Summer Outdoor Activities for Kids

After talking about outdoor learning areas for the home or school last month, I’m still thinking about ways to get kids outside during the summer. I know it can be a struggle when you live somewhere warm and as kids get older and don’t naturally want to be outside all the time. (I think I’ve come up with a clever solution by volunteering with my teen at a local garden.)

This one is from a website for little ones (Happy Toddler Playtime) but I think older kids would also enjoy making an aluminum foil river in the back yard. This works best if you have an area that’s smooth and gently sloping, but if your sidewalk is flat turn it into an engineering challenge to see how to make the water flow better. You can also have boat races (with boats you have or boats kids make), see how much water is needed to make different things float, try different configurations of your “stream” and more.

I’m a big fan of the outdoor scavenger hunt, and The Crazy Outdoor Mama has five free printable options for different age groups. From a simple scavenger hunt with drawings of things to look for for younger kids to a mindfulness hunt that includes things like a pretty smelling plant and a sunny place to lie down, there’s something for everyone here.

If your kids like to collect treasures on their scavenger hunts and nature walks, one way to preserve them is by making clay impressions and painting the clay to make a long-lasting work of art. This tutorial from My Bright Ideas will show you how it’s done.

Need more ideas? Messy Little Monster has a great collection of forest school activities to try, from making natural paintbrushes to making bird feeders and using natural materials to make art. I love this Andy Goldsworthy project pictured here. And Montessori Nature has a ton of great ideas and some free printables related to outdoor learning activities to give you even more inspiration. Shown above are magic wands made with sticks and bits of string or fabric.

Next Plan Idea:

Outdoor Learning Areas and Ideas

I’m in deep denial about the fact that new year is almost upon us again! It’s been the fastest and the longest year at the same time, and I can look back and see some good things as well as some things I wish had gone differently.

Doing a year in review with your kids — whether in the classroom or at home — is a good way to capture some of their memories and the things they really liked about the year gone by.

There are a lot of different printable year in review worksheets you can use if you want to make this super easy. Here are links to a few (often part of larger posts about NYE celebrations with kids that are worth a read, too):

Teach Beside Me has lots of fun printables fro the end of the year, including a year in review that covers favorite memory, funniest memory and the best book they read, among other topics.
NurtureStore‘s version has space for a self-portrait and prompts like favorite toy, best day out this year and future dream job.
Remember favorites, their “best idea” of the year and have room for setting goals for next year with this one from The Keele Deal.
The year in review from Yes We Made This has room for drawing or writing and includes things like something they learned, a memory they made and a place they visited.

Of course you could pretty easily make your own year in review for the whole family to do that asks questions based on what you most want to remember. (Favorite video game? Best friend? Favorite family memory?)

And if after the year in review you’re ready to look ahead a bit, Mrs. Merry has new year’s resolution printables to inspired kids to look ahead and set goals for things they want to try. You can totally fill this one out as a grownup, too.

[Photo: Mrs. Merry]

Next Plan Idea:

Have you read?

Leave a Reply