Spending time in nature allows you to make the best memories ever, have time and help your children improve their motor and socialising skills.
So, the next time when you have a free afternoon, go to the nearby park (or to the backyard) and try some of the best outdoor games for kids!
#1 Treasure Hunt for an Only Child
Treasure hunt is such a customisable game and can be played by one or more players. It makes it the perfect game for the days when you don't have friends with kids coming over, but you want something entertaining for your child.
You can play it in the park or your backyard, but have your partner keep the kid inside while you hide the clues around. First, come up with places to hide clues and design a simple clues hunt.
Place a healthy candy or fruit on each place where you hide the clues. Then, find the place to hide the new or old favorite toy of your child, it will represent the treasure.
When drawing clues, make sure that each drawing is clear and easily recognisable. For example, if you have hidden the next clue under the bench, draw the bench with a pointer showing the exact location. Those instructions reveal the next clue location and so on until the kid finds the treasure.
- Age Suitable: 3+
- Skills Developed: Curiosity, problem-solving skills, gross motor skills
- Items Needed: a pen and papers, candies or fruits, kid's favourite toy
#2 Musical Chairs for the Crowd
Musical chairs game is an excellent outdoor game for summer birthday parties. The rules are simple, and the benefits of the games are various.
Prepare several chairs for kids, one more than the actual kid number on the party is. Then, play some music on the speaker, so the kids can dance and circle around the chair while music is on. Stop the music at one point, and each child needs to find the chair to sit on.
The kid that has been left standing loses! Remove one chair and play the next round by the same rules. Repeat the rounds until you've got no chairs left!
By playing the game, the kids learn about fair play, about winning and losing.
- Age Suitable: 3+
- Skills Developed: Listening skills, social skills, focus, spatial awareness
- Items Needed: Several kids’ chairs, music speaker
#3 Outdoor Bowling Tournament for Precision and Math
You can arrange an outdoor bowling tournament at the back of your home by using a couple of bottles and a ball. Two or more kids can play this game, and you can customize it to make it more kid-friendly.
Let each player have two attempts to knock down the row of bottles. Assign each bottle some points. For example, the middle pins bring one point each, as kids knock them down, and external pins bring two and three points.
Once the ball has been thrown, write the number of points on the chalkboard so each player can count points. Play in several rounds, and let the kids try to calculate who the winner is.
- Age suitable: 5+ (or younger kids but don’t include point counting task)
- Skills Developed: Fine and gross motor skills, precision, hand-eye coordination, math skills, spatial awareness
- Items Needed, cans or bottles to serve as pins, medium-size bowl, chalkboard
#4 Red Rover for Shy Kids
Red Rover is a fun game your kid can play in the park with other kids.
Gather a group of kids, divide them into two groups, and let them stand 20 feet apart. Each group should stand in the line, while kids hold each other's hands. Then one group says:
Red Rover, Red rover, let the (name of the kid) come over!
Then, the kid whose name has been said runs toward the opposite team trying to break the hand chain. If the kid fails, he or she must stay on the opposite team. If the kid succeeds, he or she takes one kid from the team whose hand chain broke to join the opposite team. The loser is the team that loses all members!
- Age suitable: 6+
- Skills Developed: Gross motor skills, spatial awareness, socializing skills
- Items Needed: None
Development through Entertainment
Kids learn the most through playing and interaction with peers. All outdoor games from the list are designed to enhance physical and mental development in kids.
Which game would you try first? If you have more ideas for fun outdoor games, let us know in the comments!
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