Great Ideas for Outdoor Activities

32 Ways to Keep the Kids Occupied

21. Camping Out:

One thing kids never tire of is camping out somewhere. The easiest and cheapest place for that is in your own back yard or back garden. You can buy tents pretty cheap these days, and you don’t need something huge. If you don’t want to go to the expense of buying a tent, you can always make your own “temporary tent” by using a few sticks, sheets and tarpaulin.

Give the kids lots of snacks, a few flashlights and some sleeping bags. Warn the neighbours that there could be some noise. (If MY kids are anything to go by, there WILL be noise). Please make sure that don’t lock ALL of your doors when you go to bed, as even though the kids may seem ready to “camp out” they might possibly get a bit wary late at night when the rest of the gang is asleep or it might even get a bit chilly and then it’s good for the kids to be able to snuggle up in real beds.

22. Toy Sail Boats:

This one is a really old pastime, but tons of fun. Get a plastic bottle and cut it in half lengthways. Make the sail from a wooden Kebab stick and some paper.

There are tons of other household items that can be used, so look around and use your imagination.

Make sure you hang some weight to the bottom of the boat to make sure it doesn’t keel over. A lollypop stick with some oil based play dough will work for a short while. (Practice in the kitchen sink to see what works best for you.)

Once the boats are ready, walk to your nearest pond or stream, or even fill up the bathtub and go sailing. Hours of fun for free

32 Ways to Keep the Kids Occupied

Great Ideas for Outdoor Activities

14: Ribbon Sticks:

For this you need nothing more than some strips of wide ribbon and some bamboo sticks. A few 4ft sticks will do. Snap them in half and tie a length of ribbon to one end. Make the ribbon length no longer than what the kids can handle.

Let the kids loose with the sticks and tell them to try to make shapes, circles, and snakes etc just like the gymnasts do on T.V. My 8 year old who has ADHD absolutely loves this one, and it’s one of the few things he’ll actually do for longer periods of time.

15. Garden Fun:

Buy a cheap plastic double sided sandbox for the garden. Fill one half with sand and the other half with water. Add a whole lot of kitchen utensils and containers, and the kids will occupy themselves for ages.

Make sure you always cover the sandbox when the kids are done, or you might find that your neighbour’s cats may think it's their litter box...

16. Picking Berries:

Find a place with lots of berries, be it blackberries, strawberries, redcurrants, raspberries or whatever and go berry picking for the day.  Sometimes you may have to pay for the berries, but there are a lot of places where berries grow in the wild and are free to pick and use. 

Kids LOVE picking berries, so take this chance to make it into an educational thing by bringing along a book about berries. This way you can teach them which berries are safe to pick and which ones they need to stay away from. Use the berries you pick to make desserts, jams and cakes. Scrumptious fun!

17. Organize a Treasure Hunt:

This can be done in the house, garden, park or even on a short walk. Hide some small items, toys or sweets in various places. Draw up maps with "X Marks the Spot" and easy to follow directions.

Let the hunt begin!

32 Ways to Keep the Kids Occupied

11. Ghost Stories:

If you’re ready for a sleepless night, try an evening of ghost stories.

First, find a couple of torches/flashlights, then cover a table with a heavy blanket. The goal here is for the kids (and you) to make up ghost stories as ghoulish as they dare.

Everybody crouches under the table, with just the lights from the torches and takes turn telling stories. Depending on the age of the kids participating, be prepared to be freaked out!

12. Growing A Seed:

Kids of all ages love this one, because it's not just sticking a seed into soil and hoping it will grow. This way you can tell when it starts rooting.

Get a paper towel, fold it into a medium sized rectangle then dampen it. Put the seed between the 1st layer and the rest of the damp paper towel, and place the whole lot into a small plastic bag. A Ziploc sandwich bag works great for this.

Use a strip of masking tape on the bags with each child’s name on it so they can check on their seeds progress. Close the bag and put it kind of dark but in a place where kids can walk up to check on their seeds and see the wonders of nature in action.

13. Indoor Crazy Golf:

Get the kids to sit down together and design a crazy golf course to run throughout the house (or just one room if you might have problems getting them to clean up afterwards). Use toys, bathroom stuff, kitchen utensils or anything else at hand to create the “holes” and routes.

Small plastic golf sets are easy to come by in most toy shops, and they’re usually extremely cheap. Have treats ready for whenever a child reaches the end of the golf course.