Want to get your little ones outside for some fresh air, but you've exhausted all of your best ideas? We've found 10 new and fun ideas to get the family excited about going outdoors when the park simply isn't cutting it anymore.
1. Pack A Picnic
If you're looking for a way to make outdoor time more enjoyable for everyone in the family, try packing a picnic. You can pack a variety of foods that are easy to eat on the go or bring along snacks and drinks that will be enjoyed at your final sitting place later.
2. Walk Over Stepping Stones
Find a lake and walk over some stones to get to the other side! Not only is this super fun for little ones who think that this is the epitome of danger, but it can also help them finetune their gross motor skills. Find some safe stepping stones and let your kids go over them again and again until they get tired.
3. Find Leaves To Paint With
Pick leaves up from the ground of all shapes and sizes and use them to stamp their designs onto paper. Use the spiny side to create intricate patterns or the smooth side to create big blocks of colour. Here's a great guide on how to paint with leaves.
4. Set Up A Playdate
Getting outside is always more fun with someone to play with! Invite friends from nursery or school along with their parents, and you'll all have fun.
5. Search For Fossils
Remember the pride you felt when you found your first fossil when you were a child? Allow your child to revel in this same joy by getting to a beach and looking for fossils. Then enjoy watching your child think that there are dinosaurs still alive and walking the earth...
6. Recreate Fun Inside Activities Outdoors
Anything you can do inside will automatically be better outside in the yard. Lay out a blanket and fill it with colouring pens, paper, craft supplies, board games, snacks - anything you can think of.
7. Learn About New Places and Times
A fun yet educational activity is visiting the same place with your children but at different times of the day. This will help them learn more about how the sun rises and sets, how weather changes the environment, and more.
8. Play Football As A Family
Pick teams and play a friendly game of football (or any ball sport that you'd prefer). It's a great way to spend time as a family with some healthy competition thrown in, too.
9. Watch The Clouds
Lay a blanket out and lay on your backs, cloud spotting and letting time pass you by. Describe what you can see in the clouds and enjoy trying to figure out how on earth your kids could make a flying dog in a cape out of a round circle.
10. Pick Fruit
Picking fruit is a fab way to teach kids about where their food comes from. Either book a slot at a Pick-Your-Own farm, or walk a woodland trail and pick blackberries along the sides. What you do with them next is up to you - make jam, edible paint, use them for your picnic, or eat them plain!
Want More Ideas?
If you want more ideas for how to get your family outside, why not introduce a 100 Family Adventures - Ultimate Bucket List into your home? It includes 100 activities for you to complete as a family, with scratch-off squares to use once you check one off.
Kids enjoy scratching them off, adults enjoy spending quality time with the family, and everyone enjoys the outdoors. What's not to love?
