Nature Inspired
Build A Birdhouse - Make a birdhouse out of Popsicle sticks. Paint and hang for the birds.
Backyard Camp Out - Camp Out in Your Backyard - Your family can enjoy the great outdoors with the comforts of home close by. Build a fire to roast hot dogs and melt marshmallows for s’mores.
Design a Fairy House - Gather twigs, leaves and flowers and then add a ton of imagination to create a fairy house.
Favorite Park - Get a map of your local parks. Visit them all and vote for your favorite one.
Glow in the Dark - At night, catch fireflies in a jar to observe these interesting insects. Release them back to nature at the end of the evening.
Bug Hunt - Grab a clipboard, a piece of paper and a marker then head outdoors. A magnifying glass and a plastic jar could be fun too. Encourage your kids to list or draw every bug they see. For an added twist, count all the ants they find.
Stargazing - Learn about the constellations and print out a few star maps. One night you can spread out a blanket and look for these recognizable groups of stars.
Mud Pies - Let the kids get messy while having a ton of fun. Add water and mud into buckets then flip over to create mud pies. Decorate with twigs, leaves and flowers. Use things from the recycling bin to make them more elaborate! Mud Pie Kit from recyclables.
Nature Walk - Go for a walk and collect items from Mother Nature. Back at home make a collage out of the found items.
Plant a Garden - A garden is a great way to teach kids about growing their own food. Between the watering and weeding, a garden will keep them occupied all summer, and you get to eat the harvest.
Picnic at a Park - Take the kids to a provincial or national park to teach them the importance of preserving beautiful land. Take a journal or sketch pad along to document the experience. These picnic food ideas may give you some inspiration on what to pack.
Farmer’s Market Visit - It’s a great opportunity to sneak in a little education about nutrition and get them more interested in the food they eat. Let your children pick something new to try.
Take a Cooling Walk - Wade through a stream in search of minnows or tadpoles. Take your net along for some catch and release.
Mind Challenges
Map It Out - Show your kids a few examples of maps. Have them think about their neighbourhood to create their very own map. Once drawn, take a walk or drive to see if you can follow along.
Neighbourhood Scavenger Hunt - This fun Neighbourhood Scavenger Hunt combines a neighbourhood walk with a scavenger hunt. Before you leave home, write down 10 to 15 things to look for during the neighbourhood walk, such as street signs, garden fixtures, different trees, birds and animals. The first person to find every item is the winner.
Plan a Treasure Hunt - With a little advanced planning, send your kids on a treasure hunt. It can even be in your backyard. Start with a homemade map you’ve stained with coffee and scorched the edges. Have some prizes at the end of their adventure.
Take a Heads or Tails Road Trip - Every time you get to an intersection, flip a coin to see if you’re going right (heads) or left (tails).
Outdoor Games - DIY outdoor Banangrams or scrabble game! It’s a brilliant idea for the whole family. via constantlylovestruck.blogspot.jp
Memory Matching Game - DIY giant lawn matching game. via studiodiy
In the Backyard
Backyard Bowling - Set up bowling pins made with cans or water bottles and use a soccer ball as your bowling ball. Compete with each other to see who can get a strike.
Paint War - Put on old clothes and fill water guns with (non-toxic, washable) paint. It’s a water gun fight — with higher stakes.
Fairy Houses - This activity works best if you live near a wooded area. Collect different items — acorns, twigs, flowers, etc. — and build tiny houses in the backyard. If you don’t want to reference fairies, you can make squirrel or rabbit houses.
Pool Day - If you have little ones and no backyard pool, create a makeshift outdoor tub using plastic storage bins from your house. If your kids are too big to fit in the tubs themselves, try bobbing for apples! Genius Tip: You can also blow up an inflatable pool and try a couple of these pool party ideas.
Water Balloon Fight - Have a family water balloon fight. If you want to make it really competitive, build bases that each team can hide behind.
Hang Christmas Lights - At first, it might seem a little kooky, but who couldn’t use a little extra joy and light? Pull out the Christmas lights and decorate your house. Worried this means you’ll have to take them down again? We say that it is yet another excuse to go outside.
Family Play - Set up a sheet as a backdrop in your backyard and put on a family play. Your kids can put it on for you and your spouse.
Obstacle Course - Using items from your house such as cones, sticks, hula hoops, and other items from your garage or backyard to create fun obstacles. Time each family member to see if they can get their time faster as they practise.
Next Level Obstacle Course - DIY PVC Pipe Obstacle Course. via Be a Fun Mom
Yard Dice - These DIY yard dice are an easy craft for kids and make a great family Yahtzee game night! via Thepinningmama
Statue Garden - In this game, each family member picks a costume. Everyone stands in their statue pose, while one family member patrols. The first person caught moving then becomes the patrolling player.
Stargazing - Before bed, take picnic blankets out to the yard and watch the stars together.
Movie Under the Stars – Combine a craft with entertainment when you make your own homemade movie projector (use a mobile device along with a shoebox, some duct tape and a magnifying glass) and place a white sheet on the side of the house!
Hula hoop race & catch. - This is such a simple activity for kids and it’s SO fun. You will need multiple hula hoops. Head to an area with lots of green space, and have the children line up. Holding the hula hoops vertically, roll them with as much force as you can along the ground. Call out each child’s name and have them run after the hoop to catch it. Every time they bring back a hoop, throw another one! This is amazing hand-eye coordination practice.
Toy-made obstacle course - Grab hula hoops, a toy tunnel, cones, pylons, and anything else you can think of. Encourage your children to organize the obstacle course in a fun and challenging way.
Kitchen utensil bubble wands - Go through a kitchen drawer and collect slotted spoons, fly swatters, spatulas, and anything else that has holes to make bubbles. Make your own bubble solution and then head out to see which utensil creates the best bubbles!
“Bake” mud pies and muffins.- All you need are some utensils, pans, and imagination.
Make a Mini Garden - Let your kids plant a mini-garden. If they are in charge of it, then they will have to go outside to water, weed and watch over it.
Fort Fun - Help your kids build a fort outside with a rope and an old sheet. Suggest other items that might be fun for them to use on their fort.
‘Survivor’ Challenge - Create challenges for your kids to do outside, like in the TV show ‘Survivor’. 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.)
What’s in the Bin? - Use an outdoor toy rotation strategy. Kids are a lot more excited to play with toys they haven’t seen in a while or can’t access. Divide your outdoor toys into 3 bins, and have one big bucket of toys out at a time. This might include bubbles, balls, kites, jump ropes, skateboards, sports equipment, and water squirters.
Activity Jar of Fun - Make an outdoor activity jar. This helps with kids who have a hard time thinking of things to do, or making decisions. Write different activities on popsicle sticks. Let your kids choose an activity and then head outside. Make the activities easy to act on – spot bugs or birds, water the plants, set up a water shooting range, pick a dandelion bouquet, draw something with sidewalk chalk. There are so many fun ideas!
Normal in Nature - Do your normal everyday activities outside. Eat meals, make a craft, read books, or play games all outside! Even if you don’t have a formal outdoor living space, find some shade and throw down a blanket!
Outside Art Projects - If you are tired of your kids projects making a mess in your house, then bring them outside! A few fun ideas: a playdough picnic, where you let your kids make pretend food out of playdough. Nature art – collect leaves, flowers, sticks, seeds, and pine cones to make natural artwork. Outdoor painting – bring an easel and paint out to your backyard so your kids can enjoy painting nature scenes.
Sky Scanning - Look for shapes in clouds. Set up a blanket, binoculars or a telescope and enjoy the sky!
Bonfire Bonding - Have a bonfire (make sure you practice good fire safety habits and supervise all campfire activities). Having a campfire is a great way to bond with your family, create memories and enjoy the outdoors.
Tire Climber - Gather some old tires and build your own tire climber. Isn’t that cool? via Mysmallpotatoes
Rocking Car Tracks - Car tracks and cars made out of rocks will last you lifetime. Great playtime at the sandbox.
Tic Tac Toe - For some quiet outdoor time you can make a nature inspired TIC TAC TOE game. via Chickenscratchny
Can you swing making a swing? - A swing is a backyard attraction must for every child. How about making your own swing? Via Playtivities
Glow in the Dark Bowling - A glow in the dark bowling set will take nighttime play to a whole new level. via Mykidsadventures
Backyard Teepee - DIY 5-minute backyard teepee will create a great reading spot for your kids. via Mamapapabubba
Bubble Snow - Make the bubble snow all over your backyard. via Handmaekidsart
Greenspaces, Trails, and Neighbourhoods
Bouquet - Taking a walk on a local greenway or trail? Bring a pair of scissors along and clip pretty flowers as you go to make bouquets for your home. Just be sure to leave some flora and fauna for the other trail-goers and not to take from a protected area. Ditches can host a lot of pretty flowers!
Birdwatching - Print out a list of common birds in your area and take it with you on an early morning walk. See how many you can spot!
Bikes and Scooters - Travel in style by getting out your bikes, scooters and roller skates for the whole family to ride. You can also set up a mini race course and try to bet your personal best with practise!
Mailbox Challenge - At each mailbox, one family member challenges the rest of the family to make it to the next mailbox while doing an activity (jumping on one leg, dancing, running, walking backward, singing, etc.) If there aren’t mailboxes in your area use hydro poles or a certain colour of house or a certain colour of car in a driveway.
Landscape Art - Sit together as a family and draw a picture of the landscape. Pass the picture around, so that each family member can draw one thing about the scene in front of you.
Tape Bracelets - Put a bracelet of tape on each family member’s wrist, sticky side out, and collect leaves and flowers on your bracelet along the walk.
Nature Molds - Let each family member carry a chunk of Play-Doh out on a walk. Using leaves, rocks and flowers, make imprints of the things you discover on your walk.
Be a Good Neighbour - Walk around your neighbourhood together and leave encouraging notes and drawings in your neighbours’ mailboxes.
Name that Sound Scavenger Hunt – Notice of all the unique or common sounds in and around your area. Compare how many sounds come from nature versus how many are man-made. Any sounds you don’t recognize? Daydream about what they might be!
Sensory scavenger hunt - Collect items you’re sure to find around the park (wood chips, dandelions, leaves, pebbles), affix them to a piece of paper using tape, and have your children look for those items!
Family Exercise - Go for regular walks, bike rides or runs as a family. Many urban communities have trails and bike paths through parks, river ways or lakefronts.
Pack a Picnic - Have a picnic lunch at the park, in your backyard or on your balcony. Little ones may want to invite their favourite stuffies to the picnic.
Have you tried geocaching? - If you have never heard of it, geocaching is a real outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. You navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache hidden at that location. This is a great guide to get you started.
Pick a Park - Make a bucket list of different parks or trails you want to try and visit. Print out a map with all the locations and pick out a different one each time. Be sure to circle each location after you visit that park or trail.
Bug Book- When hiking or even playing in the backyard take pictures of all the different types of bugs you spot. Put the pictures into a scrapbook and try to identify the types of bugs you saw.
Bouldering - Take your kids bouldering. Kids love to climb on things. Take them somewhere that has rocks available to climb.
Play Bug or Leaf Bingo - Find 10 different bugs or leaves and identify them.
Photograph nature - Let our kids borrow your phone camera and see how many different types of wildlife they can find and photograph.
Build a Boat -Make a boat to float down a stream. Your kids will be eager to test it out, but you will probably have to go on a hike to get to a stream!
Clean up Litter - Kids 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!
Create a Kite - Outdoor play is more fun when it involves kites. They don’t have to be store-bought. As part of the activity, you can make a kite with your children. via Learnplayimagine
Creative on the Concrete
Newspaper Drawings - Lay out sheets of newspaper on the driveway and draw funny faces onto the photographs. Younger children can colour in the cartoons as though they’re playing with a colouring book.
Blow Bubbles - There are dozens of online recipes on how to make your own bubbles. Stir up a quick recipe and pop away!
Hopscotch - Bring back that classic childhood game, hopscotch! Draw a grid on your driveway or sidewalk and challenge your family members to see who can make it through the fastest.
HORSE/Knockout - If you have a basketball hoop, or there’s one nearby at a local park, play classic games like HORSE and Knockout.
Highways and Byways - As a family, draw a city on your driveway and populate it with toy trucks and people. Move them around and play together.
Spray Painting - Use spray bottles filled with water to paint pictures and letters on your driveway or sidewalk.
Frozen Scavenger Hunt - Freeze some toys in a plastic container, then use tools as a family to crack the ice and find the frozen treasure.
Maze - In chalk, draw a maze on the sidewalk/driveways and see how fast your family members can solve it.
Minute to Win It - Head outside and play some minute to win it games! Need ideas? Check out our article, Top 50 Minute to Win It Games.
Sponge Race - Place two buckets at opposite ends of your driveway or city block. One bucket should be empty, the other one filled with water. Race a sponge back and forth to see how fast you can fill the empty bucket. If your family is big enough, split into two teams for this game.
Giant Tic-Tac-Toe and Checkers - Create a tic-tac-toe board on your driveway and play together as a family. For more fun, get out a set of checkers and draw the board on your driveway to play together.
Chalk obstacle course - All you need is chalk and some vision. For literate children, write out an array of gross motor movements in a sequence, like you would hop scotch. For instance: jump like a bunny x 3, hold tree pose on one side, walk on your hands and feet, jump on one foot, hold tree pose on the other side, jump on the opposite foot, twirl x 2, jump up and try to touch the sky x 4.
Rainbow Hopscotch - Make super cool rainbow pave hopscotch. via Happinessishomemade.net
No Equipment Necessary
Leaf Hunt - Go on a hunt around your neighbourhood to see how many different kinds of leaves you can collect. When you get home, sort them into categories and find their similarities and differences.
Puddle Splashing - Rainy day? No problem. Get outside and splash in as many puddles as you can. Just be sure to wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty.
Rainbow Scavenger Hunt - On a walk, find or point out an item for every colour in the rainbow.
Sharks and Minnows - In this game, two family members are the sharks, while the rest are the minnows. The minnows have to race from one end of the yard to the other without being tagged by the shark. If tagged, a minnow becomes a shark in the next round.
Worm Relocation - If it’s been raining, go out on a family mission to move worms from the sidewalk back to the grass.
Flower Pressing - Gather flowers and press them together. Once you have let the pressed flowers dry, make paintings and art with them! Genius Tip: For more craft ideas, check out these 100 summer craft ideas for kids.
Acrobatics - In your backyard or a grassy area, practice your cartwheels, somersaults and round-offs together.
Book Tag - Play freeze tag together. To unfreeze yourself, you have to name a character from a book you like to read. If you want to narrow it down, you can limit your family members to only pick characters from a favourite book.
Bike and Scooter Races - Mark out start and finish lines, pick your preferred vehicle, then time each other to see who can finish the fastest.
Red Light, Green Light - One caller stands at the opposite end of the yard from the players. The caller yells out red light (stop) and green light (go) to see who can reach the end the fastest. That person becomes the caller for the next round.
Rocking Outdoor Play Time - Kids can play with anything. Here is a great example how they managed to create so many activities and games just with plain rocks. via Playtivities
Learning and Chores
Wash the Car - Pull your car out into the driveway and have a good old-fashioned car wash! You might get sprayed with the hose a few times, but it’ll be worth it.
Toy Bath - Are your children’s toys getting a bit grimy? Fill a bin with soapy water and have each child bring a box of his/her toys out to “give them a bath.”
Coach and Players - If one of your family members plays a sport, let him or her be the coach for the day and teach you all the drills they use to practice. Genius Tip: Get inspired with these team building ideas for sports.
Laundry Line - Create a makeshift laundry line in the backyard and go environmental for the day by air-drying your laundry. To make this more fun for younger kids, wash doll clothes and hang them out on the line too.
Music Maker - Fill glasses with different levels of water to create a series of notes. Try to recreate popular songs together using your makeshift instrument.
Afternoon Tea - Have an afternoon tea where you and your family eat snacks and read together on blankets.
Driveway Math Problems - Do math problems in chalk on your driveway as a family.
Plant a Garden - Whether in your backyard or just in pots, plant a garden as a family. Tend to your plants by weeding and watering them.
Multiple Choice - Draw four squares on the driveway with the choices A, B, C, D inside. Ask questions (they can be school-related or just silly) and have your family members run to the correct square.
Weed Pull - Have your kids pull weeds. Make a game out of it by rewarding them with a sticker per weed. It definitely gets them outside in the yard
Pick your Own - Find a local ‘pick your own’ and let your kids pick produce straight from the plant. It is a great family outing and can be a good way to talk about how we get our food.
Wheelbarrow for the Wee Ones - If you are gardening, involve the kids by making them a wheelbarrow. They will be playing with it even after the garden work is done. Who doesn’t like driving, even if it's a wheelbarrow? via Playtivities http://playtivities.com/diy-wheelbarrow-kiddo/
Water Fun
Aqua Limbo - Use the stream from a water hose as the stick for a game of limbo.
Balloon Babies - Fill up a water balloon and draw a face on it. Wrap up in a towel and give to your child as a pretend baby. See how long they can take care of it before the balloon breaks.
Tricycle Car Wash - With a bundle of PVC pipes and a garden hose, you can transform your driveway into a car wash for tricycle riders. Swimsuits are required for this splashing good time.
Homemade Sprinkler - Take a 2-litre soda bottle and poke holes into it. Attach to a garden hose with a male-to-male adaptor. Let hang or toss over a tree branch. Adjust the sprinkler flow by adjusting the water stream.
Water War - Crank up the hose, fill up the water guns and balloons and turn on the sprinkler for a water fight. It’s a perfect activity on a hot day and a great substitute for a pool.
Ice Block Building - Fill up various containers with a mixture of water and food colouring. Once frozen, take them outside. Pop out the molds and let the kids build towers, trains and buildings before they all melt.
Ice Painting - Paint with colourful ice. Simply freeze ice cube trays with washable tempera paint. It’s a fun way for your kids to cool off, create art and get messy.
Slip ‘n Slide - Purchase colourful plastic sheeting and secure on a slight slope with the hose water running downhill. Add pool floats to increase the fun factor.
Sponge Bull’s Eye - Draw a bull’s eye on the driveway and assign a points value to each circle of the target. Kids stand at the starting line and throw a wet sponge at the target.
Squeeze the Sponge Relay - You will need two buckets for each of your kids — one filled with water and one empty. Give each of the kids one sponge. The object of the game is to transfer the water from bucket to bucket using the sponge. Whoever does it the fastest is the winner.
Squirt Gun Painting - Instead of loading water into a squirt gun, add paint. Kids can squirt paint onto a sheet of paper to create art in a very fun way.
Unfreeze Your Prize - Place small toys like plastic bugs, cars or dolls into ice cube trays or containers like margarine or cottage cheese tubs from the recycling bin. Add water and freeze. Pass out one cube to or container to each child. Have them melt while holding in their hands or pick at with spoons until the prizes emerge.
Water Balloon Dodge Ball - Use balloons filled with water as a dodge ball. Play as usual, just remember don’t aim at people’s faces.
Water Balloon Piñata - Fill balloons with water, tie them up and string between two trees or along a clothesline. Let kids take turns striking the balloons with a stick for a fun summer twist without all the sugar.
Wet Sponge Tag - Starting with a soaked sponge, the first person tags another person by tossing the sponge onto another player to make them “It.” Remember don’t aim for the face!
Water balloon T-Ball/ Baseball. - Depending on your child’s ability level, grab either your t-ball set or just a baseball bat. Pre-fill a bunch of water balloons. Put them in a laundry basket or plastic tub. Let the game begin!
Water Wall - A homemade water wall makes a great STEM activity, teaching kids about gravity, angles and water flow, and it’s a great water activity to keep kids cool on a hot day.. via Happyhooligans
Active Games
Balloon Volleyball - Set up your court by using a jump rope (or any rope) to divide your yard in two. Use a balloon for the ball and have players alternate serves. The first to 21 is the winner!
Blanket Relay - Grab some blankets (preferably old ones) and pull your partner across the lawn as fast as you can. Team members switch places to give their partner a ride to the finish line.
Mini-Golf Course - Use pool noodles, ropes, and cardboard boxes to create mini-golf stations. Set them up on your driveway or in your yard to create your very own course.
Driveway Toy Car Race - Grab any type of toy car and a couple sticks of sidewalk chalk. Draw your start and finish lines and the lane markers in the driveway and let the races begin.
Frisbee Tic Tac Toe - You will need a cheap shower curtain, coloured tape and nine Frisbees. Tape the shower curtain to the ground, making a Tic-Tac-Toe grid with the tape. Stand behind a given line to throw a Frisbee on a square. Allow the players multiple tries to land in a square.
Glow in the Dark Bowling - Pop glow sticks into 10 bottles of water to make bowling pins you can use at night.
Lawn Twister - Use circular stencils and spray paint the game board onto your lawn for outdoor fun.
Outdoor Field Hockey - Grab pool noodles, balloons and a laundry basket to create a homemade version of field hockey. Use the pool noodles as the stick to move the balloon across your lawn to score a goal in the laundry basket.
Paper Boat Race - Make paper boats and race them in a kiddie pool by blowing through a straw to propel them.
Obstacle Course - Use objects you already own like jump ropes, boxes and hula-hoops to create a backyard course. Your kids will be entertained and put their skills to the test. Encourage your children to change up the course with their own ideas.
Shaving Cream Fight - Stock up on shaving cream. Shake can for 20 seconds, then an adult says, “Go.” Spray opponents from the neck down. Hose off when the game is over.
Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest - Liven up an afternoon with some friendly competition. Challenge your kids to see who can aim the best or spit the farthest.
Toss Game - Everybody loves toss game. Make your own. via Momendeavors
Backyard Circus - Have a Backyard circus with these DIY stilts. via classic-play
Balancing Activities - Backyard outdoor play is a perfect place to practice balancing for kids. Check out these 10 genius balancing activities for kids. via Happyhooligans
Art Projects
Body Painting - Let kids paint themselves and each other with washable tempera paint, then let them wash it off in the sprinklers. Old swimsuit or clothes are recommended.
Flower Painting - Dip the full flower into paint and use is as a paintbrush to create unique artwork.
Fly Swatter Painting - Using a fly swatter is a great twist on creating art. Choosing one with a unique pattern will enable your child to whip up a unique masterpiece.
Photography Journal - Encourage your kids to record their day by taking photographs. It’s an interesting way to look at a day in their lives through images.
Sun Melted Crayons - Gather up all those broken crayons along with aluminum foil, cookie cutters and a paper plate. Place foil on a paper plate then top with the cookie cutters. Add broken crayons and place in a sunny spot. Once melted, pop the newly formed crayons out of the cookie cutters. Then put your new crayons to use.
Art Sale - Put those talents to good use by organizing an event to give back. Have your child create and sell unique artistic creations, from pottery to pencil drawings to family and friends. This can be down through text photos of the works and collecting e-transfers during Covid. The money raised can go to a favourite charity.
Mirror Painting - Check out this cool outdoor painting mirror art activity.
Crafts
Cardboard Fort or Castle - Swing by your local grocery or appliance store and bring back a bunch of boxes. Consider yourself part of the building crew since it’s likely that you will be the person in charge cutting with a craft knife. Your kids can tape it up and paint their structure. Then use their imagination and play in it. The creating, painting and playing will provide hours of fun!
Rock Art - Collect rocks and paint them for use as garden decoration, paperweights or pet rocks.
Seashell Art - Your kids can paint, string or glue them together. The only things necessary are a few supplies and a creative mind.
Totem Poles - Make totem poles out of paper towel rolls. On your porch or patio, spread out an old cloth as base camp to construct and paint this art project.
Up for some stargazing? - You don’t need fancy equipment for that. A pretty simple craft will turn into an educational activity for kids to learn all about constellations.
Homemade Drums - Lots of fun can be had with homemade drums. They are loud, but a lot of fun. via Playtivities.
Ramp up with Fun - Make a wooden toy car ramp. via Buggyandbuddy
Cardboard Car and Slide - DIY cardboard car and diy cardboard slide will give them the most giggles. via sugaraunts
* Please note: With any balloon activity, please make sure to pick up all balloon pieces so they do not harm the birds and other wildlife.
Files used from these amazing websites!
https://www.signupgenius.com/home/outdoor-activities-for-kids.cfm
https://www.naturespath.com/en-ca/blog/7-fun-simple-outdoor-activities-kids/
https://www.superhealthykids.com/kid-fitness/31-outside-activities-for-kids/
https://www.signupgenius.com/home/kids-craft-ideas.cfm
https://kidsactivitiesblog.com
