0But kids can be surprisingly reluctant to skip out the door for playtime<\/strong>. <\/p>\nMany kids in the upcoming generation are replacing outdoor play with indoor, sedentary activities like iPad games, texting, or social media.\u00a0They\u2019re also more involved in knowledge-based downtime like homework and studying than kids from past generations.<\/p>\n
Studies have shown that kids who spend more time outside might be happier and more relaxed.\u00a0<\/strong>Time outdoors can even improve short-term memory, concentration and cognitive skills. (It\u2019s almost like nature makes us smarter\u2026 amazing!)<\/p>\n75 Fun Outdoor Activities for Kids<\/span><\/h2>\n\nGo on a bug hunt. <\/strong>Give your kids a container and have them collect different kinds of bugs. Or print a picture list of bugs and have them identify bugs and mark them off the list. <\/li>\nTurn your yard into an obstacle course.<\/strong> Use cones, sticks, a hula hoop, and other items from your garage or backyard to create fun obstacles.<\/li>\nOrganize an outdoor playdate.\u00a0<\/strong> It is always more fun when your kids have friends to play with and they are most likely to want to stay outside longer.<\/li>\nLet your kids plant a mini-garden.\u00a0<\/strong> If they are in charge of it, then they will have to go outside to water, weed and watch over it.<\/li>\nHelp your kids built a fort outside with a rope and an old sheet.<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0Suggest other items that might be fun for them to use on their fort.<\/li>\nGo for regular walks, bike rides or runs as a family.\u00a0<\/strong> Many urban communities have trails and bike paths through parks, riverways or lakefronts.<\/li>\nHave a picnic lunch at the playground or park.<\/strong><\/li>\nCreate an outdoor scavenger hunt where your kids collect items from nature.<\/strong><\/li>\nTry geocaching.<\/strong> If you have never heard of it, geocaching is a real outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices.\u00a0 You navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache hidden at that location.\u00a0 This is a great guide to get you started.<\/li>\nMake a bucket list of different parks you want to try and visit.<\/strong><\/li>\nBlow gigantic bubbles.<\/strong> Fill up a sheet pan with a bubble mixture and dip an over-sized wand\u00a0to see who can blow the biggest bubble.<\/li>\nPlay with water.<\/strong>\u00a0Kids will jump at the chance to go outside and splash in water.\u00a0There are lots of creative ways to do it: wash the car, water the garden, run through sprinklers, go down slip-n-slide, jump in blow up pool, or build a water table.<\/li>\nTry a new sport.<\/strong>\u00a0Sometimes a friendly game of dodgeball, wiffle ball, or soccer is a great way to get kids to enjoy playing outside.<\/li>\nMake Sidewalk Art.<\/strong>\u00a0Give your kids a big bucket of sidewalk chalk and let them go to town. Give them some ideas with printed photos, or even stencils to color with.<\/li>\nTake your kids \u2018bouldering.\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0 Kids love to climb on things. Take them somewhere that has rocks available to climb.<\/li>\nEat dinner on your porch, deck or in your backyard.<\/strong><\/li>\nMake a boat to float down a stream.<\/strong>\u00a0Your kids will be eager to test it out, but you will probably have to go on a hike to get to a stream!<\/li>\nCreate challenges for your kids to do outside<\/strong>, like in the TV show \u2018Survivor\u2019.\u00a0 This is even more fun if there is a prize at the end (one on one time with Mom or Dad, a night off of helping clean the kitchen, etc.)<\/li>\nUse an outdoor toy rotation strategy.\u00a0<\/strong>Kids are lot more excited to play with toys they haven\u2019t seen in a while or can\u2019t access.\u00a0Divide your outdoor toys into 3 bins, and have one big bucket of toys out at a time.\u00a0This might include bubbles, balls, kites, jump ropes, skateboards, sports equipment, and water squirters.<\/li>\nMake an outdoor activity jar.<\/strong>\u00a0This helps with kids who have a hard time thinking of things to do, or making decisions. Write different activities on popsicle sticks.\u00a0Let your kids choose an activity and then head outside.\u00a0Make the activities easy to act on \u2013 go to the park for 15 minutes, water the plants, set up a water shooting range, pick a dandelion bouquet, draw something with sidewalk chalk.\u00a0There are so many fun ideas!<\/li>\nDo your normal everyday activities outside.<\/strong>\u00a0Do homework, eat meals, craft, read books, or play games all outside!\u00a0Even if you don\u2019t have a formal outdoor living space, find some shade and throw down a blanket!<\/li>\nOutside art projects.\u00a0<\/strong>If you are tired of your kids projects making a mess in your house, then bring them outside!\u00a0A few fun ideas: a playdough picnic, where you let your kids make pretend food out of playdough.\u00a0Nature art \u2013 collect leaves, flower, sticks, seeds, and pine cones to make natural artwork. Outdoor painting \u2013 bring an easel and paint out to your backyard so your kids can enjoy painting nature scenes.<\/li>\nStar gaze, or look for shapes in clouds.\u00a0<\/strong>Set up a blanket, binoculars or a telescope and enjoy the sky!<\/li>\nHave a bonfire.<\/strong>\u00a0Make sure you practice good fire safety habits and supervise all campfire activities.\u00a0 But this is a great way to bond with your family, create memories and enjoy the outdoors.<\/li>\nClean up Litter<\/strong>.\u00a0Kids can be surprisingly passionate about caring for mother nature (and proud of their efforts!) You can also make it a game: a mission to save the planet!<\/li>\nFind a local race to participate in.<\/strong>\u00a0Push a jogging stroller if needed for younger kids and run together as a family.<\/li>\nRide scooters, bikes or tricycles.<\/strong>\u00a0Set up a mini race and compete on wheels.<\/li>\nHave your kids pull weeds.\u00a0<\/strong>We pay our kids one penny per weed and it definitely gets them outside in the yard<\/li>\nFind a local \u2018pick your own\u2019 and let your kids pick produce straight from the plant.<\/strong><\/li>\nPlay Bug or Leaf Bingo.<\/strong>\u00a0Find 10 different bugs or leaves and identify them.<\/li>\nPhotograph nature.<\/strong> Let our kids borrow your phone camera and see how many different types of wildlife they can find and photograph.<\/li>\nSidewalk Chalk Games.<\/strong> Here are some really fun ideas to do with sidewalk chalk. <\/li>\nMake a movie<\/strong> in your backyard with your phone camera. <\/li>\nMake paper airplanes<\/strong> and have a contest to see whose plane can fly the furthest. <\/li>\nGather sticks and make a stick raft.<\/strong> Can your kids build a raft that really floats? <\/li>\nMake Sponge Water Bombs<\/strong> and have a water fight. <\/li>\nMake Tie-Dye Shirts.<\/strong> Use old white shirts or buy inexpensive white shirts and tie dye them in your backyard. <\/li>\nPaint Pet Rocks<\/strong> and place them around your yard. <\/li>\nGo fishing. <\/strong><\/li>\nPlay frisbee.<\/strong><\/li>\nHave a campfire and s\u2019mores <\/strong><\/li>\nGo kayaking<\/strong>. You can rent kayaks if you don\u2019t own any and go in a local lake, river or pond. <\/li>\nMake a time capsule and bury it with your kids. <\/strong><\/li>\nGo Camping<\/strong> in the backyard. <\/li>\nRide bikes on a trail. <\/strong><\/li>\nRun through sprinklers. <\/strong><\/li>\nWater balloon fight. <\/strong> <\/li>\nPlay a game of kickball. <\/strong><\/li>\nPlay capture the flag. <\/strong> For older kids, take it to the next level and fill socks with flour and to \u2018tag\u2019 an opponent, you have to tap them with your flour sock. <\/li>\nHave a watermelon seed spitting contest. <\/strong><\/li>\nAttend an outdoor concert. <\/strong><\/li>\nCreate your own lemonade stand. <\/strong> Even if your kids don\u2019t sell much, they will have fun waiting for potential customers outside. <\/li>\nGo ice blocking. <\/strong>You just need a block of ice, towel and a grassy hill. <\/li>\nCreate a backyard spa<\/strong> with a kiddie pool. <\/li>\nMake ice cream in a bag. <\/strong>This is a great recipe and instructions. <\/li>\nSet up a treasure hunt outside. <\/strong><\/li>\nWrite nice messages on neighbors driveways with sidewalk chalk. <\/strong><\/li>\nMake a fairy garden. <\/strong><\/li>\n\u201cCook\u201d with mud. <\/strong> Get some old dishes, pots or pans and let your kids make mud pies. <\/li>\nCreate rock stacks <\/strong>and see how high your kids can stack rocks before they tip over. <\/li>\nMake your own puffy sidewalk paint. <\/strong> Make it with common household items. <\/li>\nMake a frozen ocean<\/strong> and have your kids rescue the ocean animals from the ice. <\/li>\nSet up a scooter\/bike obstacle course. <\/strong> Use small plastic cones or something similar to create a course and have your kids ride their bikes or scooters through it. Time them, and see if they can improve their time each round. <\/li>\nGo bird watching<\/strong> with binoculars. <\/li>\nMake a sandcastle village. <\/strong><\/li>\nDecorate bikes and have your own parade in your neighborhood. <\/strong><\/li>\nSpray bottle water fight. <\/strong> Fill inexpensive spray bottles with water and go crazy! <\/li>\nTry a sidewalk science project. <\/strong> These outdoor science projects are learning and getting outside at the same time!<\/li>\nMake a butterfly feeder<\/strong> and watch for butterflies. <\/li>\nHave a whip cream battle. <\/strong>Give each kid a bottle of spray whip cream and let them battle it out in the backyard. <\/li>\nPlay with an old sheet on a windy day. <\/strong> Let your kids use the sheet as a cape or sail in the wind. <\/li>\nCollect acorns, pinecones, and seed pods<\/strong> and use them to stamp playdough. <\/li>\nBuild a bug hotel <\/strong>and check it for any friendly creatures everyday. <\/li>\nHave a hula hoop contest <\/strong>to see how long you can hold it up for. <\/li>\nPlay jump rope games. <\/strong> All you need is a jump rope and some game ideas.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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