50+ Outdoor Activities for Kids (of all ages!) - Busy Toddler (2024)

FAQs

What are outdoor sensory activities for toddlers? ›

They're smelling flowers, playing in sand, jumping over logs, riding bikes, listening to the wind and spotting birds in the trees. All of these can be deemed outdoor sensory activities, and all of them are beneficial! (So much more than “just play”.)

A: Running, jogging or trail-running is generally the most popular outdoor recreation activity.

You can make a list of things for your kids to find in the backyard, or you can give them a list of items they need to bring back from outside. You could make them a bingo card with different photos on them to mark off and find. This is a great way to get them to explore and use their imaginations.

Outdoor experiences can provide an opportunity to explore, discover and appreciate the natural world, as well as be active, strengthen fine and gross motor movement skills, test physical limits and get messy. Time spent in the outdoors should be an important part of the daily program for all children, including babies.

Playing outside allows kids to develop more advanced motor skills than children who spend most of their time indoors, including agility, balance and coordination. Kids who spend time playing outdoors are more likely to move in ways that challenge their muscles, bones and physical endurance.

Many parents of children this age often wonder if their child is hyperactive. However, most toddlers are on the go and into everything. This curiosity is essential for the development of a child's brain. Toddlers cannot be expected to understand what danger means.

1. Cricket. Cricket is undoubtedly the most popular outdoor game in India, often referred to as a religion in itself. Played with a bat and ball, cricket is a team sport where two teams, each consisting of eleven players, compete against each other.

Physical activities (sports, games, fitness, etc.) Social activities (parties, picnics, etc.) Camping and outdoor activities (day camps, resident camps, float trips, etc.) Arts and crafts activities (painting, ceramics, woodworking, etc.)

Other traditional examples of outdoor recreational activities include hiking, camping, mountaineering, cycling, dog walking, canoeing, caving, kayaking, rafting, rock climbing, running, sailing, skiing, sky diving and surfing.

Creative activities (that last longer than five minutes) Arts, crafts, Legos, hobbies, and games are terrific ways to engage kids.

How do you calm a busy child? ›

If they are getting overwhelmed, invite them to take a break for a few minutes. Don't expect them to sit for long periods of time. Fidgeting can help kids focus – allow them to hold something small like a stress ball, as long as they are not disruptive.

Pediatric occupational therapist Angela Hanscom calls active free play outdoors, “the most beneficial gift we as parents…can bestow on our children.” Hanscom says ideally kids should be playing outside 3 hours each day, and that doesn't include organized sports.

Sensory play is a way of playing that engages the senses. When kids use sensory play, they learn to interact with the world around them in new and exciting ways that help with brain development.

Outdoor education provides a lot of helpful tools and activities for children to practice their sensory processing. You can think of climbing structures, climbing trees, swinging, obstacles and tactile activities. Children use those tools to push, pull, climb over, touch, jump on, or jump from.

Popularized by a viral video of a sensory path posted by special education teacher Holly Barker Clay, these indoor or outdoor pathways are composed of visual and tactile elements like sand, shapes, and colored stickers.

Outdoor Play Stimulates Multiple Senses

When a child is playing outside, there are elements that can stimulate multiple senses at once: sounds of nature and cars going by, smells of fresh flowers and leaves, the sight of the sun or animals running by, and more.