65 Outdoor Activities for Kids to Enjoy the Best Summer Ever!

Last Updated Sep 20, 2022

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The warm weather is here, and so are your busy kids just waiting for outdoor activities to tackle. It’s time to set aside the electronic devices (though they have their purpose) and enjoy the great outdoors!

With this massive list of warm-weather activities, the kids will be distracted with hours of fun.

65 Summer Activities That The Kids Will Love

There are tons of things for kids to do outside this summer. These are some of our favorites!

Creative & Crafty Activities

Let your kids exercise creativity with these fun crafty activities that are best kept outdoors.

1. Make Painted Rocks For The Garden

Painting rocks can be fun and therapeutic for both kids and adults. Set up a paint station outside and encourge everyone to get creative based on the shapes and contours of the rocks they find.

2. Make a Checkers Game with Rocks

Use a flat stone to create a checkerboard and then small round rocks for the pieces. The process of finding the rocks, painting them, and playing the final game can keep the kids busy for hours.

3. Play Giant Yard Games

Either create your own giant yard games using the items you have on hand, or stash up on these jumbo yard games for the kids this season.

5. Create Fairy Houses

If the kids are building up a stash of popsicle sticks, use them to create fairy garden accessories! There’s nothing cuter than the tiny worlds that fairies live in. The kids can use all kinds of items around the garden to create these tiny houses like sticks, leaves, rocks, and more.

6. Start a Garden

Gardening with your children has more benefits than just keeping them busy for a few hours each week. It teaches them how to appreciate nature, and cultivates a green thumb while they’re still young. Have your kids help you weed, plant, water, and enjoy the garden all summer long.

7. Make a Ladybug Hotel

This adorable ladybug hotel can keep the kids busy while teaching them to enjoy nature–even bugs and beatles. It’s easy to construct this cute hotel using small pieces of bamboo.

8. Create Shadow Sidewalk Chalk Art

Dig out the sidewalk chalk and create fun art using just the kids’ shadows. This activity is not just about the art, but can teach the kiddos about the science of shadows, too.

9. Make Puffy Sidewalk Paint

Out of sidewalk chalk? Create this fun, washable puffy sidewalk paint using household staples like flour, dishsoap, and food coloring. It’s a fun alternative to chalk and washes away with the hose or rain.

10. Create Sand Art Necklaces

Challenge the kids with something different and create these fun sand art necklaces using colored sand and clear necklaces. All other supplies like spoons, funnels, and containers to hold the sand can be collected from the kitchen.

11. Paint with Bubbles

Even the youngest kids can get onboard with this bubble painting activity. There’s no wrong way to paint with bubbles! It’s fun to see the final artwork that the kids come up with.

12. Create a Summer Bucket List

Summer can feel overwhelming when the kids are home all day. Instead of facing each day with a blank slate, work together as a family to create a summer bucket list that everyone will enjoy.

13. Tie-Dye with Turmeric

Tye-Dye is a fun (and messy) activity for kids to do outside. This type of tye-dying can be done using tumeric for coloring!

14. Rock Balancing Art

Balancing rocks is both an art and a skill. See who can build the highest tower, or just walk along the creekside and leave fun rock formations in your wake.

15. Build a Milk Jug Bird Feeder

Save up some empty milk jugs to create these cute bird feeders. Hang them under your favorite tree and spend time bird-watching this summer!

Projects to Keep Kids Active

It’s easy to keep your kids active with these fun outdoor projects!

16. Make A Bubble Solution For Giant Bubbles

The kids will have hours of fun blowing these giant bubbles in the yard. This outdoor activity is best on days with a light breeze. Too much wind will pop the bubbles.

17. Play Simon Says

Get the kids active with a game of Simon Says. To play, one person is assigned the leader and shouts out commands such as “Simon says, run around the house,” and “Simon says, do 10 jumping jacks.” The leader should occasionally should a command without starting it with “Simon says.” Each child that follows a command with Simon telling them to is eliminated from the round. The last kid standing then becomes Simon and starts a new round.

18. Take a Wacky Walk

A wacky walk is a fun game for the whole family. All that’s needed is a deck of cards and some upfront brainstorming before setting out on the best walk ever.

19. Build a Nerf War Battlefield

Dig out the Nerf guns and bullets and build a warzone using the whole backyard. This game will get the whole family moving, and it doesn’t leave anyone with painful welts like paintball.

20. Go Geocaching

Geocaching is an app-based game that gets people outside and exploring new areas. Check out this guide to get started.

21. Climb Trees

Ever watched The Sound of Music? Climbing trees is an activity that kids of all ages can enjoy. It keeps kids active and in exploration mode all summer long.

22. Yard Games with Plastic Bottles

Pull out a bag of empty plastic bottles and put them to good use with these yard games. Set up a minute-to-win-it tournament or just have fun playing carnival games in your own backyard.

23. Make Tin Can Stilts

Create tin can stilts for each kid and have backyard races. Set up obstacle courses or diy race tracks to get the kids moving.

24. Play Backyard Games

There are tons of backyard game ideas that keep kids active and entertained. You can use the toys and supplies you have on hand to get started.

25. Create an Obstacle Courses

Obstacle courses can be constructed out of just about anything. Use outdoor toys, buckets, rocks and trees to set up courses that the kids can race through over and over.

26. Play Games on the Trampoline

If you have a trampoline but bouncing isn’t exciting enough, check out these trampoline games. They’ll keep the kids busy and active for hours.

Educational Activities

Kids don’t have to halt the learning process just because it’s summer. Keep them up-to-date on everything they’ve learned and more with these educational (and fun!) outdoor activities.

27. Identify Trees by Their Leaves

Learn to identify leaves and make your nature walks more exciting. Have the kids create a book to identity the leaves they find around your property.

28. Memory Game

Create a memory game for the kids to play outside. Just hop on the computer and print two copies of at least 10 pictures, lay them face side down in the grass, and take turns guessing which cards match.

29. Play Mathscotch

Matchscotch combines Hop Scotch and math for a way for kids to use their math skills while having fun outside. Kids of all ages can play this game for hours of fun.

30. Learn the Insect Life Cycle

Use these free templates to teach the kids the life cycle of insects.

31. Bottle Rockets

Learn the science behind mixing two different substances while creating these exciting bottle rockets to explode in the backyard. Make sure to teach the kids the importance of safety first!

32. Pizza Box Solar Oven Smores

On the next sunny, hot day, break out this pizza box solar oven and cook up smores for everyone. Just save a pizza box from the weekend and of course some marshmallows and graham crackers, too.

33. Sidewalk Chalk Math Game

Learn math with sidewalk chalk! These outdoor activities for kids are both fun and educational. Plus, they’ll keep the kids busy when they’re looking for something to do.

34. Galaxy Blue Baking Soda And Vinegar Reaction

For more concoctions that bubble over, check out how to mix baking soda and vinegar.

Related: 25 Educational Toys That Will Make Your Kids Love Learning

Nature-Inspired Activities

Kids don’t need fancy toys to have fun outside. Nature itself is the perfect place to stay busy and enjoy the warm weather.

35. Make A Rubber Band Slingshot that Shoots Crab Apples and Acorns | MomsCollab

36. Make Lemon Seed Starter Kits to Grow Plants | MomsCollab

37. A Mud Bake Off | by Right From the Start

38. Insect Rock Tic Tac Toe | by 365 Days of Crafts

39. Nature Hunt Bingo | by Bitz & Giggles

40. An Outdoor Scavenger Hunt | by The Wild, Wild West

41. Set up a Snail Habitat | by Imaginative Homeschool

42. Fun Things to Do with Sticks and Leaves | by Mummy Mummy Mum

43. Create a Nature Journal | by The Printables Fairy

Outdoor Activities with Water

Stay cool this summer with these fantastic water activities for the great outdoors!

44. Water Balloon Games | by MomsCollab

45. Water Table For Toddlers To Beat The Heat | by MomsCollab

46. Simple Water Painting | by Right From the Start

47. Sponge Water Bombs | by the homespun hydrangea

48. Stem Ideas to do in Water | by Team Cartwright

49. Games with Water Guns | by Mom Always Finds Out

50. More Water Games | by Play. Party. Plan.

51. Set up an Animal Wash Station | by Bilingual Beginnings

Outdoor Sensory Activities

Don’t forget to mix in some sensory play. Just keep the mess outside and you’re good to go for hours of fun!

52. Unscented Fake Snow For Your Toddlers Sensory Bin | by MomsCollab

53. Easy Slime Recipe | by MomsCollab

54. Dino Egg Dig | by Juggling Act Momma

55. Sensory Play with Mud | by Best Toys 4 Toddlers

More Fun Outdoor Summer Activities

There are endless ways to have a blast outside this summer. Stay busy and enjoy the heat with a few more outdoor activities for kids below.

56. No Prep Fun | by Paper Heart Family

57. DIY Bubble Ideas | by Hunny I’m Home

58. Go Camping in the Backyard | by Take Them Outside

59. Backyard Camping Activities | by Grace, Giggles & Naptime

Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Ideas

60. Scavenger Hunts for Toddlers | by Toot’s Mom is Tired

61. Backyard Scavenger Hunt Printable | by Best Toys 4 Toddlers

62. Nature Walk Scavenger Hunt | by Dresses and Dinosaurs

63. Nature Scavenger Hunt Printable | by Take Them Outside

64. A Bug Scavenger Hunt | by Moms & Munchkins

65. Create a Photo Scavenger Hunt | by Photo Jeepers

66. Insect Scavenger Hunt | by Kim & Carrie

Outdoor Toys for Kids

Outdoor Toys for 5-Year-Old Boys | by MomsCollab

Outdoor Toys for Toddlers | by MomsCollab

Sand Play Toys | by The Curious Frugal

No Boredom Allowed This Summer

With so many things for kids to do outside, there’s no reason for them to complain of boredom this summer. Encourage the kids to get outside and create the fun that they crave. There are more than enough ideas to last the whole summer long!