The first Sunday in August is National Kids Day. And, since the day was designed to encourage us to spend more meaningful time with our children, we thought we’d help you plan a bit (for any family day!) by suggesting a bevy of outdoor activities the entire family can enjoy. So, gear up and dust off the cooler, your fun outdoor ideas are being prepared for you right now!
How to generate ideas:
What’s most important when it comes planning outdoor activities is knowing your child. What do they like to do? You may really want to relive your childhood and make dandelion crowns all day long, but if that sort of thing doesn’t interest your kids, you might want to scrap it for now. In general, a good way to generate ideas is to think about things that get your child moving, creating, and admiring. Do this, and we guarantee you’ll have a long list to explore!
Here are a few to get you started:
- Teach your kid how to make dandelion crowns! 😉
- Go for a hike.
- Picnic.
- Play Frisbee tic-tac-toe.
- Go on an adventure! Head to the nearest piece of nature and play “pretend” with what you find there. The ground is “lava,” and your bike helmets are your only “food,” now survive!
- Bike ride.
- Draw with chalk.
- Make ice cream in a bag.
- Pick wild flowers, tie ribbons around them, and bring them to your neighbors!
- Tie dye things (easier to do outside because of the mess potential).
- Water balloon fight.
- Have a beach day / pool day.
- Family soccer / baseball / basketball game. Have your kids be the captains of the teams and pick their players.
- Play “drip drip splash” (duck-duck-goose with water).
- Plan a nature scavenger hunt.
- Hunt down the ice cream man. If not in your neighborhood, go find him!
- Is there a local park the kids haven’t been to?
- Make fairy houses and set them outside.
- Search nearby for an outdoor sculpture garden or arboretum.
- Take pictures!
- Go to the park and grill outside – a fun change from the usual deck grill-out!
- Make liquid sidewalk chalk.
- Fly a kite.
- Have a banana split party.
- Play “hide and seek” / “capture the flag” / “Mother may I” / or any other outdoor game
- Get take-out breakfast, donuts, or a milkshake and eat at the park.
- Make sun melted crayon art.
Not enough ideas? Think about the fun things your parents did with you, or of your fondest moments with them. That’ll get you going. Have FUN!
Kid’s Day was created by Kids Peace in 1994, and is dedicated to serving the behavioral and mental health needs of children, families and communities. To learn more, visit Kid’s Peace at kidspeace.org.
