With summer just around the corner, it’s a great time for kids to get outdoors and
enjoy the fresh air! While many of us are naturally concerned that our children may
choose to spend their time indoors on computers, most kids love to be active, use
their imagination, and enjoy getting out into the garden or park to play. There are
plenty of resources online to help us find things for our children to do, from the wide
range of great websites offering fun ideas for activities for kids to
share of interesting children’s recipes” – as well as the fun suggestions below. The
activities we’re sharing with you today are ideal for a family garden or park, and are
very simple to organise!
Treasure Hunt
The search for treasure does not have to be limited to the annual Easter Egg Hunt!
There are plenty of ways to set up a treasure hunt: instead of sweets, you could
hide marbles (or other small, bright objects) in various locations around the garden.
Alternatively, you could construct a paper trail of clues – the first concealed clue
giving a hint to the location of the second one, and so on. Choose a theme or
challenge to make things really memorable: detectives, pirates, and archaeologists
all want to find hidden jewels!
Ball Games
Your kids don’t need a lot of expensive toys to keep them busy outdoors – it is often
the simplest items that give them the most amusement. All your kids really need is a
tennis ball and a football! If your garden is of a reasonable size, you could improvise
a game of football or rounders; in smaller gardens you can still make room for a
simple game of catch or “piggy in the middle”. For something a little different, try
hanging up a series of hoops or targets your kids can throw balls at, making the
hoops a little harder to reach each time. Kids love a good challenge!
Nature
It is easy to forget just how many species of plants can be found in the average
garden or park. Go on a mini nature hunt and help your kids identify all the flowers
and plants with the aid of a flora and fauna book; you could challenge them to see
how many different species they can find. If your kids are old enough be patient,
silent bird watching or even a badger watch at dusk are amazing activities for kids.
Take pictures and build up a nature scrapbook for the family garden.
Plants and Gardening
If your children seem to be interested in nature, get them involved in a bit of simple
gardening. Let them rake up cut grass after you’ve mown the lawn – the cuttings are
also great fun to play with! Or you could give them their own patch of garden to look
after: they can plant flowers, vegetables or herbs, then water and weed the area to
keep it looking nice. Children enjoy having a little bit of responsibility, and growing
vegetables together is a great way to encourage them to eat healthily.
Picnic Lunch
An ordinary lunchtime becomes a lot more exciting when it is held outdoors as a
picnic! Get your children involved in preparing and transporting the food, selecting
a picnic area, and setting out the blanket and the meal. You could even turn it into a
day out: set a target to walk to, like the top of a hill in the park, or a river nearby, and
celebrate your achievement with a delicious outdoor lunch.
As you can see, it doesn’t take a lot of resources or exotic locations to keep your kids
occupied during the warm summer months. In fact, the simplest of activities for kids
are often the most fun!