Summer is upon us, the kids are out of school & maybe you’re probably looking for some fun ways to get them outdoors! Here are a few backyard and patio activities that hopefully entertain your kids, provide you with a little break & are fun for the entire family!
Go on a photo shoot safari: Buy a cheap disposable camera & let your kids take pictures of your backyard or neighborhood. Get the pictures developed and make a book or use a digital camera, print the photos and make a book that way.
Make a bird feeder: Find a pinecone, roll in peanut butter and then in bird seed, hang with a string from a tree. Learn about the birds that visit the feeder.
Create and go on a nature treasure hunt: Once completed have the kids identify all the items that they found in books and/or online at home or at your local library.
Plant an herb garden: Plant seeds in clay pots, water and watch them grow and use in foods when they mature.
Rock Art: Find flat, smooth stones and use markers or paint to color them. Put in small dish to display!
Make a clover necklace out of clover from your yard or park
Create a nature map of your yard or neighborhood
Build a fort or tepee using old towels, blankets or sheets with patio furniture
Keep a bug diary: Any time a bug is discovered have your kids draw a picture of the bug, write a description, the date and how many of them they saw, etc. Keep all of it in a notebook and review at the end of the season.
Cloud watch: Watch clouds for funny shapes, creatures, etc. Then have the kids draw what they saw.
Make paint with berries: Instead of tossing those overripe berries, crush them up and let the kids paint with them.
Hopscotch: Buy some sidewalk chalk and draw a hopscotch grid on your patio or driveway.
Create an obstacle course in your backyard: Create obstacles to hop, jump, run around, under, over or through, etc.
Host a backyard Olympics: Fastest runner, furthest ball throw, most somersaults, most jumping jacks, longest jump roper, most hand stands, most hula-hoops, etc.
Backyard bowling: Create pins out of plastic bottles filled with a little water, use a heavy ball of any size to bowl with (basketball, soccer ball, rubber ball, etc.)
Have a bike wash station: Provide buckets, sponges and old towels. Provide dish soap and a hose and let them scrub away!
Sand Castle Art Creations: If you have a sand box, provide kids with buckets, various containers & water and see who can come up with the best castle or other sand creation.
Create and bury a time capsule: Use a water & dirt proof container. Fill with treasures from the summer & bury in your backyard until next year. Then dig up and replace with a new one each year for an annual event!
Paint an old sheet on a fence: Hang an old sheet on the fence or other area. Provide water base paint and paint brushes and let the kids create a master piece. Let it dry and use for a fort!
Hanging water piñatas: Hang various balloons filled with water with rope or string from a tree, provide a blindfold, plastic bat or stick and let them have fun getting wet!