63 Fun Things to Do Outside With Kids

Shila:  Whether it's a planned outdoor activity on a hot day or you're just watering your lawn anyway, invite your kids to come outside and run through the sprinklers!

Shila:  Kids looking for an active (and creative!) outdoor activity can make their very own "American Ninja Warrior" obstacle course using any safe objects they can find. They can challenge themselves to hop through old tires, race around cones, walk the tight-wire across a broom - the opportunities for creativity are limitless!

Shila:  If splashing in the slip and slide was one of your favorite backyard activities growing up, it’s an easy one to recreate for your own kids. You can purchase a plastic tarp from your local home improvement store and lay it sloped in your yard. Add some dish soap and turn on the sprinklers for a DIY slip and slide!

Shila:  Encourage your children to discover the many odds and ends hiding in nature. From "a rock shaped like an oval" to "a bird's nest," choose from a variety of printables online or create your own for an engaging outdoor activity kids will love.

Shila:  Using any miniature toys you wish, create a shoebox-sized habitat outside and let your imagination go wild. Typically these are semi-permanent outdoor displays, so be sure to use toys that you don't mind staying dirty.

Shila:  Fill up some water balloons and you know the rest! An alternative to water balloons can be to use soaked sponges. Try cutting sponges into strips about 1/2-1 inch wide and 3-4 inches long, then tying a few strips together around the middle longwise and fanning them out for a reusable “water bomb.”

Shila:  An easy DIY sundial clock can be a "full day" outdoor activity and science experiment for kids! Learn to tell time using the sun and a few common household objects. From Scientific American

Shila:  Kids love bubbles! Younger kids may need assistance, but it's an outdoor activity parents can always do while sitting on lawn chairs. ;) There are also outdoor bubble machines for purchase, as well as kid-friendly bubble guns.

Shila:  Bring easy arts and crafts outside with crayons, paper - and nature! Find any object with interesting texture, such a a leaf or a few blades of grass, and cover it with paper. Lightly rub your crayon over the paper to reveal the textured and traced effect of the objects.

Shila:  Kids who love nature especially love to seek out and add bugs to a bug collector and/or observe them from a safe distance. Look under rocks or dig a bit under the soil to discover creepy crawlers!

Kelly R.:  On a clear night, take a look up at the stars! SkyView Lite, a free app, lets you point your phone to the sky and identify the stars, constellations, galaxies, satellites and planets that are present. You can even use it in daylight. Download it at the App Store and Google Play.

Shila:  On a hot day, strap on the bathing suits and use water colors or DIY finger paint to paint yourselves and each other. Hose off and repeat!

Shila:  Do you have any leftover paint chip sample cards from the home improvement store? Challenge your kids to a scavenger hunt using only those colors. What exactly can you find in nature that matches "Charcoal Gray" or "Midnight Blue?"

Shila:  Lay out a blanket under some shade, stare at the passing clouds and guess what they resemble. "Look! That one looks like ___!"

Shila:  Soak some suds in a bucket and get to washing your bikes (or the family car). Turn the kids' chores into fun things to do outside!