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.

If it’s hot where you live, you might be looking for some fun activities you can do with kids inside the house. And while bubbles are generally a strictly outside the house kid of activity, these special bubbles are ones you can play with inside. It’s both a lot of fun and a science lesson.

These bubbles aren’t blown into the air, you blow them onto a tabletop gently through a straw.

What’s really cool about them is that they will stay on the table top without popping. You can even blow another bubble inside the first bubble, or stack bubbles on top of each other.

Why does this work? It’s thanks to a special ingredient in the bubble solution: sugar.

This particular recipe is from Play Party Game, but I’m sure you can find it other places with similar ingredients as well. But this post has a good explanation for what is normally happening with regular bubble solution made mostly with just soap and water, as well as why the sugar helps to make bubbles stronger and helps them last longer.

You could make this into a full on science experiment for your kids, comparing regular bubbles (this time you’ll want to do it outside or somewhere easy to clean) to the “unbreakable” bubbles, letting them hypothesize about what ingredients might help make bubbles stronger or what the sugar does to the solution.

You can talk about the molecular structure of the bubble being altered by the sugar, which makes it stronger and longer lasting.

They even have an activity kit you can buy to help guide your explorations and that offers extension activities for you to try.

Or you could just play with them. No judgement here; it’s summertime.

Grab the recipe and more of the science behind the bubbles from Play Party Game. And while you’re playing with bubbles you can also check out my giant bubble solution recipe over at Our Daily Craft.

[Photo: Play Party Game]

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