65 Outdoor Activities for Kids to Enjoy the Best Summer Ever!
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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.
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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. 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.
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. 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!
15. 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.
16. 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.
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. 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.
26. 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.
27. 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.
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. 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.
34. Make A Rubber Band Slingshot that Shoots Crab Apples and Acorns | MomsCollab
35. Make Lemon Seed Starter Kits to Grow Plants | MomsCollab
36. Create a Nature Journal | by The Printables Fairy
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
Outdoor Activities with Water
Stay cool this summer with these fantastic water activities for the great outdoors!
43. Water Balloon Games | by MomsCollab
44. Water Table For Toddlers To Beat The Heat | by MomsCollab
45. Set up an Animal Wash Station | by Bilingual Beginnings
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.
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!
51. Unscented Fake Snow For Your Toddlers Sensory Bin | by MomsCollab
52. Easy Slime Recipe | by MomsCollab
53. Construction Zone Sensory Bean Box | Bilingual Beginnings
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!
