Related Articles
Outdoor Learning Activities For Early Years – Being kept indoors is difficult for young children who need to get their wiggles out That’s why we’ve put together an incredible list of 30 fun outdoor activities for kids that encourage movement, creative thinking, problem solving, coordination, and more.
These outdoor activities are not only tons of fun for kids, but they are educational and good for their physical and mental health. You can do these activities in your own backyard or on a walk around the neighborhood or on a nature trail – it’s up to you. But even if you only have a small outdoor space, you’ll find plenty of ways to enjoy time in the fresh air with the kids.
Outdoor Learning Activities For Early Years
What are you waiting for? Get outside with the kids now to spend quality time playing and exploring all that nature has to offer
Dinosaur Activities For Toddlers And Preschoolers — Oh Hey Let’s Play
Outdoor Activities from Messy Little Monsters We’re big fans of getting outdoors to enjoy nature with kids, so here are some favorite outdoor activities from yours truly.
Squirt Gun Drawing This squirt gun drawing activity is a fun activity that kids will love Each painting will be completely unique, and who doesn’t love the opportunity to use a squirt gun?
Nature Scavenger Hunt Go on a color walk (or in your yard or garden) and encourage kids to find and match colors with a nature scavenger hunt. It’s a wonderful way to practice color recognition while enjoying some fresh air
Mud Cooking Making mud pies is a classic children’s activity that has been enjoyed for generations. You should try it with your kids too! Take some old pots, pans, and dishes outside to set up a mud cooking activity for your kids They can make mud cakes, mix flowers and leaves with water
Outdoor Activities For Kids
Nature Paintbrushes Create some art with nature paintbrushes made from flowers, leaves, grass and more. It will be interesting to see all the textures and patterns you create
Bubble Snake Flowers How fun are these Bubble Snake Flowers? These low-key prep activities will provide hours of fun for your little ones Blowing bubbles is fun for kids and adults alike – I enjoy it myself!
Sponge Water Bombs On hot summer days, these sponge water bombs are an easy and fun way to cool off. It only takes a couple of minutes to make them, and then you can have a family water fight
Bug Scavenger Hunt Kids who love all things creepy and crawly will have a lot of fun with this Bug Scavenger Hunt. See how many you can scratch off the list! This is a wonderful activity for spring
Christmas Activities For Toddlers And Preschoolers
Painting with Water Do you have one of those easels with a chalkboard on one side? Take it outside, cover it with chalk, and then try painting the little ones with water. If you don’t have a chalkboard, you can also let the kids paint the fence, sidewalk, driveway, or porch with a little water. This is a no-mess activity that allows them to gain many fine motor skills
Fizzy Sidewall Chalk Paint Paint the street or driveway with awesome designs by your kids! These Sidewall Chalk Pentnotes look awesome on the outside, but your chalk drawings can fizz if you add vinegar!
Let’s not stop there! We’ve found a bunch more outdoor activities for kids that your little ones are going to love They will never be bored with this potential list!
Make walking around the neighborhood more fun with these Walky Walk printables from Walky Walk Play Party Plans that offer tons of silly ways to mix up your walk. You’ll also need a deck of cards, or if you don’t want to take cards while walking you can just choose an option.
Fern Hill Primary School
Finding the Answer If you have a compass, go on a hike with the family and try this North Answer hiking activity by GoScience Kids. It’s more fun if you can find a trail with lots of twists and turns
It may seem simple to climb a tree, but although we often want to protect our children, there are benefits to engaging them in risky play. This post on 15 Reasons to Climb a Tree from Rhythms of Play describes benefits such as physical strength, hand-eye coordination, and gross motor skills.
Backyard Wheel Twister If you have pavers in your yard or a cement or asphalt driveway, you should try this fun Backward Wheel Twister game by Dania Bania with the kids. It’s a great way to encourage speed and agility!
Rock Maze Make playing with toy cars more fun by creating a Rock Maze This activity from Pink Stripy Socks is easy to set up and can keep your boys or girls entertained outside for hours.
Outdoor Play For Children
Printable Nature Journal A printable nature journal encourages children to scientifically explore the outdoors and record their observations. Printables by Adventure in a Box offer 10 creative prompts for kids.
Backyard Dinosaur World Rocks, sticks, branches, and dirt with some toy dinos for this Backward Dinosaur World from Glitter. Kids can use the materials to build their own version of Jurassic Park
Side Wall Chalk Outdoor Math Game Combine math and movement Work on addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division – whatever your kids need some extra help with.
What lives in dirt? What lives in the dirt in your yard? Grab some, grab an oversized glass, and celebrate by doing what lives in the dirty activities from Go Science Kids! You’ll be amazed at all the tiny crawling things that your eyes wouldn’t normally see
Outdoor Activities For Toddlers And Preschoolers
Shadow Art This shadow art activity from Rhythms of Play helps children learn how shadows are created Kids trace their shadows and color them for a fun and artistic STEAM activity
Sidewall Chalk Obstacle Course A sidewall chalk obstacle course is a short prep gross motor activity by Toot Mom that kids will have a blast with. Toddlers and preschoolers will ask to do this over and over again Older kids can play too, or they can help set it up for their younger siblings!
Rock Balancing Try this rock balancing activity from Stone Stacking Art Rim of Play. It’s a meditative art form that doubles as a STEAM activity Being outdoors with kids is a wonderful, relaxing activity
Puffy Sidewall Paint You’ve probably done puffy paint before, but have you tried puffy sidewall paint? You only need a few ingredients to make this fun twist on a classic by The Best Ideas for Kids.
Ideas For Children’s Outdoor Play Areas And Activities
Telling Time Outdoor Clock Make your own outdoor clock with natural materials Using only rocks, sticks, and a sharpie to write the hours, your child can set up an outdoor clock like this one in sun hats and welly boots in no time.
Outdoor Number Hunt Hide numbers around the yard, and let your toddler and preschooler find them. This outdoor number hunt from Ladybird’s Adventures is a wonderful way to recognize numbers.
Frozen Ocean Sensory Bin Do you have a sea animal toy? If so, make a Frozen Ocean sensory bin like Natural Beach Living for little ones to play with. They will try to find ways to melt the ice quickly to recover the animals
Travel Stick Crafts Your kids probably collect a lot of souvenirs when they go on nature walks, but have you ever thought of collecting them all in one place? That’s a travel stick! Children can collect things like animals, flowers, leaves, twigs, or pinecones while walking and glue or tape them to their sticks along the way. Isn’t this idea just brilliant by growing families?
Fun Outdoor Maths Activities
Cloud Viewer Make your own cloud viewer to study different types of fairways during a weather unit or just for fun. This view by Little Beans makes cloud identification so easy for little hands You may want to write the name of each different type behind the viewer to help match the name to the picture until you memorize them.
Scooter Maze Here’s a fun way to get kids playing with their scooters again: A Scooter Maze by School Time Snippets! Not only is it fun, it encourages gross motor skills and coordination
Fairy House Building Fairy houses are a magical, magical way to spend a few hours outside with the kids. This activity by Red Ted Art shows different ways to make mehndi houses from natural materials
Speaking of nature wand magic, these nature wands sure look magical with smiling kids! Make them with sticks, leaves, flowers and other beautiful materials found outside
Outdoor Activities For Kids (of All Ages!)
Along with this collection of fun and easy outdoor activities for kids, we’ve also written a fun checklist of 60 outdoor activities for kids that you can print. There is also a blank version for you to add your own ideas
Click on the link below to download this printable list for free and
