As it warms up and kids go outside more often, you can introduce these 8 awesome outdoor Spring activities for kids. Each one is simple but will encourage more outdoor play and happy, creative kids.
This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Do your kids like playing outside or do they struggle to come up with activities? If your kids are anything like mine, they love playing outside in the springtime. BUT… Sometimes they also need a little help coming up with new or creative activities.
Don’t get me wrong: I am all for kids being bored and allowing them to use that boredom to fuel their creativity. I also don’t believe it’s my job as a parent (or yours) to always be coming up with ideas to entertain them. (That’s why I have an “I’m Board” Jar sitting on our counter.)
But at the same time, sometimes kids need a little help coming up with new ideas. By giving them some basic materials and instruction, you can then let them complete the activity and make it their own. Who knows? Maybe they will come up with additional outdoor Spring activities to encourage more play.
8 Outdoor Spring Activities for Kids to Encourage Play
Tie Dye Coffee Filter
This tie dye coffee filter activity has been a favorite of my kids for many years. It’s so simple you will laugh. And yet, aren’t those some of the best activities? All that is required for this activity are coffee filters, washable markers and a spray bottle. Let your kids color anything they want on the coffee filter (but nothing too detailed) and then take it outside and spray it with water. Then let the sun dry it out and you are left with a beautiful tie dye effect.
These tie dye coffee filters are fun to hang on a window or glass door as suncatchers as well. Check out the full post for more tips and tricks to get great results!
Recommended Supplies
Sidewalk Chalk
Make a City
Sidewalk chalk isn’t just for hopscotch or tic-tac-toe. Use it to create a small city! Start by making roads. Then add houses, a grocery store, parks and more. When you’re done, get those cars and trucks out and drive around your newly made city. (My favorite sidewalk chalk is the Crayola brand.)
STOMP Game
This is a great way to help your child to learn and identify numbers and letters. Choose which one you want to work on, then write the numbers/letters on the ground. For numbers, ask your child questions, such as, “where is the number 5?” or “how many feet do you have?”. For letters, ask them to find something that starts with a certain letter and put it on the corresponding letter on the ground.
Want 10+ sidewalk chalk activities? Go to THIS POST for more fun!
Bubble Snake
Raise your hand if you have ever had a pair of socks that has lost its mate or has a hole in one but not the other! If so, this activity is perfect for you. A bubble snake is made using an old pair of socks, a water bottle, duct tape and bubble solution. After you assemble it, dip the bottom in the bubbles and blow through the top. A long bubble snake will emerge from the other end!
This bubble snake activity is great for kids who aren’t big enough to blow bubbles using a wand. It is also a fun one to take with you if you have outdoor sporting events (soccer or baseball, for example) and you need to entertain little ones. Click HERE for the full tutorial and supply list!
Growing Seeds in a Bag
Growing seeds in a bag is an activity for a variety of ages because it’s not complicated or time consuming. It’s a fun little science experiment! Put a wet paper towel into a zip top bag, sprinkle a few seeds on top and tape the bag to a window. Within a few days, your seeds will have sprouted! If you want to expand on this activity, you could even provide a journal for them to record their findings each day. Check out the full blog post for all the details!
p.s. Did you know that growing seeds in a bag is actually a viable option for germinating seeds that you want to plant in your garden? Pretty neat!
Recommended Supplies
Scavenger Hunts
Shape Hunt
Get outside and encourage your kids to look at the world around them for basic shapes. This is perfect for preschoolers and elementary school because you can change the requirements based on age. For more details and a free printable shape scavenger hunt, visit The Many Little Joys.
Color Hunt
Similar to the shape hunt, the color scavenger hunt lists all the colors of the rainbow (plus a few more). Walk around your yard or the neighborhood with a clipboard and some colored pencils so your kids can draw what they see that matches the color on their paper. Get the printable HERE.
Color Explosions
What do you get when you combine, baking soda, food coloring, dish soap and vinegar? A color explosion! And when I say explosion, I don’t really mean anything super wild or crazy. It has more to do with the quick reaction that takes place once the vinegar gets mixed with the baking soda. While this activity can be done indoors (we’ve done it plenty of times), it’s even more fun to do outside. Plus the clean up is so much easier.
After your color explosions are complete, you can let your kids play in the mixture with dinosaurs, small cars or trucks and other toys. Find all the details on how to set up for this fun activity by clicking HERE!
On the Go
Many of these spring activities can be done away from home. If you were to spend 15-20 minutes one day, you could gather everything you need for them and keep them in your trunk in a small plastic bin. Then when you need them, you are ready to go!
Materials List
- Sidewalk chalk
- Small cars/trucks
- Printable scavenger hunts
- Clipboard
- Colored pencils
- Bubble snake (finished)
- Bubbles (or make your own)
- Plastic plate or small container (to pour bubbles into)
- Coffee filters
- Washable markers
I hope these outdoor spring activities help encourage playtime for your kids!
Want to save this post for later? Hover over one of the images below and click the “Pin It” button. Then save it to your Kid Activities board on Pinterest!
