Without having to shell out much money, these easy and fun outdoor activities for toddlers will keep your kids completely entertained.
Do you have a cranky toddler or bored preschooler on your hands? Get them outside! The beautiful sunlight and a bit of a breeze can make your little one smile again. Check out the following things to do outside with toddlers! They’re perfectly doable right in your backyard or neighborhood, so there is no need to travel far to have fun with your toddlers outdoors. Perfect for any occasion including; birthday parties, family reunion’s, and holiday’s!
Caterpillar Hopscotch
It’s probable that your little one’s already met and adored Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Well, with only a little sidewalk chalk, you can make this munching insect the star of this driveway or sidewalk game, and enjoy one of the most popular outdoor games for toddlers. First, draw a large chalk circle, two or three feet across, with a cute face and antennae. Then, add from 10-20 more circles to create a jumbo-size caterpillar. Use a stopwatch to make the game more exciting, and challenge your toddler to run from one end of the caterpillar to the other. If your kid is a preschooler, you can tell them not to step on any chalk lines to make the game more challenging or encourage them to try bunny hopping or leaping from one circle to another. To add some learning to this game, you can use different colors, as you encourage your kid to jump from green to purple to red. This helps with engaging their cognitive functions by getting them moving around with some fun activities.
Wash & Dry
It’s well-known that water always adds fun to outdoor games, so when you think about toddlers' outdoor activities, it can’t miss the list. Try this out during a warm day to have a blast. Fill a bucket with water and add a few drops of tear-free baby shampoo. Get some clean sponges and let your toddlers or preschoolers clean up everything they use to roll: bikes, tricycles, scooters, and ride-ons. After soaping the vehicles up, help your kids use the hose to rinse them down, and then use some old rags or towels to dry the rides. Finally, enjoy taking your toddlers outdoors on their rides and start a parade around the block as the cherry on the cake.
Grow a Mini-Garden
A wonderful way to stimulate your kid’s curiosity about the world is by introducing them to the marvelous nature, which can easily be done by creating a kid-friendly garden. Perfect for the babies who just started walking! Besides, your toddler or preschooler will get a great sense of accomplishment by growing a plant. Starting is really easy: you just have to transplant already-thriving seedlings into pots filled with soil. Afterward, you can plant the veggies in the ground or keep them in these containers, whatever you prefer. Some kid-friendly and reliable options are green beans, basil, and tomatoes, but you can also check what’s growing at your local nursery, which is actually one of the other things to do outside with toddlers!
Hit the Streets
Sick of being at home all day? Try getting toddlers outdoors to live some adventures. This activity will give your tot a chance to choose the route. Get some index cards with arrows on them pointing right, left, forward and backward, and get going. Let your kid pick a card to decide which way you head next every time you reach a fork in the road. You can play a guessing game along the way to predict what you’ll see (or won’t see) on the next block: a blue mailbox, a black door, a tree, etc.
Play Sneaky Bear
The Sneaky Bear game is another option for fun things to do with toddlers outside. First, tell your little one to choose three items before “going to sleep” under a blanket. Then, you or another kid (“the sneaky bear”) steal one item and hide it. Once you’re done hiding it, yell “Wake up!” so the sleepyhead can start trying to realize which item is missing. If there are more than two players in the game, they can also guess who stole it. To let everyone be the sneaky bear, take turns. To make the game more challenging, you can add a search for the missing item.
Make Monster Bubbles
Is there any child who isn’t crazy about bubbles? Bubbles are a must in a list of the fun things to do with toddlers outside. You don’t even need to buy a solution, as you can make your own at home. First, get a gallon of warm water and add one cup of dishwashing soap. The secret to getting jumbo-size bubbles is glycerin. Get it at your local pharmacy and add two or three tablespoons to the mix. Then, get a flat, rimmed tray and pour your mix into it. Make a wand bending a wire hanger into a loop. Teach your tot how to slowly get the wand inside the tray and lift it as you walk backward to create a huge bubble. You can try using different items to make the wands, such as pipe cleaners or fly swatters. If you want to make monster-sized bubbles, pour your solution into a wading pool and use a Hula-Hoop to make them.
Obstacle Course Race
An essential part of every toddler and preschooler development is mastering their gross-motor skills, so throwing, kicking, running, and jumping are very important. This backyard activity is an excellent way to get toddlers outdoors and make them work out while they enjoy the benefits of playing outdoors. For instance, a good set of challenges for preschoolers could be this one: kick a ball towards a wall, then jump on and off a step, hop one-footed along a path in the garden, and finally throw a tennis ball into a bucket. On the other hand, the younger set can practice an easy activity at a time, like stepping in and out of a Hula-Hoop on the ground, before trying something more challenging. If more than one kid is around, you can encourage them to start a race that will get their hearts pumping while practicing one of the most dynamic outdoor activities for toddlers.