The Big List of Summer Outdoor Activities For Kids
Finding fun and easy ways to beat the Summer heat is crucial. Plus, what’s better than budget-friendly outdoor activities that help you stay outside longer? That’s why this list of Summer outdoor activities for kids is a must-have!
These Summer outdoor activities are simple to put together (needing little to no prep) and will provide your family with hours of fun. And you can do most of these activities at home without buying many new gadgets!
And best of all, these Summer outdoor activities for kids are loads of fun for children of many different ages. It doesn’t matter if your child is 2 or 8; they will have a great time with these activity ideas!
Let’s get started!
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1. Play Beach Ball Volleyball
Playing volleyball with a beach ball is such a fun backyard game. Not to mention, beach ball volleyball is easy enough for toddlers to have fun with, too!
Another terrific thing about playing this game at home is that you don’t have to have a net or rules, for that matter. Your kids can try to keep hitting the ball into the air until someone misses and the ball falls to the ground.
2. Play Jump Rope Games
There are many fun ways to play with a jump rope, in addition to seeing how many jumps you can get in a row!
For example, your kids can try to create or learn new jump rope rhymes. Or, they can play Snake, where one person holds one end of the jump rope and waves it to make the rope ‘slither.’ Then, the other person can try to jump over the rope without getting touched by the jump rope.
Also, when you give your child an open-ended toy, you’ll be surprised by what they come up with. My toddler likes to drape his jump rope across a couple of chairs to play his version of limbo. There are endless play ideas when your child adds their imagination!
3. Have a Hula Hoop Competition
Hula hoops are another open-ended toy that can bring great fun to your kids’ day! One easy way to play with hula hoops is to see how long you can hula hoop. If you have a stopwatch (one on your phone will work!), you can set it and then turn it off once your child’s hula hoop falls.
Then, your child can try to beat their best time. Or, if you have multiple kids, they can see who can hula hoop the longest as a group!
4. Make Some Hula Hoop Games
While you have the hula hoops out, encourage your children to make up their own games! Like with the jump ropes, you might be pleasantly surprised by how many fun ideas your kids can come up with.
To get you started, you can suggest that your child roll the hula hoop on the ground to see how far they can roll it. Or, they can lay the hula hoops on the ground and hop from one to the next or try to throw balls into the center like a target.
5. Make Juice Popsicles
Making popsicles with your kids is much more fun than buying them. Not to mention, you have much more opportunities to customize them! Then once they’re frozen, you can take them outside to cool off without having a mess inside.
To make popsicles, you’ll need a mold to freeze the liquid. These molds are fantastic; they are silicone and come with a cleaning brush, reusable popsicle sticks, and a funnel to make filling the molds easy.
It’s also good to remember that you don’t have to use juice! You can use fruit puree, yogurt, water with fruit chunks, and applesauce!
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6. Have a Shadow Puppet Show
Having a shadow puppet show in your yard is not only fun; it’s also an excellent way to teach and show your children how the sun moves throughout the day, making shadows!
For this activity, it’s best to do it when the sun is at an angle, not straight overhead.
7. Make a Cabin Out of Sticks
If you remember Lincoln Logs, this activity is similar! First, you’ll need to collect some sticks. Remember that you won’t want sticks that are too thick or too thin.
If you have trees in your yard, take a minute to collect some with your kids. If you don’t have trees at home, going to a park is another wonderful option!
Once you have a pile of sticks, break them, so they are approximately the same lengths. Then, your kids can try to stack them into a cabin!
If they have never played with Lincoln Logs before, you might need to show them how to stack the ‘logs,’ but it won’t be long before they have a village of cabins built!
8. Go Berry Picking
Berry picking is one of the Summer outdoor activities that kids of all ages can enjoy. Most commonly, you can pick strawberries and blueberries in the Summertime.
If you don’t know of any berry farms in your area, a quick google search will give you some options to visit!
9. Visit an Outdoor Pool
Visiting an outdoor pool on a hot summer day is a great way to beat the heat. Plus, if you have toddlers, many local outdoor pools have a splash pad for them to stomp around in!
10. Eat a Meal Outside
It’s easy to stick to the cycle of eating every meal inside the house. But, if the weather is fantastic, take a meal outside!
If you don’t have a table to sit at outside, grab a blanket and have an impromptu picnic. Switching things up a bit adds some excitement to your day, all while giving your family some needed fresh air.
11. Find a Creek to Watch
Taking a nature walk to a nearby creek or river is a fun outdoor summer activity for all kids. Once you get to the creek, it’s so peaceful to watch it flow.
Also, when watching a creek, your kids can toss leaves or sticks into the water and watch how fast they float away. They can even experiment with whose object floats down the stream fastest!
12. Wash the Car (or Cozy Coupe)
As I’ve mentioned, playing with water is a great way to keep cool on hot days. Washing the car has the added benefit of getting a chore accomplished simultaneously!
If your kids have a Cozy Coupe car, it can also be fun to let them wash their own little car. Give them a bucket and a sponge, and they will be thrilled!
Also, if you have a dog, you can get your kids to help wash them. Not only will you have a lovely-smelling dog, but you’ll save money by not taking them to a groomer!
13. Paint Rocks
Painting rocks is a great outdoor activity; you won’t have a mess to clean up inside the house afterward! Plus, this crafty activity will allow your child to express their creativity.
To paint rocks, all you need is some acrylic paint, paint brushes, and of course, rocks! If you don’t already have these supplies, you can get a fantastic kit like this one with everything you need.
Once your kids paint their rocks, they can hide them around the yard or place them amongst other rock gardens in public to brighten other people’s day!
14. Draw a Chalk Track for Bikes/Trikes
Drawing a track out of sidewalk chalk is so much fun if your kids enjoy riding bikes or trikes. They get the joy of inventing their own track and try them out on their bikes afterward!
This idea is ideal if you have a paved driveway, but it can work well on a sidewalk, too!
15. Visit a New-To-You Lake
Like visiting a pool, visiting a lake in the summer is a great family activity that may come with more privacy than you’d get at a pool.
If you frequently visit a lake near your home, you can have a new adventure by finding a new-to-you lake. Pack up a picnic and make it a day-long adventure!
16. Skip Stones
Speaking of lakes, whether you visit a lake to swim or explore the land around it, taking some time to skip rocks can be a memorable activity!
Show your kids how to find the perfect, flat skipping rock, teach them the throwing technique, and enjoy this fun activity! You can even try to see who can get the most skips.
17. Make Up Silly Yard Races or Obstacle Courses
When my son was around 2.5-years-old, he started making silly obstacle courses that would keep him entertained for an hour! He would usually take his yard toys and set them around the yard. Then, he would start by going down his slide and then run around each toy.
As you can guess, this summer outdoor activity for kids becomes more fun as your children get older. They start to make more complex courses and have even more fun doing so!
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18. Find Shapes in the Clouds
If you’re looking for more relaxing outdoor summer activities for kids, this one is for you!
Lay a blanket in the grass and simply look up at the clouds. Try to find different shapes or images and see if your kids can see the same shapes!
To take this activity to the next level, you can also have your children draw what they see in the clouds. Just bring a pad of paper and a pencil, and you’re ready to start!
19. Have a Dino Ice Excavation
Putting together a dino ice excavation takes a little prep, but the end result is so worth it!
To make a dino’ eggs’, you’ll need mini dinos (but any small animal figurine will work, too), balloons, and water. For the excavation, you’ll need tools like salt, warm water, a water squirter or baster, and a kid-safe mallet (if older kids want to hammer at the ice).
To make the dino eggs, you’ll grab a balloon and carefully put a dino inside. Then, you’ll fill the balloon with enough water to cover the dino entirely.
Next, place the water balloons in the freezer until they are completely frozen. Then, your kids can have fun trying to get their dino out of the ice!
20. Invent New Games With Bubbles
Blowing bubbles is always one of the highly requested Summer outdoor activities for kids. But, when the initial novelty of bubbles wears off, you might wonder how to get your kids interested in them for longer.
One way to keep the bubble play going is to make up games with the bubbles. Your kids could try to pop every bubble with a stick before they float away or hit the ground. Or, they could try to blow the biggest bubble and try to protect it from getting popped!
21. Try a New Summer Sport
Trying out new sports every so often is a great way to spark an interest in your kids. They might think they won’t enjoy doing a particular sport until they try it!
Some fun sports to try out in the Summertime are tennis, frisbee golf, or even regular golf (mini golf counts, too 😉 )!
22. Fly a Kite
If there’s a windy day where you think there’s nothing fun to do outside, grab a kite!
Flying a kite is something I loved to do when I was younger, but just sort of forgot about doing later on in life. But, there is something magical about flying a kite that kids love!
If you don’t already have a kite but are interested in this activity, this kite is a great option! It’s budget-friendly, easy to fly, and comes in many different colors and patterns to choose from!
23. Tie-Dye Shirts
Tie-dye is a great outdoor activity because it prevents the house from becoming messy. Plus, it gives your kids an opportunity to create their own shirts with their favorite colors!
If you’ve never tie-dyed anything before, grabbing a kit like this one is great to start with! Then, you’ll need some plain white shirts and some rubber bands. Youtube is a fantastic resource for learning how to tie shirts to make awesome designs.
24. Make a Sheet Fort
Building a sheet fort outside is not only a fun spin on the typical blanket forts you create inside, but it can also give your kids some more shade to play under!
One of the easiest ways to build a sheet fort outside is to use a sizeable fitted sheet. You can put the fitted sheet around some lawn chairs, which will be a little more secure from the wind than a flat sheet.
25. Keep a Balloon in the Air
If you have spare balloons, blow one up, and take it outside! Have your kids try to keep it from hitting the ground.
To make this activity a little more difficult, tell your kids that they have to keep the balloon in the air without using their hands! For example, they can use water blasters to keep the balloon up or try to blow it back up into the air.
26. Go Fishing
If you love fishing or have been interested in going, grab some fishing poles and head out! Even smaller children can enjoy fishing with the proper help and supervision!
If you’ve never been fishing before and would love to try it out, head to a local sporting goods store, and they can help you get started!
27. How Fast Can You Melt the Ice Cube
Here is an easy and fun activity for those scorching days. Grab some ice cubes and see who can melt theirs faster!
You can bring some tools outside, like a magnifying glass, salt, warm water, and a dropper, and see what method works the fastest!
28. Go on a Walk and Notice the Changes
A fun way to show your children how the seasons change their surroundings is to go on a walk. Have your kids point out the things that have noticeably changed on the walk. For example, how have the trees changed, what flowers are new, what animals do you see?
29. Make Sidewalk Chalk Paint
One way to take sidewalk art up a level is to make sidewalk chalk paint! Making paint out of sidewalk chalk gives you a chance to use up the little nubs that seem to accumulate. Plus, it gives your kids a new way to use their creativity!
To make sidewalk chalk paint, check out this comprehensive article with everything you need to know!
30. Create a Treasure Hunt
Making a treasure hunt in your yard is an exciting way to encourage your kids’ problem-solving skills. Plus, your kids will love finding even the smallest treasure!
To make a treasure hunt, you can quickly make a simple map of your yard. Put an ‘X’ where the treasure is, draw some recognizable items in the yard, and draw a map to the treasure!
31. Do a Messy Experiment
One thing that my son is always asking to do is messy crafts or messy experiments. Summer is the perfect time to take messy activities outside!
If you need some ideas to get you started, the Coke and Mentos experiment is always a hit! Or, for younger kids, simply squirting vinegar into baking soda will be just as exciting.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this list of Summer outdoor activities for kids! Spending time outdoors with your children is beneficial for many reasons; I hope these activities help make getting outside effortless for your family!
Before you go, check out these related articles:
- Fun Spring Activities That Will Get Your Family Outside
- The Best Outdoor Toys for Toddlers
- Memorable Birthday Traditions Your Kids Will Love
- Fun and Easy Mess-Free Finger Painting for Kids
- Easy Chores Your Toddler Will Enjoy Doing!
What was one of your favorite summer outdoor activities for kids? I would love to know in the comments below!
