These are the low prep, EASY outdoor activities for kids we all need!!
These free (or cheap!) outdoor activities for kids are perfect for keeping busy at home this summer! These activities use household items you likely have on hand already.
There’s something for everyone here!!
BEST Outdoor Activities for Kids
Best Chalk Activities for Kids
- Chalk Activities:
- magnetic tile puzzles (build shapes with tiles, trace with chalk, clear the tiles)
- chalks roads! (draw roads in chalk for toy cars to drive on)
- skip counting hopscotch (count by 2’s, 5’s, 10’s!)
- spray the letters (write letters all over and call out letters for kids to spray – also works for sight words, word families, etc.)
- DIY chalk paint
- giant DIY driveway board game
- sidewalk mosaic art (lay painters tape and then color with chalk)
Water Activities We Love!
Want more water activities?! Check out this post with 25 EASY Water Activities!
- Water Activities
- bubble foam in a baby pool (2:1 ratio water and baby soap mixed with a hand mixer)
- alphabet soup in a baby pool! (dump letters in the pool, give kiddos a bowl and spoon to find the letters)
- Save the Paw Patrol pups (or any other toy!) – dump the toys in the baby pool for kids to rescue
- squirt gun painting (mix water and paint in squirt gun, tape up paper, have fun painting!)
- color mixing with water (fill large tubs with dyed water and explore color mixing!)
- toy rescue! (freeze plastic toys in ice, put in a bin or water table, thaw with warm water!)
Outdoor Art Activities for Kids!
- Outdoor Art Activities
- paint toys with dyed shaving cream – then rinse clean!
- rolling art in a baby pool (tape down paper in the dry pool, put in balls, add paint, shake the pool to toss balls and create art!)
- giant box painting
- truck process art (lay cardboard flat, tape markers on the front of cars and trucks – drive them to draw)
- flower stamping – use flowers to stamp and paint
- stamping with flower cookie cutters + paint
- kindness rocks – paint rocks with acrylic paint and leave for others to discover
- stamping with Duplo legos and paint
- family mural – spread out butcher paper and draw stems – invite the family to paint the flowers and make a mural together
- paint the toys! Use washable paint to paint plastic playground equipment, trucks, animals toys, anything goes! When the kids are done, spray it off!
Gross Motor Activities for Kids!
- Getting moving with these Gross Motor Activity options
- obstacle course
- child directed nature walk
- color hunt around the neighborhood
- tally walk around the neighborhood (keep a tally count of cars and trees, white houses and blue houses, or anything else you want to count!)
- number hunt around the neighborhood – what numbers can we find?!
- scavenger hunt
- outdoor yoga
- build a skyscraper with boxes (hot glue it together for kids to paint it when you’re done!)
Outdoor Chores and Activities for Kids!
- Outdoor Chores Kids Love:
- husking corn
- water plants with a squirt bottle
- cut the grass with scissors
- rake grass clippings after grown up mows
- wash patio furniture with squirt bottle and rag
Sensory Bins for Kids!
- Summer Sensory Bins for Outside:
- vegetable farm: pinto beans with fake carrots and toy tractor
- summer swamp water: water, green food coloring, and cornstarch (makes cloudy green water)
- black beans, pink pompoms, and scoops
- potted plant sensory bin: offer beans with fake flowers and pots to make potted plants
- pink and green dyed beans – mix great northern white beans with pink acrylic paint in a gallon bag, and then pour in a thin layer on parchment paper to dry. Repeat for additional colors.
- green rice + insects (shake long grain rice in a bag with food coloring, lay on parchment paper to dry)
- yarn bin: fill a bin with green yarn and plastic bugs – let child explore cutting the yarn
- fizzy summer potions: fill small bowls with baking soda, and explore reactions with vinegar (add food coloring for extra fun)
- ookblek – 1 cup water, 2 cups cornstarch, food coloring
- kern kernels and farm animals
- dirt and plastic bugs or dinos
- freeze pink pompoms in an ice cube tray – melt and thaw to release
Taste Safe Sensory Bins for Kids!
- Taste Safe Sensory Bins for Outside:
- cooked spaghetti and plastic bugs (make it green by adding food coloring while cooking)
- crushed cereal + farm animal figures
- summer soup (water + food coloring + natural materials)
- summer at the farm – pudding mix and water (add any farm creatures)
- jello table – make green jello with plastic bugs inside for kids to find and discover
- plastic bugs frozen in ice – thaw them out in the shower
- carrot washing (get the big ones!)
- cool whip and green food coloring (put your plastic bug in for messy fun!)
Flower Activities for Kids
- Activities with Flowers and Nature:
- stick sorting by size (sort into big and small – or arrange from shortest to longest!)
- cut the grass (send them out with scissors and let them cut the grass – I’m serious, they’ll love it and be occupied for a long time!!)
- nature walk: go on a nature walk and collect treasures (sticks, pinecones, leaves, etc.)
- nature bar graphs: draw a grid on the sidewalk and create a bar graph sorting the items from your nature walk by color.
- nature cutting bin – put leaves and flowers in a bin for kiddos to cut and tear!
- nature paint brushes – paint with leaves, sticks, and flowers. (You can also tape pine needles or leaves on the end of sticks.)
Driveway Activities for Kids
- Driveway Activities:
- magnetic tiles on the garage door
- wash the grown up’s car!
- carwash with kids’ bikes
- carwash for kids’ toy cars and trucks
Driveway Activities for Kids
- Summer Day Trips for Kids Outside:
- go to a local airport and watch planes take off and land
- visit a new park
- visit a new place in your state you’ve never been
- find a local farm to visit
- go to a nature preserve – take a picnic!
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Want more water play?! 25 BEST WATER ACTIVITIES ARE HERE!
