Summer can be an especially fun time for toddlers. If yours is anything like mine, they love to spend time outside. Here are some fun outdoor activities to do with your toddler during the summer.
Water Activities
My daughter loves everything to do with water. Here are a few ideas:
- Water table
- Swimming pool: fun tip – make this even more fun by moving a small slide over to it
- Sprinkler – get your suit on and run through with them!
- Head to a local beach
- Collect seashells – then bring them home and have them paint them for fun! If you want to have some more fun with this – have them paint a canvas as well and glue the seashells to it for a unique piece of art
- Take them kayaking with you
- Outdoor dishes – fill a tub up with water and dish soap and have them “wash” their toys. My daughter loves pretending to clean or bathe her water toys
- Water balloons – have a family water balloon fight
- Squirt guns – have a family squirt gunfight
Land Activities
- Pick “flowers” – my daughter loves to walk around the neighborhood and pick dandelions and other weed-like flowers from the side of the sidewalk
- Actually pick flowers – we have several bushes and plants that have flowers on them. Go around and let your toddler pick out which ones to cut off. Then give them a vase and let them arrange the flowers themselves. This is another one of my daughter’s favorite activities.
- Collect things – sticks, pinecones, rocks, acorns – anything nature-related that can be picked up off the ground. My daughter loves to collect things from around the yard. Want to take it a step further? Bring a few of them inside and paint them!
- Campfire – cook dinner over it one night, with s’mores for dessert!
- Camp in your yard – you don’t have to go anywhere special to camp. They’d enjoy it just as much in your own backyard.
- Garden – plant a garden and have them help water it, pull weeds and pick the produce. My daughter loves checking out our garden daily to see what new things are growing and how big everything is getting.
- Puddles – jump in them, don’t worry about their clothes getting wet/dirty, just let them have some fun
Other Outdoor Activities
- Chase them around – my daughter calls this “don’t get me” and just likes to be chased, typically with our arms out, pretending to be airplanes
- Throw a ball around – we like to use the giant blow-up balls you can find in the toy section and roll it back and forth
- Yard games – pick up a few cheap yard games such as a plastic t-ball set or golf. You could even use some of your own yard games with them. My daughter loves trying to play croquet or horseshoes.
- Outdoor movie – you can project it onto your garage door or the side of your house. We haven’t done this, but no doubt my daughter would love to watch Frozen on the big screen while outside
- Play in the sandbox – for extra fun, bring in some water to make sandcastles
- Play Red Light, Green Light, Simon Says, or Hide and Seek
- Blow bubbles
- Color on the driveway/sidewalk with chalk – make hopscotch and practice jumping with them
- Bring some toys outside and let them play out there – my daughter loves to do this with her dinosaurs or her Paw Patrol toys. Even reading books outside or bringing coloring books outside is extra fun.
- Check out various parks in your area
- Create an obstacle course in your yard – you can use anything you have on hand, boxes, chairs, various game pieces
- Go for a walk or hike – just generally explore the neighborhood or hiking trails near you
- Eat a picnic lunch outside on your patio or on a blanket in your yard – just the change of location for eating can be exciting for a toddler
Pick a few of the Outdoor Activities for Your Toddler
As the summer goes on, I often feel like I’m running out of things to do with my daughter outside. However, I’ve recently realized that when I bring it back to the basics is the best method.
Sometimes I get too wrapped up in trying to provide her a certain type of experience. However, this can sometimes lead to burnout with trying new activities and overstimulation in seeing new places.
The outdoor activities mentioned above go back to the basics and provide simple and quick ideas for right around your own house. Sometimes you forget how much nature has to offer you right in your own backyard.
Try some of the above outdoor activities with your toddler and let us know how they worked out for you!
