Outdoor Activities
Fun Outdoor Activities For Kids & Families:
Fall Family Fun
Take the family apple picking! Find a fall festival, apple orchard or farm near you and enjoy one of the easiest fruits to pick and use. Tip for toddlers: Find an orchard with dwarf trees that are very close to the ground, perfect height for wee ones to pick on their own. After you've picked the firm, bruise-free apples of your choice take them home for fresh applesauce, make delicious apple cider or keep them in the fruit bowl for a healthy after school snack!
Find a pumpkin patch near you for the next family outing. Many local pumpkin patches offer crafts, food, activities, hay rides, fresh produce, games, petting zoos and more. Head out into the patch to pick the perfect pumpkins for Halloween jack-o-lanterns, collect autumn colored Indian corn for festive decorations, and spend the day enjoying the fresh, crisp fall air and company of family and friends.
Visit a corn maze! Many farmers turn their cornfields into challenging, puzzling fun mazes for the Halloween season. Generally open from the end of September or early October through Halloween, corn mazes come in all shapes and sizes: from safari theme to traditional labyrinth style. For older kids, many corn mazes offer a spooky, scary haunted corn maze after dark! Find a corn maze near you - where getting lost means finding fun!
Hiking & Camping
Take a walk through your neighborhood, backyard, local park or nature trail and try to find something for every color of the rainbow. Look hard with kiddos to find something that matches every color: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo (a purple blue), and Violet.
Go for a family hike on a local trail, mountain or even in the neighborhood park. Play games, chant a song, pick up pretty leaves and point out all the different animals and insects you see along the way!(Be sure to bring plenty of water and healthy snacks, little tummies are sure to get hungry!)
Plan a family camping trip – whether it's one night spent in a tent in the backyard or a week-long excursion camping at the lake, kids love to camp! Spend the night laying under the stars together, roast s'mores and tell ghost stories.
Out & About
Puddle jumping! Grab your rain jacket, slip on rubber boots and splash around. Take the whole family, and a few friends too, out in the rain and see who can make the biggest splash!
Bug discovery: Let kids play in the dirt to find as many insects as they can. You'd be amazed how long a caterpillar, inchworm or lady bug can fascinate young children! Help by lifting up rocks, rolling over logs and looking under fallen tree branches.
Go for a family bike ride. Everyone put on tennis shoes, strap on helmets and go for a ride through the neighborhood. Pick a fun destination that everyone will enjoy riding to and won't make for too long of a trip home!
Take a walk to a construction site and watch the men working. Little boys love construction and most any child will love watching an excavator digging in the dirt!
Snow
Snowshoeing: This is a great family activity! If you can walk, you can snowshoe. Many winter resorts, sporting good stores and equipment rental locations offer snowshoes to rent in all sizes. Find a beautiful trail freshly lined with snow and spend some great family time together!
Cross-country skiing is a great way to encourage winter sports in young children. Find an equipment rental location near you, dress in weather-proof gear and away you go!
Make snow angels! Kids love snow, especially when they wake up to a fresh blanket of white powder (not to mention if school is cancelled!) Bundle the whole family up and head the the backyard for snow angels.
Build a snow cave or igloo! Nothing is more fun than huddling together with hot chocolate in your freshly built snow cave. Use recycling bins, plastic boxes or whatever you can find to pack the snow and build a wintery hiding place!
Make snow treats! Gather fresh snow from outside, take it inside (keep it from melting!) and boil some maple syrup. With proper supervision, pour hot maple syrup onto the snow and watch it crystalize. The snow will turn into sugary, delicious maple snow candy!
Backyard Fun
Gardening: This is a great way to teach little ones about fruits, vegetables, plants and where they come from! Plant small seeds in pots to keep in the kitchen window and as they grow, transfer them to the backyard.
Set out seeds for birds in the winter and see who comes! Search for a pine cone in the backyard, paint it with peanut butter and roll it in birdseed. Hang the feeder outside and watch for birdies to come snack!
Make leaf rubbings! Set out on a backyard adventure to find your favorite leaves or piece of bark from a tree, then take them inside to make fun crayon rubbings!
Great list of stuff to do with the kids or even as an adult trying not to forget how to play ;) Please check out this post on Diddit as a checkable list that allows you to also make suggestions: http://www.diddit.com/list-lgbmgj/playoutdoorscom-outdoor-activities/
Posted by: ed haslam | May 22, 2009 at 02:37 PM