As parents, we always think of ideas for children playing outside. Being outdoors is a great way for kids to explore and learn the world around them. Best of it, it’s free. So what are some of the cool ideas for children to play outside whether is in your own garden, backyard or at the local park? Let’s look at what some cost effective ways to get the kids out to have a lot of fun.
Fun Ideas for Kids Playing Outside
Learning Colours:
What fun, hunting around for colourful toys while learning colours with your toddler! For this, we recommend hiding a few colourful eggs or smaller toys. You can hide these toys in a garden bush, garage or just outside the house. One way to encourage learning is to actually have two of everything so that you can pull one toy from a bag and go hunting for the same object. This will make it easier for your toddler to identify the object and colour. You can easily spend 45 minutes to 1 hour just playing around learning colours outside.
Obstacle Course:
You can easily create an obstacle course in your backyard. For example, you can use your garden hose, jam ropes and a few garbage bags. The kids can jump in the garbage bag and start walking around, trying to get through different obstacles that you set up. Another suggestion is to use bigger toys such as trucks or different toy sets and get the kids to through a ball around them. Lots of fun here and you can create endless obstacles.
Water Park / Swimming:
What toddler doesn’t like to play in the water? One of the best ways to teach your kids how to swim is to get them to the local swimming pool. Although some charge a free, this is minimal and for the fun to be had, it’s worth the price. You’ll be able to teach your toddler how to swim and at the same time make a day out of it by splashing around. Look out for your neighbourhood parks also as some of them offer a small water play area. No admission fee here, so you can stroll around and also have a water play session. Fun, fun.
Aquarium Visit:
This is not a free activity but we though we’ll include it as it makes such as great way to spend the day teaching our children about different types of fish, colours, shapes, and sizes. Ideally, you’ll want to have your kids a bit older to be able to appreciate the aquarium. We took Noah when he was under 1 year old. Nevertheless, we all had fun. Watch out for discounts as some of the aquariums may offer special prices during certain hours and time of the week.
Fire Station Visit:
What a cool way to learn about fire trucks! Visit your fire station and ask if you can spend 15 minutes around the truck. I would argue that most would agree to it as it serves as an educational purpose. You can go over the details of the truck from the outside, so you don’t need to actually go inside the truck. I see this as great educational session for the kids especially if they have a firetruck toy. You can also do visit a police station or a hospital to look at an ambulance briefly.
Winter activities for kids
If you’re lucky to live in a place that gets snow, what better way to have fun than getting outside. Winter activities for kids are endless. You can go for a walk. You can build a snowman. You can get the kids on a sleigh ride.
Another free winter activity that we enjoyed recently is to take the kids to a ski hill, ski area near you. Although you don’t necessarily have to teach them skiing or snowboarding, you can easily spend a few hours playing in the snow and exploring the area around. Best thing, it’s free and a good walk around will work out a good appetite for later as well as a good afternoon nap!
The above are some ideas for children playing outside. Of course you can build a slide and an entire playground in your backyard if you have the budget and time. We always think that taking the kids out and showing them around is also beneficial for their learning abilities. So whether you like to play in your own backyard hunting colourful toys, go swimming or go over a fire truck, the choices are up to you. Best thing of all, most of these actives are free or cost very little at best. So get out and enjoy it. We’re sure that your kids will too!
What are some of your children’s favourite activities outdoors? What learning activities are fun and educational? We’ll love to hear other ideas for children playing outside so please let us know in the comments below.
