Gone are the days when you could simply wave your kids off on a Saturday morning and not see them again until dinner time.
With the lure of screens, video games and the kitchen close by, many children are now more than happy to stay inside for hours. But we all know how good fresh air and exercise is for growing bodies and minds. ‘Green time’ improves focus and mood, is great exercise and is imaginative and creative.
So we’ve rounded up 7 fun outdoor games for kids that don’t require any special equipment – let’s go.
Some kids absolutely love to jump around and take risks, and you can give them the opportunity by putting together a DIY parkour course with whatever you have lying around – a trampoline, an old sofa, yoga mats, hula hoops, chairs and cushions. Time them or add a ‘floor is lava’ rule so they can only jump from item to item to add to the difficulty, or make vaults out of pool noodles and increase the height each time.
Younger kids will enjoy a safer obstacle course, perhaps made of hula hoops and cushions, and pool noodles, jumping from one item to the next.
Save up some water bottles, add a ball and create a lane with plastic sheeting and pool noodles and you have your very own private bowling alley for a family tournament. Fire up the barbecue and serve burgers afterwards to make an entertaining evening of it.
Chalk comes in handy for all sorts of outdoor activities, from creating treasure hunts and maps, drawing beautiful temporary wall murals, or just setting up an old-fashioned game of hopscotch.
On balmy summer nights or bright winter ones, there’s nothing more fun than a game of hide and seek with a flashlight. Get a fire going afterwards and make some s’mores or toast marshmallows and tell ghost stories.
Another fun variation is to play sardines, where all the people who have been found hide in the same spot. The last person to find everyone is ‘it’ in the next round.
A bag of balloons or a few water guns are a fun way to let off some steam and cool down on a hot day or night. Set up teams, invite over a few neighbourhood kids and keep the water topped up (it’s more water efficient to use a bucket for refills than a hose) and they’ll be outside for hours! Another fun way with waterplay if you have any kind of slope is to add a water slide with plastic sheeting and a hose or bucket of water.
Pull out the tent from the shed and set it up in the backyard. Kids will love having a tent to hang out in – add a mattress, some pillows, a torch and a few books and blankets, and even let them sleep out there if they are game.
Making terrariums is a great activity for school kids, and even older ones will soon be intrigued once you get them looking around. Give them a tupperware container or water glass and encourage them to dig around and create a habitat with sand, leaves and a little water for garden creatures such as bugs or slugs.
Children who aren’t keen on handling little creatures might enjoy making a fairy or gnome house in the garden out of bark, flowers, twigs, leaves and whatever else they can find, or a pretty flower mandala – be sure to take a photo once it’s finished.
Hope there’s something here for the small people in your life – and feel free to share your ideas, too!
