6 New Ways to Have Fun Outside

When the dog days of summer roll around and the sheen has worn off of those beautiful, sunny days, a common refrain can be heard in houses across the country: “I’m bored!” 

When you want to be sure to enjoy the warm weather but ball games and tag have gotten somewhat tiring, a little creativity is all that’s needed. We have you covered with six of our favorite outdoor activities that are inspiring for all ages and inject some fun and excitement into those summer days.

No Mess Water Painting 

If you have a child who loves to paint, you may want to encourage their creativity but dread the mess factor, especially if your child is particularly young. Something you may never have thought to try on a particularly sunny day is water painting. 

All it takes is a bucket of water and a variety of paintbrushes, roller brushes, and sponges. Direct your child to a wooden deck, fence, concrete patio,  or the side of your house, and they’ll quickly get the hang of painting pictures onto the surface with water. 

To extend the excitement of the activity, introduce each brush and sponge individually so they can really get a feel for the different textures and techniques.

Homemade Sidewalk Paint

When your kids are ready to move on to painting with color but are still at the age where you’re concerned about them ingesting toxic paints, homemade sidewalk paint is the answer! You can make this yourself with water, cornstarch, and food coloring – around 1 part water to 1.5 parts cornstarch. 

Place the different colors in a muffin tin for easy transportation to the sidewalk. Sponge brushes work best for applying this non-toxic mixture.  

Toe Diving

Water games can be so much fun in the summer heat. One of our favorites is toe diving because it cools off those tootsies and makes for a great competition. 

Fill a kiddie pool with water if you have one; if not, a bucket will do. Then, add marbles or other small toys to the water. Players have 30 seconds each to fish out as many objects as possible using only their toes!

Frozen T-Shirt Race

When it’s almost too hot to handle, try a frozen t-shirt race to cool down! The night before the activity, soak t-shirts in water and then put them in plastic storage bags in the freezer. The following day, have a race to see who can put the frozen t-shirts on fastest. 

Not only is this a fun challenge, but it will also keep your children cool so they can enjoy more fun and games outside!

Ladder Bean Bag Toss

The bean bag toss is a classic party game, and it’s easy to set up outdoors with the help of a simple ladder. Label each rung with points, and have players throw bean bags between the rungs to rack up points.

Practice those math skills by adding up the points to see who wins!

Turf Twister

Playing Twister outside adds some freshness to the game, but it can be annoying when that Twister mat gets tangled underneath the players’ feet. With Turf Twister, you won’t have that issue! Just take some spray paint and a circular stencil to paint the pattern of the mat onto your lawn.

Summertime offers so many opportunities for fun, but it’s normal for boredom to set in when you run out of ideas. We hope these activities will keep your children entertained for hours while getting some fresh air, enjoying the summer sun, and making memories to boot!