15 Fun Backyard Activities to Keep Kids Busy and Out of the House
Need ideas to keep kids busy and out of the house? Veteran boy mom shares 15 fun backyard activities the kids can do with or without direct supervision.
The arrival of summer brings with it less structured work with school finished for a while and the promise of more leisure activities.
Warm days call for spending more time outside basking in the sun’s rays with a cool delight in your hand.
In some homes, though, summer can quickly turn ugly.
The kids have started needling each other to get a reaction for hours on end.
The moment you start to focus on a project or answer the phone, a child comes to interrupt you.
Then they have the audacity to declare at a volume your next-door neighbor can easily hear, “I’m sooooo boooored! There’s nothing to do!”
Thankfully, there are so many different backyard games that you can play to keep them entertained.
Some are fun activities to do with them and others can be set up for them to do while you keep watch over them.
Here are a few of our favorite backyard activities for kids.
This post contains affiliate links that may generate a commission for purchases made through them. There is no additional charge to you for using them.
Backyard Activities for Younger Kids
Summertime means fun in the sun. However, most parents know the summer means hearing something along the lines of, “I’m bored!”
So what can parents do to keep their kids entertained for those summer days at home?
We’ve got some creative ways to get your kiddos involved in some physical activity.
These easy outdoor activities will keep your little ones occupied for hours on end!
Water Play to Delight the Kids
When the temperatures are hot, any activity using water can help the kids and you to cool off a bit.
One of the most classic backyard activities is a water balloon fight. This is perfect for a hot day, and it’s always a lot of fun.
You can either have each person stand in their designated area, or you can have everyone gather in one spot to drench each other.
All you need are water balloons and water.
Make sure your kids are wearing something you don’t mind getting wet in and have plenty of towels on hand.
Keep in mind, that the play area for water balloon fights is best if the ground is clear and grassy.
Another fun activity with water balloons is a water balloon pinata. These are perfect for a birthday party or any other celebration.
You can make your own water balloon pinata or you can buy one online.
Fill it with water balloons and hang it from a tree. Then, take turns trying to break open the pinata.
The person who breaks it open will get wet, but everyone else will also get soaked in the fun.
Kids will have a great time racing to grab any unbroken balloons on the ground to throw at each other. It’s the perfect way to cool off during warm weather.
Younger kids might enjoy playing with a water table. A water table can keep kids entertained for hours on end.
You can buy a water table or make your own.
All you need is a plastic bin, some PVC pipe, and a few plastic containers. Cut the PVC pipe to fit inside the bin and drill holes in the containers. Then, fill the bin with water and place the containers in it.
Kids will love playing with the different-shaped containers and watching the water flow through the pipes.
This is one of the outdoor games you would need to supervise closely since even a small amount of standing water can be unsafe for small children.
If you have a fence in your backyard you can create a water wall.
Drill holes in the bottom of a few plastic containers –or use a small laundry basket– and fill with water. Then, place the containers against the fence and let the kids play!
You can also make one with pegboards from your local hardware store. This one is perfect for young kids because it will keep them entertained for hours.
Build a Private Campground
Camping can be a great way to bond as a family.
Even better is building your own “private campground” in your backyard as a fun way to spend a summer day or weekend.
Set up a tent, roast some marshmallows, and tell stories around the campfire.
No place for a real campfire?
We have family and friends that use purchased fire pits that provide the ambiance without the same level of mess.
Use the opportunity to spark imaginative play.
Go on a bear hunt, sing campfire songs, and pretend to go on a hike to a far-off place in the woods.
What will you see on your way?
Playing with Dirt
This may not seem like the most exciting backyard activity, but trust us, kids love making mud pies!
All you need is some soil, water, and a few containers to put the mud in.
This is a great activity for a hot summer day when you want to be outside.
Have everyone wear old clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty. Then, when they are done they can run through the sprinkler to help wash off some of that mud.
If the ground is especially dry, have the kids set up their own ‘dirt town’ drawing out roads and using items from around the yard to be the houses and buildings found in a town. Then bring out a few of those matchbook cars to drive up and down the roads!
Set Up a Bubble Factory
A fun way to get your toddlers moving and active is giant bubbles.
All you need is some bubble solution and a few bubble wands.
Have the kids run around trying to catch as many bubbles as they can.
If you dislike blowing bubbles yourself there are plenty of fun bubble machines as well as bubble guns you can purchase.
Backyard Activities for Older Kids
Finding things for older kids to do that are fun and that do not involve a video game system can be a challenge.
Outdoor activities are a great way for them to get some exercise while also enjoying themselves.
Here are some ideas for fun outdoor activities for your older kids. You can always adjust the difficulty of these activities to fit your child’s age and abilities.
So, get outside and have some fun!
Create Your Own Adventure Park
Going to an adventure park can be fun with rides and games. But, I know that my budget doesn’t have room to do this often.
Why not set up your own adventure park in the backyard?
A cornerstone of this can be an obstacle course. These are something many kids love and can be easier to set up in your backyard than you may think.
Items like a picnic table, chairs, trees, a hula hoop, and even a trampoline can be used in creating the course.
Set up different obstacles for your kids to go through with no timing. Or, you can have them race each other. This is a great way to get them moving and active.
We had great fun doing this at our house in Alaska. With a large wooded area on our current property, I can envision a lot of obstacle course fun!
For younger kids, you can make an outdoor obstacle course by drawing on the sidewalk with chalk. Sidewalk chalk courses are popular. A few ideas you can use are:
- Walk on a bridge
- Spin in a circle
- HopScotch
- Walk along with all the letters in the alphabet
- Jump the “stepping stones”
- Stomp in the small footprint- shaped like a Dino or animal
- Pretend to walk a tightrope.
Use your imagination and draw your own sidewalk guide!
Be sure to switch up the colors of the chalk to make it extra fun. This is a great outdoor activity in the front yard on the sidewalk or driveway. It is a wonderful way to get the kids out for some active play.
Hopscotch is a classic game, so even families taking a walk may enjoy it! You can also use sidewalk chalk paint for this project.
Play More Grown Up Versions of Tag
Tag has long been a favorite game for kids.
Paintball is a more grown-up version of tag where no touching is needed. This is a backyard activity that may require more adult supervision.
But if your kids are old enough to handle paintball guns, it can be a lot of fun.
You can set up an obstacle course and have them try to hit the targets. This is a great way to get some exercise and have some friendly competition.
Ideally, paintball is reserved for an unpopulated area, since a stray paintball can end up on the property or even cause damage.
Use caution with this if you are going to do a DIY paintball game.
If you’re not keen on paintballs a Nerf gun battle can also be fun. Or, in our house, we pull out the LaserX laser tag items we own.
There are a variety of options in the LaserX brand now.
The original set we received required each player to wear a ‘vest’ that sensed the hits. Now they make them without the vest which my boys far prefer.
Host a Scavenger Hunt
A scavenger hunt is a backyard activity that can be tailored to any age group.
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.
Need Scavenger Hunt ideas? Visit this post with 31 Family Fun Activities. A free bundle of items is near the bottom.
Transform Nature into Art
Even if you have a small backyard there are plenty of fun things for older kids to do. Why not make some art from nature?
Make a pinecone bird feeder or a fun fairy garden with things you can find in your own backyard.
Collecting items on a list or Bingo card is great for a sensory play idea if you have smaller kids that want to explore.
Going to the park near a nature area with trees and vegetation is ideal for this idea. Keep close supervision again, to keep smaller children safe in wide outdoor space areas.
Planning ahead can be a great way to keep the kids busy and out of the house. The next time a child declares they are bored, give them a choice of outdoor activity.
What are your favorite backyard activities?
Let us know in the comments below.