3 Fun and Easy Ideas to Get Your Kids Playing Outside That You Need To Try This Summer
And Why It's A Good Idea to Spend As Much Time Outside As Possible
Let’s face it, the allure of screen time is hard to pass up for kids… and parents too (who can deny that those 30 minute of silence when Paw Patrol is on are pure bliss). As tempting as it is to have shows on repeat all day, getting your kids to play outside is so important. Not only will it knock them out for bedtime, but outdoor playtime is good for your kid’s body, mind, and happiness!
There are so many health benefits of outdoor time for kids that it’s hard to keep track of them all. Researchers have shown that it can reduce the risk for obesity and diabetes, and decrease ADHD symptoms. On top of that, it can increase Vitamin D levels, improve critical thinking skills and can help boost test scores. (1). You might be saying, “this is great and all, but how do I actually get my kids excited about going outside?!” We hear you! In order to encourage more outdoor play, we came up with three outdoor activities that are super fun for kids but easy for parents to set up. Try them out this weekend!
1. Outdoor Art Time
Doing arts and crafts outdoors is a great way to get kids outside even if they aren’t the run-around-in-circles type. Plus, all the mess is outside and you can just hose everything off after. One of our favorite outdoor arts and crafts is rock painting. We have the kids hunt for rocks in a variety of shapes and sizes and then bring them back to a station where they can paint some funny faces on them. It’s so fun to see their creativity at work!
Another activity is creating hammered artwork from nature (we’ll explain). This one requires a bit more parental supervision, but it’s totally worth it. The kids go and collect a variety of leaves, grasses, and flowers and then pound them between sheets of paper with a wooden mallet or hammer. The colors and shapes transfer to the paper to create some seriously cool art. We find that a thicker textured paper like watercolor paper produces the best results. Kids enjoy this so much they’ll ask to do it over and over again!
2. Adjective Scavenger Hunt
What if we told you that with just a few minutes of prep you could keep your kids outdoors and occupied for what can seem like countless hours? Sound too good to be true? An outdoor scavenger hunt will do just that! We like to make lists of adjectives (like soft, hard, green, round, pointy, long…etc.) and give the kids a basket to go find things in the backyard or neighborhood park that fit the description. Sometimes we even have the kids come back and do a show and tell and compare the objects they found.
3. Water Gun Freeze Tag
This one is a great activity as it starts warming up outside! Get a couple of water guns or squirt bottles and use them to play a version of freeze tag. Our version: someone is designated “it” and if they spray another player with water, they are frozen. If another player tags them, then they are unfrozen and can start running around again. Sometimes the game just devolves into everyone running around spraying everyone else, and that’s fine by us! Feel free to kick back and enjoy a glass of wine and watch, but we find it pretty tempting to play too.
So there you have it- three easy outdoor activities that will help your kids get off their screens and back outside. We hope that they are a hit with your kids and will be on repeat all summer.
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