Get Outside! 10 Ideas for Outdoor Family Activities
With the change in weather and Spring here, are you looking for great outdoor family activities?
After being cooped up inside all winter long, your brain may have been hibernating as well and you’ve forgotten all of the easy ways you can get the family outside.
Check out these 10 ideas for family activities that you can do right now and get some outdoor bonding time with your spouse and children as well as reap the benefits of fresh air and sunshine.
Be sure to check out our other fun family-friendly kid activities and crafts!
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10 Ideas for Outdoor Family Activities
In today’s cyber world of computers, smartphones and tablets, families are not spending near enough time outside.
The benefits of walking and other forms of physical activity are many, and the dangers of sitting for extended periods of time can literally take years off of your life.
Plus, your body actually begins to make important vitamin D when your skin is directly exposed to the sun.
And it only takes 10 to 15 minutes of sunshine three times a week to produce all the vitamin D that a human being needs.
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So get outside already!
Go for a walk or a hike.
Getting out in nature and away from the electronic, connected world will do wonders for you and your family.
And if you do not have access to mother nature, make the family walk a museum or aquarium trip with a “no phone” rule.
Plant a garden.
Why not begin a family garden and set aside dedicated time to spend tending to it?
This can also be a great way to receive the benefits of fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables in your diet.
Grab the bike.
Kids love bicycling, and as a parent, you know you can use the exercise.
The perfect outdoor family activity, a quick 20 minute ride around the block or an extended trip on the local bike trail will deliver excellent physical fitness rewards, as well as a time to visit and bond as a family.
Go star gazing.
Don’t forget, outdoor family activities can take place at night as well.
At StarDate.org you can access a list of year-round moon phases, meteor showers, eclipses and important planet viewing dates.
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Take the family in the backyard for some stargazing fun that can also be educational for both you and your children.
Pick up sticks.
It’s Spring and time to get the yard cleaned.
Why not involve the whole family in picking up the sticks and branches that have fallen down over the winter.
Kids love being included and can feel helpful, even if they only grab a twig or two.
Get the soccer ball (baseball) out.
You know you have sports equipment quietly sitting in your garage or basement.
Wash off the old mud and get moving!
Have your child make up her own rules for the game or even create a new one using the equipment.
Pitch a tent.
Camping is a great outdoor family activity for a lot of reasons.
Teamwork, independence and other important life skills can be taught on a simple weekend trip, and the experience in the great outdoors is rewarding and enjoyable for both children and adults alike.
If you have younger children, pitch the tent in the backyard.
You don’t even have to sleep there overnight.
Just having the experience of hanging out in the tent can be exciting for little ones.
Draw an obstacle course.
Now’s the time to get that sidewalk chalk that has been sitting in your garage all winter.
Either you or your child can create an “obstacle” course on the driveway by drawing it out.
Make a bridge you have to carefully walk over.
Create lily pads you have to jump to without getting eaten by the alligators.
Even through in a game of hopscotch in the middle.
It’s your course, so make it fun, inventive and active.
Play tag.
You don’t need any equipment to play tag.
And it can last for five minutes or half an hour, depending on the age of your kiddos.
Add in an extra twist by playing “sardines.”
This is where one person hides and the rest try to find him.
Once an individual has found the person hiding, they join the hiding place until the last person finally discovers them.
Visit your local park.
It may seem obvious but why not make a trip to your local park?
Or pick one you don’t usually go to to try something new.
Parks have fabulous climbing equipment and can be a terrific place to run around and blow off steam.
Remember, getting your family together outdoors and away from cell phones and computers delivers multiple benefits.
Your health is enhanced, and you can learn valuable insights about your family members.
Schedule one of the outdoor family activities listed above as soon as possible, and enjoy the many rewards that the great outdoors has to offer.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE WAY TO GET OUTSIDE WITH THE FAMILY?
I completely agree! I’ve getting frustrated with how much time my kids spend on electronics and how much they whine when I don’t allow it!
Right?!? This weekend I forced the kids outside and said they were going to help clean up the yard with me. Moaning they went outside…. and then had a great time pulling huge sticks, raking up old leaves out of the bushes, etc.
Great list! I try to keep it as a rule that when it’s nice outside, the kids are OUTSIDE. And never ever are movies, ABCMouse, etc to be done when one can be outside. And nice out even means a nice rain where one can go out splashing in puddles!
So, so true. This is a great go-to list. We’re on April break next week and this gives me tons of ideas to get us off the sofa!
Glad to inspire you to get out with the family 🙂 I “forced” the boys outside to pick up sticks in the yard. After moaning, we actually had a great time!
These are all great ideas. The obstacle course sounds fabulous. I remember when I was a child, I think it was my grandma who gifted my sister and me outdoor playing equipment. We got some swings and such. Loved them.
Great list of ideas, I totally agree with you about the importance of kids being able to play outdoors. Our son had been camping twice before he was six months old and seems to enjoy it. One of the main reasons that we’re trying to move house at the moment is so we can get somewhere with a bigger garden where he can play outside.
What great outdoor activities, thank you for sharing.
Great ideas! Especially the star gazing one. I’ll have to check out that website.
We’re mostly done with snow here (ok, except for tomorrow night. And maybe next week. And…) so we’re DYING to get outside and do some of these things! I love the star gazing idea…we got the Night Sky app last summer, which the kids loved (ok, a little bit of computer, but it was outside so it was allowed, right?)
Ha! You can’t escape technology.. although you’re right. The Nigtht Sky app is pretty cool.
Great ideas as always – have visited from the pin it party – thanks for taking part, and see you next week 😀
So happy Spring is here and we can get outdoors as a family!
Thanks for sharing this great list at the Thoughful Spot Weekly blog hop!
I love this list. Finally the weather here is improving and we have been outside all day everyday for the last week, we are sleeping better, eating better and we are all in really good humour! It’s amazing how just getting outdoors makes everyone feel better!
My kids are starting to sleep better at night because of the fresh air. Thank goodness!
Thanks for linking up with the Parenting Pin It Party x x
We make it a point to get outdoors every day. My kids are happy playing in the yard- as long as they have someone to watch them and cheer them on… or act as a referee.
Thank you for stopping by the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop this week. We hope to see you drop by our neck of the woods next week!
Jill — We were so thrilled to get outside yesterday on Easter. It was a glorious day in Chicagoland… sunny and warm. And the kids couldn’t have been happier 🙂
Hi Jenny,
Yes, Spring is here and it is time to get outside! That’s just how I feel as soon as the temperature rises and the days grow longer, so I am so delighted that you shared these wonderful ideas for outdoor family activities with us at the the Healthy Happy Green and Natural Party Blog Hop! I appreciate it!
Hope it inspires some of your readers to get outside. Sometimes it can be so simple but it can be hard to think of new ways to get the kids out of the house.
What a great list of outdoor activities! I’m featuring this post on today’s Hands-On Play Party! Thanks for linking up! Hope you come by and link up again!
Oh my goodness. Thanks! I hope my post inspires your readers to get outdoors and get moving.
Thanks for sharing such good ideas, You may add paintball games in your list. Because you know paintball is one of the best friends and family fun games.
AMAZING!!! Please make more of these content. Also some indoor fun activities for rainy cold days.
Hey Jennifer, thanks for the great write up! Internet and smartphone addiction is terrible among children and it really hurt me. Parents should understand that outdoor activities are crucial for mental growth and preventing obesity.
Thanks again.
Nice piece of content. It’s really fun to spend times with family. Your list is very rich full and mostly the info graphics. I will defiantly share it with my social friends. Something especial i done last summer with my family is paintballing . It’s nice family & friends outdoor game. I saw a lot of peoples doing it.
Well, it depends what’s around you. If you’re in the middle of a city/major metropolitan area, you can bike or walk anywhere (I’m thinking SF or Seattle). Sometimes, I like exploring and finding little stores here and there.
If you’re in a more rural area, hiking is always best. I live in Santa Cruz, and the mountains here are a blast. There’s also the beach.
And if you like looking at photos or taking them, that’ll be perfect. You can go around taking pictures, and honing in your photographic skills.
You can always go for a bike ride. I ride to the store instead of using my car to pick up little things (butter, milk, a screw driver, etc.)
Enjoy!