Our favorite outdoor summer activities for kids are easy to set up and will lead to hours of fun in the backyard on a sunny day.
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Send the kids out into the backyard to play. They’ll love these outdoor summer activities for all ages. Most require just a little prep and many of them call for items you probably already have at home.
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Backyard obstacle course
Build a backyard obstacle course using items you already have around the house. Some items that can be used in lots of different ways include hula hoops, jumpropes, empty boxes, a garden hose, patio pavers, and pool noodles.
Mini carwash
Set up a mini carwash like Busy Toddler for your little ones to play in the dirt with their toy cars, then clean them up afterward.
Bike parade
Have each child decorate their bicycle, tricycle, or scooter and line up for a parade. For even more fun, get all of the neighborhood kids involved and plan a short parade route through your neighborhood.
Backyard picnic
Have a picnic in the backyard for lunch or dinner. Meals are always a little more fun when they’re outside in the sunshine. As a bonus, you can always run back into the house if you forget something.
Chalk drawing contest
Grab some chalk from a dollar store if you don’t already have it and set up a chalk drawing contest. You could section off the driveway or sidewalk and let kids each have their own dedicated art space to work. The “winner” gets to choose the next family activity.
Paint rocks
Have kids collect larger rocks from your own backyard and clean them thoroughly. Set up a painting station and let kids have fun decorating them however they like. Get some handy tips for beginners from Rock Painting Guide.
Flower crowns
Pick dandelions or wildflowers from your backyard and braid them together to make flower crowns.
Pogo stick games
Play some of these simple pogo stick games right here on Backyard Summer Camp. There are ideas for one kid to play alone or for 2 or more.
Seed spitting contest
Slice up a watermelon or another fruit with large seeds. Kids can enjoy an outdoor snack and then compete to see who can spit the leftover seeds the furthest.
Melted crayon art
Gather up old, broken crayons for a fun art project to do on a hot summer day. Have kids lay out a large piece of paper or an inexpensive art canvas. You can also do this with aluminum foil. Break the crayons into small pieces and spread them out. As the sun melts the crayons, the kids can watch the design spread or use tools to spread them.
Play in the mud
For a messy fun time, let your kids dig and play in the dirt in your backyard. Set up a few ground rules, such as where they can dig or how to use the water hose. Step back and see what they come up with. You could provide some tools to make mud pies or just encourage them to get messy and explore the texture of dirt.
Blow bubbles
Pick up a few bottles of bubbles from a dollar store or easily make your own with this bubble recipe from Fireflies and Mud Pies.
Read outside
Spread out a cozy blanket on the ground outside and add a few pillows for an outdoor reading session. Kids can read whatever they like or this is a great opportunity to take turns reading a story out loud.
Backyard bug hunt
This backyard bug hunt idea from The Littles and Me is too cute. She hides plastic toy bugs and other critters that aren’t too creepy and crawly for kids to enjoy collecting.
Put on a play
Turn the back porch into a stage for your kids to write and perform their own play. They could come up with their own story or reenact a scene from their favorite book or movie. If you want to go all-out, make paper tickets and pop some popcorn before the performance!
Flower shop
Set up a pretend play flower shop like Happy Hooligans. Use silk flowers and gardening supplies to let kids explore the materials and learn the names of popular flowers.
Make a sundial
Kids will love making a sundial following the instructions from KC Edventures. You can use materials from your backyard and tie in some science and history learning too.
Water painting
Find a nice, sunny spot on the sidewalk and try water painting. This fun activity from All For the Boys is one of the easiest painting activities – and there’s no cleanup afterward!
Hopscotch
Hopscotch is a classic outdoor summer activity for kids. Crafty Morning has a whole list of clever ways to play and change it up.
Balloon cup shooters
Make balloon cup shooters from Happy Go Lucky Blog and watch your kids spend hours launching and catching a ping pong ball or another small object.
Go stargazing
Let the kids stay up late to lay in the backyard and watch the stars. If you time it right, you might be able to catch a meteor shower. Get tips from STEAM Powered Family.
Sprinkler
Set up the sprinkler for the kids to run through. You could even make some pool noodle sprinklers like Ziggity Zoom.
Catapult
Build a Tinkertoy catapult to launch small objects across the backyard. Learn how to make it at Kids Activities Blog.
Fairy garden
Find an out-of-the-way spot in your yard to start a fairy garden. Crafts by Amanda has a lot of tips for getting started.
Chalk paint
Make your own sidewalk chalk paint with a recipe from The Best Ideas for Kids. It should be easy to clean up without leaving any stains, but check the tips.
Shadow art
Use chalk or chalk paint to make shadow art like Rhythms of Play.
Tire swing
Hang a tire swing in a backyard tree with instructions from Lehman Lane and your kids can enjoy swinging all summer long.
Rock box
Instead of a sandbox, your kids can play in a rock box. Two Twenty-One has tips for building one and it’s less messy.
Relay races
Set up a series of activities for backyard relay races like the ones kids do at school on field day. They could be dry like this beach ball relay from Tip Junkie. Or set up some water relays to cool off.
Catch ladybugs
Creative Green Living has a cute tutorial to make a ladybug jar that you can make with your child. Use it to catch ladybugs for observing, then let them go again.
Add a few of these easy outdoor summer activities to your family’s summer bucket list or backyard summer camp plans!
