Summer Outdoor Activities for Kids Ages 3-6
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Summertime. Is there anything like the hot sun, iced sweet tea that cools as it goes down, and the smell of grass and flowers? I personally enjoy something about each season, and while summer is my least favorite, I have to admit it’s got some pretty amazing benefits. Kids are out of school, vacations or staycations are enjoyed, and it’s the perfect time for outdoor activities- rain or shine!
However, it can be tough to think of things for the kids to do every day. Homeschooling my children has been a huge eye opener and I’ve realized you’ve got to keep children busy or they become couch potatoes. So while I was looking up ideas for entertaining or rather, engaging my children outside, I thought I’d share some easy, cheap, but extremely fun outdoor activities you can use in your backyard!
1. Nature Scavenger Hunt
One of the most obvious things you can do is a nature scavenger hunt! While it can get overlooked amongst other fun outdoor activities, it has all kinds of benefits! Make a list of easy-to-find items like a pinecone, flower, smooth rock, or feather, and let kids explore the backyard or local park. This activity encourages observation skills and curiosity about nature. Lean in to the science of nature, and you could also gather your objects and make a display or nature creature out of them! If you don’t have much of a yard or just need a rainy day scavenger hunt, check out this beach themed scavenger hunt! There’s several other scavenger hunts I have available for the seasons!
2. Water Play
Unless you’re kids are like my baby, most kids are going to love the water hose! Let them run the water bill up a little and spray each other, or you spray them! They can run through it, run under it, play limbo! Add a fun sprinkler attachment, set up a cheap kiddie pool, or grab some buckets! My kids love creating mud and then walking through their creation. Grab some bath toys, sponges, and scoops to add to the imaginative play. You could also get some empty totes and fill them up! Add the toys or add your kids to the totes and let them play!
3. Chalk Art
My boys always love playing with chalk. They are still young and their pictures are very abstract, but they enjoy seeing their creations. Get some academic practice with drawing shapes, playing hopscotch with shapes, letters, or numbers, addition or subtraction problems, or even sight words! They also love to grab their chalk and color the outside of the house and their electric car. When they do this, they get the joy of cleaning up with the water hose and some soap!
4. Obstacle Course
Obstacle courses are classic outdoor activites, and an obstacle course doesn’t have to be complicated. Remember, this is your backyard, not the Olympics! Grab whatever you already have, brooms and mops, ropes, hula hoops, or even toys. Have them crawl, jump, and balance their way through the course. They aren’t only having fun, they are building coordination and gross motor skills!
5. Garden Helpers
Disclaimer: this is not for the faint of heart or OCD. I tried garden helpers one time with our vegetable plants and it was a disaster. Probably more my fault than theirs, the wire tower I had for our snap peas didn’t have enough tiers for the plants to properly grab on to when they were still little so I added string between the tiers. My boys (bless ’em!) pulled it all down and I had to completely start over. I digress!
Have your kids help plant seeds or flowers, herbs, or vegetables! Help grow your children’s love and respect of nature. Talk about what seeds and plants need to grow and survive, and relate it all back to Jesus. The Bible has many stories about seeds, planting, and water!
6. Bubble Fun
Chasing wayward bubbles is always a hit with my kids! The Dollar Tree is my secret weapon on bubbles, but it you already are equipped with bubble wands or machines, then go for it! Make your own bubbles with warm water, sugar and dish soap. Then grab some sticks and string to make different sized wands and see what kind of bubbles you can make! This one is just fun and your kids get to enjoy the magic of bubbles while working on their motor skills.
7. Picnic Party
Picnics are so enjoyable, especially on a warm summer morning when birds are chirping happily from their breakfasts and the sun is just starting to get hot high in the sky. Grab some favorite snacks, make sandwiches, or have different kinds of fruits and cold veggies for your picnic. It doesn’t have to be fancy! Have one in the backyard or go to a park. Dress comfy or dress up with sun hats, sunglasses, but take pictures either way! Bring along some read-aloud books and enjoy a story afterwards. Having a picnic will bring the family together for some good quality time, while also opening up the rest of the day for fun in the sun!
8. Bug Safari
I think it’s a truth universally acknowledged that kids will be fascinated by bugs at some point in their lives. So use that to your advantage this summer! Grab a magnifying glass or make your own, then start searching! Look for ladybugs, ants, butterflies, beetles, and what I like to call “rollie polies”. Use this activity to teach respect for God’s creatures and gentle handling if we pick them up. Talk about where bugs like to live, and take it further by creating a bug habitat! Grab an open box, then fill it with sticks, dirt, rocks, grass, and whatever else you think bugs may like. Then go back later that day or stay and watch to see if any bugs move in!
9. Walking or Riding Bikes
Summer is a great season for stretching those legs! Grab your kiddos and go for a walk around the backyard, neighborhood, or local park! If you have bikes, scooters, or rollerblades, go for a ride instead. Either way, the exercise will certainly wear your kids out (and you, too!) and a nap may be in order for later. Keep plenty of water and safety gear, and then get moving!
10. Outdoor Story Circle
Anytime is a great time for story time! This is one of those outdoor activities that add some academics to the backyard. Have everyone pick a favorite book, then go outside to read together! If you’re kids are older, you can all just read in peaceable silence together. Use pillows, blankets, air mattresses, and anything else you’d like to get comfy and use a tree, the ground, or trampoline for your reading room. Share what you read together, and if your kids are older, see if they would do a short book review to either recommend or not recommend what they are reading. For little kids, have them imagine what they would do in the story, whether it was different or the same as the main character.
11. Shadow Tag
Make use of shadows this summer by playing shadow tag! Whoever is “It” will chase everyone’s shadows. If they step on a shadow, that person freezes. Play the game until everyone is tagged! This one is simple and cheap but still a lot of fun! It brings a different take on an old childhood game, and works those motor skills! If there are no shadows to be found, then play regular tag or freeze tag!
12. Sensory Path
Need some grounding? Do a sensory path! Use what you have in your yard or grab some materials, but create a little path with different objects for your kids to step on. Let them describe the textures. Is it soft or hard? Squishy or stiff? Solid or liquid? Use grass, stones, sand, water, towels, pebbles, cardboard, straw, or anything else you can think of! After walking the sensory path, have your kids sort the different objects or use them to create birdhouses out of the cardboard. Lots of potential for this activity!
13. Nature Art
Gather nature and then get the glue ready! Making nature art can be so fun and imaginative! Use leaves as bird wings, sticks as lightsabers, or flowers for dresses! This is as different as you want it to be. You could print or draw simple pictures to use as guides for your nature items. You could also just grab construction paper and glue wherever and however you want! Grab rocks and make a rock garden, or gather some pebbles and make igloos or mandelas. The possibilities are endless, and you’re encouraging imagination and creativity!
14. Parachute Play
Do you remember in public school the joy when you walked in to the gym and saw the huge parachute on the floor? I still do! And you can do this at home! Grab a sheet from the linen closet and have each your children grab a corner. Practice lifting the sheet up and down, create waves, and even add balls to try to keep in then center. Add a beach ball and practice tossing it up as high as you can and catching it again! If you’d rather purchase a parachute, here’s a good 6 foot option and here’s a good 12 foot option!
15. Bird Watching
Bird watching is one of those simple little outdoor activities that doesn’t require much but has wonderful benefits! Watching birds promotes physical activity as you may be hiking or walking to find birds. It helps build connections to nature, can increase knowledge of types of birds, and can promote creativity when using the activity as a source for writing or art. It also boosts mental and emotional wellbeing!
So grab those binoculars or make your own for fun and get outside! We set up a hummingbird feeder with materials we bought from the dollar tree and enjoyed watching a little hummingbird come after about three days, but you could also build a birdhouse and put in birdseed!
16. Mud Kitchen
A little bit of water goes a long way if you have a mud kitchen! Set up a table with some bowls, pots and pans and utensils (but make sure they are old or toys!) and let your kids make some amazing mud pies! Use flowers, grass, rocks, and anything else to pretend outdoor cooking! Tables aren’t necessary. You can make mud pies sitting on the ground or create a make-shift table with chairs or cardboard boxes! Bonus play points if you have a restaurant!
17. Shadow Drawin
Outdoor activities don’t have to always be movement based. This one is artsy and simple! Either print or draw shapes and cut them out. Then take turns holding them up and cast shadows on some paper. The drawn the outline of the shape and fill it in with nature items or crayons and markers! Get super creative with googly eyes and various craft items. Use leaves, sticks, rocks, and anything else you can find outside! Instead of paper, use chalk on the sidewalk or driveway. Use those imaginations!
18. Painted Rocks
A simple activity that only requires a few paints, brushes or fingers, and lots of imagination! Go around the yard and gather rocks or stones of varying sizes. Then, go to town painting those rocks into anything you want! Colors, patterns, shapes, or even animals are all possibilities. You can even create a rock garden or zoo! Want a little extra fun? Go around the neighborhood and place your rocks for others to enjoy!
19. Mini Sports Day
Most parents of little kids have balls, but don’t limit sports to just those! Try bean bag toss, sack races, or ring toss! Don’t worry about the cost, as you can make most of these items at home! Create bean bags with old sheets and dry beans (or rice), and use pillowcases for sack races. Paper plates and paper towel rolls can be used to make the ring toss. Simply cut out the middle of the paper plates and voila! There’s your rings. Use a whole paper plate and glue the paper towel roll to it. Create several of these or just one, and there’s the pole. Now you’re ready to play! Decorate your diy sports materials for some added pizzazz!
20. Cloud Watching
Cloud watching may be last, but it certainly isn’t least! Grab you a blanket and some pillows and lie down on the ground! If you have a trampoline or somewhere else, that’s fine too! Now look at the clouds and use that God-given imagination! This actually is building abstract thinking and imagination by searching for patterns or shapes in the clouds and considering what they could represent. Add to the wonder and talk about the science of clouds and who made all of creation! You could also come up with stories about the images you find in the clouds, and as they change and move, the story changes with them! This is still one of my favorite outdoor activities I love to do!
Outdoor Activities Tips
- Always supervise young children.
- Use sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses.
- Play in the coolest parts of the day: morning and evening.
- Have water bottles ready for drinking: preferably in a stainless steel cup!
- Choose age-appropriate activities and adapt for your child’s interests and abilities.
- Dress for the heat.
- Set clear boundaries for safety.
- Watch for signs of overheating.
- Use safe bug spray.
- Have an extra set of clothes if you’re traveling.
With a little creativity, summer days can be filled with adventure, learning, and lasting memories for your little ones! These 20 different, easy, and cheap outdoor activities are sure to help you play with your kids in your backyard this summer!
