60 Fun Outdoor Activities for Toddlers and Kids

Girl wearing gingham dress playing at the water

Simple ways to get outside, connect, and make memories together.

Some of the best childhood memories are made outside- sticky popsicle fingers, running through the sprinkler, barefoot races across the yard, and endless laughter chasing bubbles in the summer sun. But as a mom, taking kids outside can seem daunting, exhausting, and borderline not worth it when you don’t know how to keep them engaged.

That’s why I put together this list of 60 fun and easy outdoor activities for your toddlers and kids. I want to make things easier on you, mama, so you can spend less time stressing and more time enjoying their childhood. Whether you have a whole day or just five minutes to spend outside, this list is full of low-prep, fun, and engaging activities for your little kids.

Let’s get outside, soak up the sun, and make some memories!

The Benefits of Outdoor Play for Young Children

There are numerous benefits to playing outside for both adults and children, here are just a few:¹

-Improve mental health

-Improve sleep and mood

-Increase social skills

-Increase physical activity

-Build an understanding of and respect for nature

-Develop and improve fine motor skills and gross motor skills

The List of Outdoor Activities For Toddlers and Kids!

Read about backyard fun, waterplay ideas, nature adventures, imaginative play, and park and playground fun.

Backyard Fun

New and fun ways to enjoy your backyard.

Draw with Sidewalk Chalk

This simple activity encourages creativity and allows kids to draw right there on the sidewalk. All you need is some chalk!

Bug Hunt

A bug hunt is perfect for kids interested in bugs, all they need to do is walk in the backyard with the task of finding as many bugs as they can. Help them identify the kinds of bugs they find, and make sure they handle them carefully.

Toy Carwash

Bring out all the toys that can stand to get wet and let your kids make a big toy carwash!

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Give your kids an age-appropriate list of items to find in the backyard and send them off on their scavenger hunt. For toddlers, I like to give them one item at a time to find and bring back to me.

Nature Sensory Bin

Gather natural materials like sticks, dirt, and grass, and create a nature sensory experience for your toddler. I like to put dirt on the bottom of the sensory bin, and then hide items in the dirt for my kids to find.

Construction Site

Bring out the dump trucks and give your kids a pile of dirt to scoop up. They love to pretend they are working at a construction site, clearing the way for a house to be built.

boys playing in a dirt pile with construction vehicles outside

Hide and Seek

A classic game that kids will always love, hide and seek is a great way to play outside with your toddlers and kids. Have one child count while everyone else hides, then they will go and find everyone and the game begins again.

Obstacle Course

Create an obstacle course out of chalk, sports equipment, or a random assortment of items you have at home. Kids love the challenge of completing the obstacle course once they are done making it with you.

Pick Flowers (or weeds)

If you have flowers available for your kids to pick, encourage them to pick enough to create a beautiful bouquet for the table. If there are no flowers, grab some gardening gloves and pick weeds together. Weeding can be a fun way to clean up and teach children of all ages how to care for the yard.

Make a Sandbox

Head to your local hardware store and get some wood and sand to create a sandbox. This will keep kids entertained for hours and they will have the opportunity to learn about building too!

Blow Bubbles

This is the simplest way to spend time outdoors, and younger children especially love it! Bubbles are fun to pop and chase around the yard.

Chalk Hopscotch

Make a big hopscotch game for the kids to complete outside. If your children are old enough, they can help make the game with you.

Make “Recipes” Using Ingredients From The Yard

Create an outdoor kitchen together and gather ingredients from the yard. Making stews, pies, and many other wonderful concoctions out of the dirt, sticks, and leaves your child finds in the yard.

Pitch a Tent and Have a Camp Out

Get out that tent you’ve been meaning to use and have an old-fashioned camp out, right there in your backyard. This is a great way to practice camping with young kids.

kids having snacks in a tent and on blankets in their backyard

Outdoor Movie Night

Set up a projector or a laptop and have a movie night under the stars. This is sure to be something your child remembers fondly for years.

Make a Bird Feeder

Gather some supplies to create a DIY bird feeder (check out this website for DIY bird feeders for kids!) kids love watching the birds come to eat.

Water Play Ideas

Perfect activities for hot days in the sun.

girl in pool with floatie holding oranges over her eyes

Kiddie Pool

Set up the kiddie pool and watch your child splash around for hours.

Water Sensory Bin

Create a sensory bin full of water and encourage your kids to find items from around the yard to add to it. Sensory play is beneficial for your child’s overall development, including cognitive, emotional, and motor skills².

Pouring Activity

Have your toddler practice pouring water from one cup to another. This is ideal to do outside because it doesn’t matter if they spill. Pouring helps develop fine motor skills.

Slip n’ Slide

Get the slip n’ slide out and have a blast sliding around with your kids.

Sponge Toss

All you need are a few sponges and you are ready for this fun activity. Toss the sponges back and forth or create a target and see who can get the sponge the closest.

Water Table

Purchasing a water table for my kids has been life-changing. They will go outside and play with it for hours!

Water Balloon Toss

Fill up a bunch of water balloons and toss them back and forth, moving farther apart every time you throw them.

Ice Cube Painting

Use watercolors or food coloring to paint ice cubes. This is a cool activity because kids get to watch the paint move in the ice and find out what happens to the paint when the ice melts.

Find Out What Floats

Put water in a bucket then show your child how different items float while others sink. Encourage them to look around for more items to test and find out what floats.

Run Through The Sprinklers

This activity requires minimal effort to set up and keeps kids entertained for a long time. Just turn on the sprinkler and let them play.

Water The Plants

Kids love to help around the house. Show them how to water the plants, and let them take responsibility for watering them. They will be excited when the flowers they watered start blooming.

Go To The Splash Pad

Drive over to your local splash pad for a day of water-filled fun. Our town offers free splash pads at the local parks, check to see if your city has them as well.

Visit The Pool

Taking the kids to the pool is a great way to spend those hot summer days. Let them swim around and get all their energy out while you take a minute to rest poolside.

Have a Water Fight

Grab water guns, water balloons, and the hose, and have a classic water fight with your kids. Team up parents vs. kids for added fun and for a chance to practice communication skills within the teams.

Nature Adventures

For when you’re ready to explore the great outdoors.

Nature Walk

Take your kids on a walk or hike and let them explore all that nature has to offer.

Go To a River or Lake

Take your child to the river or lake near you and allow them to explore the trees and rocks surrounding it. If they like fishing or swimming, bring equipment for them to do those activities too.

Collect Outdoor Treasures

Give your child a basket and go on a walk together to find some great treasures, like rocks, sticks, or leaves.

Paint Rocks

Gather up some rocks from your yard and paint them with all kinds of designs and colors kids love.

Build a Stick Fort

Grab some sticks and create a little fort or teepee with them.

Watch The Clouds

Lay back on a blanket in the grass and watch the clouds. Point out the things you see in the clouds and tell stories about them.

Leaf Rubbings

Put a leaf under a piece of paper, then take a crayon and rub it over the paper. You will get an awesome imprint of the leaf.

Make a Nature Collage

Get a notebook then glue or tape different things your child finds outside into a nature collage.

Paint With Nature

Dip a leaf or stick in some paint and use it as your paintbrush to make fun outdoor artwork.

Name and Count The Animals

Go outside with your child and have them find as many animals as they can. Help them identify what kinds of animals they are. This is a great way to practice counting too!

Go To a Petting Zoo

Visit a petting zoo to get up close to friendly animals. Kids love getting to interact with animals here.

Imaginative play

Let your child’s imagination run wild. These imaginative play ideas encourage lots of social interaction and quality time together.

kids imagining they are pirates floating down the river

Create a Sidewalk Chalk Town

Draw a city on the sidewalk with your child and watch their imagination take off as they drive their cars around the city.

Dress-Up Backyard Picnic

Put on your child’s favorite dress-up clothes and have a picnic in your backyard. This is a great way to make mealtime fun and exciting for your kids. It also encourages positive social interactions at the dinner table.

Outdoor Restaurant With Play Food

Create your very own outdoor restaurant with pretend food. All you need is a little table or blanket, and paper and pencil for your little waiter to take your order.

Garbage Truck Driver

Pretend your child drives the local garbage truck and they must come collect all the garbage you put out of them. Use sticks, grass, or leaves as the garbage. My son is currently obsessed with garbage trucks so this is one of his favorite games.

Musical Pots and Pans

Get out your pots and pans and give your child a wooden spoon to play the drums with, young toddlers and babies especially have so much fun with this one.

Storytime

Reading aloud outside is a calming activity for kids, it allows them to relax and enjoy the story while getting fresh air and sunshine. Being in nature while they listen gives them a new way to imagine the characters in the story.

Build a Fort and Go Camping

Bring out blankets or sheets and help your child make an unforgettable fort outside. Let them imagine they are going camping in the fort.

Pretend Campout for Stuffed Animals

Make a small tent for your child’s stuffed animals and pretend they are going camping. Children love to imagine what the animals would do if they were outside camping on their own.

Play House

Have your child assign roles to everyone participating in playing house outside. Kids love to pretend to be adults going about their everyday lives, caring for babies, going to work, driving, cooking, cleaning, etc.

Be Your Child’s Favorite Characters

Think about your child’s favorite show or movie. Ask your child what characters they want everyone to be and pretend to be those characters outside. Go on adventures and have fun together.

Park and Playground Fun

Make the time spent at your local park exciting again.

Play With a Ball or Frisbee

Bring a ball or frisbee to the park and practice kicking the soccer ball or catching and throwing the frisbee. Throwing can help develop your child’s hand-eye coordination too!

Scavenger Hunt

Practice colors or shapes with your toddler by doing a scavenger hunt for “something red” or “something triangle-shaped.” Do a scavenger hunt with older kids by telling them to find something unique to your location (signs, types of plants or animals, etc.).

Catch Bugs

Gently catch bugs and put them in a jar until it’s time to go home. Before you leave, release them back into the park together. This is a great time to talk to kids about a bug’s natural habitat.

Picnic Lunch

Pack a lunch and enjoy a picnic together under a tree at the park. My toddler always eats more at the park.

Playground Challenge

Challenge your child to climb every ladder, go across the monkey bars, slide on every slide, or try out all the swings in the park.

Nature Journal

Bring a nature journal to the park and work through a few pages together. Here are some fantastic recommendations for nature journals for kids!

Play “Follow The Leader”

Gather your group and play “Follow the leader” all over the park, kids love this game because they get to be in charge for a little while. It is also great practice for kids staying in a line at school.

Learn a New Sport

Talk to your child about what sports they would like to learn to play and do your best to learn it together at the park. This is a fun bonding experience if approached with an open mind and willingness to learn.

Clean Up The Park

Bring a trash bag and gloves to clean up the park together. This is a great way to give back to the community and teach your child the importance of cleaning up after themselves.

Feed The Ducks

Grab a bag of bread or duck food, and feed the ducks. Kids love to interact with the animals and they feel like they are helping them by feeding them.

Final Thoughts

You don’t need fancy supplies, a fully planned day, or the newest toys to have fun outside with your kids. Just a little fresh air, some simple ideas, and a heart that’s willing to be present. Whether your child is pretending to work at a construction site, or watching the clouds go by, these moments are more than just outdoor play, they are opportunities to connect, laugh, and most of all, enjoy this fleeting season of life.

So don’t stress about doing all 60 ideas on this list. Try one or two this week, find out what your kids love, and revisit the list later. These memories you are making together, even in the chaos, are the things your child will treasure forever. These are the things that make life good.

You are doing a beautiful job, mama. Now go soak up some sunshine.