Outdoor Kids

Outdoor Kids
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I don’t know about you, but some of my favorite memories as a kid were made by playing outside! These outdoor activities for kids are perfect for backyard play, a party, or even a school event!
Inside this article, you’ll find learning, art, active and water game outdoor activity ideas for you to do with your kids!
Let’s dive into my 42 FUN Outdoor Activities for Kids.
Scavenger hunts are the best outdoor activities for kids!
It’s so fun during the spring and summertime to get outside and look for the beautiful colors!
Create a rainbow shape using a pencil on a piece of cardboard then, cut it out using box cutter!
Use acrylic paint to paint the colors of the rainbow or colors that you want to search for (you see I’m missing blue and added pink and brown).
Clip the clothespins on the board so the objects will be secured there!
Go outside and start searching for some different colors! I ended up taking the kids to the Metroparks to find some different colored objects. We didn’t have a bunch in our own yard, and it makes for a fun field trip outdoors!
Want to teach your kiddo how to tell the time in an interactive and fun way?
Create this simple hula hoop clock activity! It’s such a simple set-up, and it’ll have your kids excited to learn about the clock.
Write the numbers of the clock on the inside of the hula hoop with the sidewalk chalk.
On the outside of the hula hoop, write the minutes next to each number to learn that concept.
Place the two sticks in a position for the kids to be able to tell the time! I suggest starting with easier times like 1:00, 2:00, etc.
You can challenge older kids by asking them harder times like 3:30, 10:45, or 6:15.
This water-play alphabet match activity will have your kids excited to practice the alphabet!
I love using sidewalk chalk for activities; it couldn’t be easier to set up!
Fill the large container up with water and place the letters in the water. Then, write the letters of the alphabet using sidewalk chalk.
Younger kids can search through the water and match the foam/plastic letters on the correct letter written in sidewalk chalk.
Challenge older kids to find specific letters and say the sound they make to work on phonics skills with them!
This can also turn into a reading game by having your older kids work on creating words. Just write the letters of the word in sidewalk chalk instead!
Don’t have any letters? This is another simple way you can practice the alphabet!
This activity is easy to pull off and is effective. These types of activities are my favorite kind! Plus, they are perfect even for the busiest of parents.
Write down upper case letters on one side and lower case letters on the opposite side.
Have your child use a piece of sidewalk chalk to match the upper case and lower case letters!
Have an older one who wants to join in? Challenge them to write the letters, then match them!
Bringing in some squirt guns is SURE to be a major hit!
My kids are instantly engaged when I bring these out for a learning activity.
Write some sight words on your driveway or sidewalk. I like to use a variety of different colors!
Ask your child to find a specific word, and they will use to water gun to squirt that word!
They will be SO excited to do this activity! You may even need to add a few new words to the list because they love it so much!
Color hop is an active game for kids to practice color recognition!
This outdoor activity is PERFECT for toddlers and preschoolers. Involving some movement in learning makes it more memorable for them.
With sidewalk chalk, create several circles in a circular formation with different colors that you want to practice with your little one.
Ask them to hop to a specific color. Once they get on that color, have them say what color it is, then ask them to hop over to the next color.
When practicing hopping skills, give them a tip to hop with both feet together like a bunny.
Have an older one you want to challenge? Try to do different locomotor activities for each color (skipping, galloping, leaping, walking, running, and side-sliding).
One fun fact about me is that I am a physical education teacher! I have been for ten years now. So, I love coming up with learning activities that can get my kids moving.
Teaching your little ones how to do locomotor movements will get them prepared for PE and sports.
Draw several shapes that you want to work on with your little one on the sidewalk or your driveway.
Ask them to perform a specific locomotor activity for each shape! Examples of locomotor movements are skipping, leaping, galloping, sliding, walking, and running!
By asking them to perform the movement to each shape, they will work on shape recognition and active movements that are important for their well-being and coordination!
Learning that involves water balloons? Sign me up!
This is sure to be an instant outdoor activity for your kids that they will LOVE!
Fill the water balloons up with water and, with a sharpie, write a bunch of different addition equations on the balloons.
With sidewalk chalk, write the answer to the problems you created. For example, if you wrote 3+1 on a balloon, you’d create a circle with the number 4 in it.
Your kids will read the problem on each balloon and throw the balloon at the circle they believe is the solution to the math problem!
My kids love to search for objects in nature. They have their little collections of things they find, which are so cute.
I gave them the task of finding some things in our backyard that are different sizes!
Gather a bunch of different nature materials and place them out on your driveway or sidewalk.
Place all of the materials next to each other so it’s easy for your kids to see the different lengths of each item.
Challenge them to place the items in order from the shortest to the longest. For little ones, just grab 3-4 things to start; you can always grab more! Older kids can grab as many as they’d like!
This outdoor activity for kids is fun for them and a way for you to get some learning in! It’s a win-win.
Plus, they also get to work on their aiming skills!
On white labels, write some reading words that you want to work on with your little one. I chose to do some rhyming words to work on reading and rhyming at the same time!
Place the labels on the cups and place them face down on a flat surface outdoors. Leave a little room in-between each cup so it’ll be easy for them to hit a specific cup.
4. Ask them to find a word, and they will aim their squirt gun at it and shoot the water at the cup they believe is the word. The cup will get knocked over, and they will get so excited!
5. Do this for each cup! It may be such a hit that you may have to do it over and over again.
Want to win the best parent of the day award?
Try this DIY ice chalk activity with your kids! This is the perfect summer activity for kids!
Use a cheese grater to make the sidewalk into a powder form. Use about half a piece of sidewalk chalk of all the colors you want to do. Dump that into a measuring cup.
Add in 2 tablespoons of corn starch and 4 tablespoons of water. Mix with a spoon!
If you use half of a piece of chalk, this will fill about 2 sections of the ice tray. Do this process for each color you want to use!
I placed half of a popsicle stick in each ice tray container, so it’s easier for the kids to hold onto, and it’s not as messy on their hands!
Pop in the freezer and use it when you want!
I don’t think I have met one child who doesn’t love bubbles!
Creating popped bubble art is fun for kids of all ages! Adding color into bubbles makes them even better!
In a bowl, fill it 1/2 full with bubble solution. Then, add around 5-7 drops of food coloring in each bowl for each color. Mix it well!
Dip the bubble wand in the mixed-up solution and blow bubbles onto the cardstock paper!
Add a little learning into the mix by talking about what colors you can mix to create a new color! For example, red and blue make purple. Let your kids get creative by trying to mix colors.
Looking for a fun new way to paint with your kids? They will love using a squirt gun to paint and create a masterpiece!
I was shocked at how much my kids liked this outdoor activity. It’s something we do now every summer.
Put the liquid watercolors in each squirt gun! I used 4 squirt guns with different colors inside.
Let the kids spray away! Easy as that. They will LOVE seeing the colors appear and drip down the canvas!
Painting with different types of materials in nature will be exciting for your kids.
It’s such a cool way to explore the textures of nature while painting!
Gather all the materials you want in nature. Try to grab a variety of textures, sizes, and patterns.
Tape down the piece of paper on a flat surface outdoors. Put some paint on the paper or in a paint tray.
Let your little ones go to work! First, let them explore the objects you gathered, dip them in paint and use them to mark the paper. Then, talk about the textures of the objects (smooth, rough, bumpy, etc.).
Want a simple and fun outdoor art activity? Tree bark rubbing is a different way to create art, and your kids will love trying something new!
I always look for ways to try new things, and this was a major hit with both my kids!
Tape the piece of paper onto a tree and have all your art supplies ready for your child to start drawing.
With crayons/markers, have your child draw on the piece of paper to create markings. You kids can create as many markings as they want! It’ll be fun for them to try different colors and explore the texture of the tree bark.
This was the biggest hit with my kids! The anticipation of waiting for the explosions is the best!
Don’t worry; it’s not a real explosion :). Just an explosion of color on the paper!
Fill up each film canister 1/2 way with different washable paint.
Add in 1/2 of an Alka-Seltzer tablet to each of the film canisters. Put the top on each one and flip it upside down with the lid facing down on the paper.
Wait for it to explode! This is the best part 🙂 The kids will LOVE watching it shoot up in the air!
Check out the fantastic marks it leaves on the paper.
Want to WOW your kids? Try doing a shadow drawing activity with them!
This activity works the best around 4 pm with the sunlight!
On a flat surface outside, place a piece of construction paper on an art tray.
Place the object at the edge of the paper facing the sunlight, casting a shadow on the paper.
Let your kids go to work tracing the object on the paper! Give them some art supplies like colored pencils, crayons, and markers to color it in once they traced the object’s outline.
This is a classic game that never gets old! It can even be done with 2 people!
Tug-O-War is the perfect game to add to your outdoor game list!
Ultimate frisbee was a fan favorite of my students when I was teaching! It’s a competitive and fast-moving game.
I love that it’s constantly changing sides, so the kids have to pay attention at all times!
Pin knock-over is a great aiming game for kids! They get to work on their throwing and rolling skills as well.
This can be done as an indoor or outdoor game!
I recently played capture the flag with my nephew and his friends at his 8th birthday party, and they had SO much fun!
They actually didn’t want to stop playing! They would have played the entire party, I think.
Outdoor obstacle courses are fun and easy to set up!
I love that they can be done over and over again too! The kids can even get timed to try to beat their score.
I remember one of my favorite esports growing up was softball. So doing a softball throw at field day was one of the things that I looked forward to!
This is the easiest outdoor game set-up there is, which is always a win!
This is another great sports competition that you can include on your outdoor game list!
Basketball activities are always a hit with kids and adults!
At my school, the track and field events are the biggest part of our field day.
Some of these can’t be recreated at home, so this one is more for the teachers that can use the school facilities!
Bench ball is perfect because it’s cooperative but also competitive!
It works on throwing, catching, defensive skills, strategy, and communication!
Sharks and minnows is a fan favorite by ALL the kids! Whenever there was a free choice day in class, this was always one of the choices the kids wanted!
If you have a group of kids at the house for a play date or a party, this is great to get the kids outside and have some fun.
Anyone else’s kids love to hit stuff?
I always tell my little guy not to hit the wall with toys or slam things to the floor.
Pool noodle hockey is an excellent way for kids to get their energy out and hit things without causing any problems! It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
Set 2 goals up across from each other by bending them to look like an arch. To do this, place yard stakes in the ground a few feet apart from each other.
Adults should do this next part! With a knife, cut a pool noodle in half, so it’s easier for your kids to use it as a hockey stick.
With a beach ball, the kids can try to hit the ball with the pool noodle to score in their goal! You can keep track of points, or you can just play for fun.
This game is great for hand-eye coordination, striking and aiming skills!
Keep it up is a great activity to work on hand-eye coordination skills as well as volleying!
Plus, it’s super simple to pull off, and your kids will love trying to beat their score.
Have your child toss the ball up in the air with both their hands. Kids can use their hands, arms, legs, and feet even head to keep the ball up!
Get some learning in by keeping count (or you can) to see how many times they can do volley it up to themselves. Then, they can try over and over again to beat their score.
If they are struggling or you want to help them get a higher score, you can join in on the fun and have this be a two-player game, or even involve the whole family to see how many you can get as a group!
This is such a fun and simple activity to do as a family! It’s perfect for summertime for a family get-together!
Place the buckets a few about 30 steps apart from each other. Fill two of the buckets with water and leave two empty. Place a piece of painter’s tape inside the bucket about 1/3 of the way up so the kids know where they need to fill it up with water.
The players will start behind each bucket. The first person in line will be given a sponge.
On the GO signal, they will dip their sponge into the bucket of water.
They will run that sponge down to the empty bucket and squeeze the sponge so the water comes out of it. Once all the water is gone, they will run it back and give it to the next person to do the same thing. If there is no one else on their team, they will repeat this process over and over again!
The first team to get the water to reach the line is the winner!
Scavenger hunts are one of my favorite things to do outside! It keeps the kids moving and excited to find the next thing.
We like to do these scavenger hunts when we are on a hike in the woods!
Print off the worksheets and grab something for your child to be able to mark what they found. I also suggest having a clipboard to make it easier to carry around and write on.
Walk around your yard or a park to find each thing on the list! Even if they don’t see everything the first time out, keep the worksheet so you can take it out to try to find the rest on the next outing.
This relay is SO much fun, and it’s super simple to pull off.
You only need two people to play! But this game could be played with a lot of people too.
With the yard spray paint (which is entirely safe to use and comes right off), make lines to create a tic-tac-toe board.
One person or team will have 3 objects, and the other team will have another set of 3 objects that are different (see picture above).
Create a starting line with cones or even the yard spray paint.
On the GO signal, the first person from each team will run to the tic-tac-toe board and place one of their objects in a space. They will then run back and either tag the next person in line or if there are only 2 people playing against each other, they will pick up the next object and run back to the board.
Play goes on until one person gets three in a row. You can do this up or down, side to side, or diagonally.
If all players have all their objects on the board and there is no winner, it’s a tie, and you can start over.
Spoon relays are perfect for an outdoor event or just for some backyard family fun.
Kids and adults will all LOVE sponge tag!
It’s the perfect game to stay cool on a hot day, and it’s a fast-moving game to keep everyone engaged!
Teamwork and water?! Sounds pretty awesome to me.
The parachute is always a supply the kids go crazy for! This water activity may be one of their new favorites.
Beach ball blaster is sure to be a hit! It’s great for some outdoor family time!
This is also a great one to use on field day or for some end-of-year classroom fun!
This is such a fun spin on the classic hot potato game!
It’s wonderful for some an outdoor game for kids and families.
Want the kids to get soaked? Cup to cup is the BEST game!
It’s such an easy outdoor game set-up too, which I always appreciate!
Baseball is one of my favorite outdoor games to play with the kids. It reminds me of my childhood!
This is a fun twist to the game that kids will LOVE!
Believe it or not, kids still love Duck Duck Goose!
I’m happy they do because it’s such a simple and fun game!
You can do an outdoor STEM game with your kids that involves water guns? Sign me up!
Kids will love the building aspect of this game as well as knocking their buildings down!
I’m going to end the article with a classic outdoor game for kids.
A water balloon toss is never a bad choice when you are picking some fun outdoor activities.
Planning some engaging outdoor activities for kids is fun for the entire family!
These games/activities are perfect for some backyard family time or even a family/classroom party.
Do you have any outdoor activities/games that you like to do with your family outside that I didn’t mention? Please let our community know about them! We would all benefit from your ideas!

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