Outdoor Activities for Summer Fun

I wrote a few weeks ago about water play activities for kids, which is one great way to get them outside and playing even when it’s hot. But I thought it would be fun to share some other outdoor activities for summer that kids can do when its not too hot outside (which is, like, first thing in the morning where I live!).

When my daughter was younger she loved playing with sidewalk chalk paint. To the point I had the (very simple) recipe memorized and stockpiled corn starch for this purpose.

We’re big fans of outdoor art activities, and this bubble painting project from My Home Based Life is another great idea. Or use a clear shower curtain liner as a canvas for outdoor painting, as in this idea from Happy Toddler Playtime.

If you have a backyard with a play set you can make this obstacle course inspired by American Ninja Warrior. The DIY “floating steps” are so fun, easy to make, and great for gross motor skills, too! Check out all the details at Teaching Mama. Imagination Soup has a great post all about the different kinds of actions you might want to include in your obstacle course and things you can buy (or that you might already have) to make the best course ever. Here is a Montessori-style balance beam for toddlers designed with a child’s learning, exercise, and safety in mind.

Pool noodles are an easy way to build obstacles, or to make simple outdoor games that don’t cost a lot of money. Mission to Save has a great roundup of ways to use pool noodles when you don’t have a pool (I love the ring toss idea!).

But if you do want a little water involved in your summer outdoor activities, try a squirt gun water race like this one from Mom Brite. Or if water balloons are going to be used, make some water balloon launchers out of old milk jugs, like these from Kid Friendly Things to Do.

Don’t skip learning while you’re playing outside! Growing Book by Book has a fun giant memory game you can make and play outside (or inside, when it’s too hot or cold to be outside). The pairs rhyme, adding a layer of fun.

Learning numbers actually involves a few different skills, from recognizing the shape of the number and knowing the word that goes with it to understanding one to one correspondence for counting and what order the numbers go in.

A lot of this is learned best through play and activities that get kids counting and tracing and otherwise interacting with numbers. These activities can help.

I specifically mentioned tracing above because of these number formation rhymes cards from Teaching Mama, which can be used in lots of ways to practice making the shapes of the numbers, including tracing, lining up items on the number shapes (and counting them!), using playdough to shape the numbers and so on. Each number has a little rhyme to help you remember how to make it, which is cute.

And speaking of playdough, you can find lots of playdough number mats with different themes for kids to use as they learn about numbers. Preschool Play and Learn, for example, has these cute apple themed ones that also teach one to one correspondence as you learn the numbers and count to 10.

Or use these tree-themed ones from Live Over Cs to form the numbers, count out items on a ten frame and place the correct number of items in the tree to match the number (do this with playdough, little buttons or whatever manipulatives you have on hand). Your little builders will also love these Duplo number mats from Life Over Cs, which allow you to shape the number out of blocks and count out the number of blocks that corresponds to each number.

I also love these mats from The Savvy Sparrow that include the number and the word you can trace with playdough or marker, showing how to count the number on your fingers, a tens frame and a number line.

Finger plays and counting songs are lots of fun for little ones, too, and Childhood 101 has a great collection of songs and rhymes having to do with numbers (as well as printable song cards you can use with them.

This cardboard roll number chain form Hands On As We Grow would be a fun addition to singing number songs or to use in other play and counting games. And we all love something easy to make with stuff we already have.

Older kids who already know the order of numbers can also use these connect the dot number printables from Fun Learning for Kids. Or use the shapes for playdough mats or to practice tracing even for kids who don’t know all the numbers in order yet.

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