Fun games to play outside.

Anything can be taken outside! Children of all ages thrive when they spend more time outside. My goal is to have 5-6 hours of outside time every day for my kids. (for some reason it is hard to meet this goal! but we are trying!!) Here are some of the things that we have done, that even my two year old enjoyed!

1. Free Play
2. Bean Bags
3. Chalk Drawing
4. Sensory Games

Outdoor Games that last the longest

Free play is great when you first head outdoors. Everything is interesting again and they aren't asking you for anything! This is when I take advantage to get a couple things maybe one thing done. When they get bored I tend to tell them to play a little longer, well because being bored is good for kiddos sometimes!

Beanbag Toss and more

Bean bags are so fun! They can be used for a number of different things. For the littles (1-2) I just practice holding them and throwing. As they get older playing toss, matching shapes (there are some super cute shape bean bags out there), and how far can we throw the bean bags competition are fun ways to use the bags. Chalk drawing can be done a few different ways too! We have a brick home and decided that the bricks were too plain so we decorated! The little ones just colored while the bigs made brick patterns with the chalk! Hopscotch is another great way to get exercise and is a good one for multiple ages. My toddler just jumped around square to square and my older ones added numbers to count by ones and by tens.

Extra fun games to play outside that we haven't tried!

1. Giant board games
2. Mud painting
3. Scavenger Hunts

I have been wanting to do these three outdoor activities but have not gotten to it yet. Has anyone tried? I will let you know if I end up trying them!

Some extra information that I found interesting...

Kids love being outside much more than I realized! The possibilities of being outside are endless, whether it be free time to just explore or doing outdoor games! How much time do you think children play outside? It is not that much. I know I am guilty of just letting my children play their games or watch TV for probably too long. According to the American Heart Association, children need at least 60 minutes of vigorous activities a day. Take a look at this article from CBS News. It talks about a study that was done and it showed that children were not taken outside enough. This can be done outside easily! I hope you enjoyed reading the fun games to play outside that we have done! Stay tuned for more fun with the Hollingsworth Swarm!