Life as a family gets busy, so it’s really important to make sure we provide our children with simple, inspiring activities to let kids be kids, get outside, explore the natural environment and have fun.

The list below includes ideas that encourage exploration and experimentation. Although some of the activities may be dependent on your child’s age, location and the climate, you’re bound to find some ideas that you and your tot will love!

1. Build a fort
2. Splash in puddles
3. Blow bubbles
4. Pick a fruit or vegetable
5. Fly a kite
6. Plant seeds and watch them grow
7. Build a sandcastle
8. Catch a bug
9. Run through a sprinkler
10. Dance in the rain
11. Go tubing on water or snow
12. Build a snowman
13. Star gaze
14. Stay up to watch fireworks
15. Run a mile
16. Learn to skip rocks
17. Make an echo
18. Feed an animal at a farm or pond
19. Roast marshmallows around a campfire
20. Blow a dandelion
21. Find shapes in the clouds
22. Have a picnic
23. Make homemade ice cream
24. Roll down a hill
25. Make popsicles
26. Dig in the sand or dirt
27. Make and bury a time capsule
28. Dance like no one is watching
29. Laugh until you cry
30. Make yourself dizzy by twirling around and around
31. Tell stories around a campfire
32. Make shadow puppets
33. Read a book with a flashlight
34. Go for a hike
35. Write your own journal
36. Learn to do a cartwheel
37. Read a book in the shade of a tree
38. Try to catch your shadow
39. Learn to hula hoop
40. Use a map to find your way
41. Draw your own map
42. Build a fairy garden
43. Rake the leaves and jump into the pile
44. Write your story
45. Make a flower crown
46. Watch the sunset
47. Watch the sunrise
48. Collect shells on the beach
49. Draw your own hopscotch and play
50. Paint a picture to hang in your room
51. Write your own song
52. Send a postcard
53. Find or make a secret hideout
54. Climb a tree
55. Make your own musical instrument
56. Start a collection- it could be as simple as collecting different rocks, leaves, sticks, etc.
57. Have a wheelbarrow race
58. Set up a lemonade stand
59. Create a sidewalk mural
60. Write your name in the sand/snow/mud with a stick
61. Press flowers in a book
62. Dig up worms
63. Try to catch a butterfly
64. Try to catch a snowflake on your tongue
65. Have a camp out (this can be outside, your backyard or your living room)
66. Make boats and see if they float
67. Have a watermelon or cherry seed spitting contest
68. Pick your own bouquet of flowers
69. Make a paper airplane and measure how far it flies
70. Find or make a walking stick and go for a hike
71. Make something out of a cardboard box – the opportunities are endless! Here’s some Cardboard box craft inspo.

Hope this list inspires some fun for your kiddos and brings out your inner child!

Continue exploring

• The benefits of open-ended play
• What is a play schema? Learn what they are and how to incorporate them into playtime