Fun outdoor activities for kids?
How do you like to get your kids to play outside? I think we are always looking for more screen-free ideas, and there are plenty of creative yard games and other easy outdoor family activities that can keep them entertained for hours. Answer below to share any fun outdoor activities for kids that your family loves!
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Battle with foam swords or pool noodles. If you have boys close in age you probably know what I mean by "battle." My two boys love battling each other with all sorts of improvised "weapons," and I've learned that limiting them to relatively soft and padded things has minimized injuries while still maximizing their fun. Pool noodles, foam swords, and my own DIY creations made from cardboard and duct tape have proven to be big winners for active fun outside for rambunctious kids who like pretend battles!
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Water painting the driveway or patio is a great use for old paint brushes that are past their prime. Just give the kids a small bucket of water and some paint brushes.
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Wash the car. Really. This has been a favorite outdoor activity for all three of my boys (my daughter didn't care for it quite as much)! It's a great excuse to get wet and play with the hose.
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This is such a fun activity for toddlers, preschoolers and younger kids. It surpised me how much my little ones enjoyed such a simple activity!
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We love sidewalk chalk and keep a stash in the garage even now that my kids are older. It still gets used sometimes!
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Sidewalk chalk offers lots of different ways for kids to have fun outdoors! Use it to make simple drawings, complex mosaics, hopscotch, four square courts, mazes, write kind words to neighbors...endless possibilities!
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A nature scavenger hunt is fun. You just have to get your kids started with a list of things to find (print one online or make your own), and they can take it from there.
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We've done a fun outdoor scavenger hunt variation using old paint swatches from home depot - just find something in nature to match the particular shade of green or blue on your paint sheets!
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Set up a little frisbee golf course in the backyard and use a laundry basket as the target. The player with the fewest tosses to get their frisbee into the basket wins!
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Nothing like playing with squirt guns on a hot day! In addition to squirting each other, kids can set up target practice with random stacked objects, such a plastic cups.
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Collect bugs! Kids can peek under rocks to see what creepy crawlers they can find, and add them to a bug collector to observe for a little while before setting them free.
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A water balloon fight is a must every summer! The bunch-o-balloons water balloons have made the prep for this so much easier.
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Totally agree on the love for bunch-o-balloons! They also have "reusable" water balloons now which are pretty cool - and eliminate the mess of traditional water balloons! You just fill them up by immersing them in a bucket of water.
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Wiffle ball. We've been playing a lot of wiffle ball at our house lately. You can't really play baseball/softball anywhere other than a baseball or other large field, but the much shorter range that a wiffle ball can go makes it possible to play in a yard.
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Wash the car. Really. This has been a favorite outdoor activity for all three of my boys (my daughter didn't care for it quite as much). It's a great excuse to get wet and play with the hose.
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Blowing bubbles was always our default outdoor activity up through elementary school, and it's even fun for older kids to do with the little ones.
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Spike ball has been a fun outdoor game for our family with both older kids and younger kids. It's meant more for teens and adults, but is simple enough that younger kids who want to play can do so and still have fun.
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Make a mini golf course in the backyard, with each family member designing their own hole! Kids can use things from around the house to make the obstacles.
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Make a DIY bird feeder (you can probably repurpose recyclables you have around the house), hang it in the backyard and see what birds come for a visit as you spend time outside.
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Flying a kite is fun for all ages, and you can head to a park to do this if you don't have room in your yard. You can also have your kids make and decorate their own kites as an easy craft.
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Run through the sprinkler! This was a must-do outdoor activity for us every summer when the kids were little. We invested in one of those simple kids sprinkler attachments that connected to our hose, and got a surprising amount of use out of it.
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Ride bikes or scooters. My kids love riding up and down our street and around the block any chance they get, and any time we go on family walks or runs, the little kids will ride their scooters or bikes ahead of us.
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Catching fireflies was one of my favorite things to do outside as a kid, and now my kids enjoy it when we're traveling over the summer, because we don't have them where we live.
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Classic active yard games like four square, kickball, dodgeball, tag and SPUD are fun for many different ages, and even more so when mom and dad play!
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Capture the Flag, Sharks & Minnows, Hide & Seek, and Red Light Green Light are other favorites for our family.
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Soccer. It's easy to set up a casual game with as little as two players. And while it's nice to have a larger field to play on, even a relatively small yard can still work.
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Fill up the toddler water table for outdoor fun, or just use a large shallow storage container for a DIY version. There are plenty of fun water table filler ideas kids will love to play with besides just water!
