As part of our goal to make summer easy and awesome, we've partnered with Melissa & Doug to share some simple activities and really cool toys that are great for backyard play.
I hate it when my kids say, "I'm bored" or are constantly wanting to watch something on Netflix. Sometimes when we get off schedule or return from a trip where they've had more electronics than usual, it takes a little bit to get back in the groove of playing independently.
Having a plan can make all the difference!
To get our summer started off on the right foot, we set up a Summer Play Grab and Go Station. The kids can just grab one or two toys and they are off creating, playing and exploring in the backyard!
You can check out our Grab & Go Station post over on Melissa & Doug's "Summer Sparks" series to see the specific things we've been including in our Grab and Go Station so far this summer. We change it up every week or so too!
In addition to our Grab and Go Station, we made the Ultimate List of Backyard Play Ideas to keep nearby our back door so that if kids need an idea of something to do, they can just check the list. Often it will spark several other ideas and the kids will come up with something on their own too!
Here is our Ultimate List of Backyard Play Ideas (along with a free printable for you)! Thanks Melissa & Doug for a few of these fun toys to help make our summer more awesome!
1. Paint the patio with water (these jumbo brushes are so fun to use)
2. Have a bowling tournament (we love these bowling pins)
3. Set up a backyard obstacle course (using our tunnel)
4. Spray an alphabet garden (using chalk and a spray bottle)
5. Hunt for Bugs (don't forget the binoculars)
6. Backyard game tournament
7. Make a pretend play garden
8. Family baseball game
9. Bean bag toss & cornhole (this bean bag toss game is easy to fold up)
10. Have a Drawing contest
11. Play Chalk Pictionary
12. Paint with bubbles
13. Pop bubbles with pool noodles
14. Make an outdoor color lab
15. Play water balloon baseball
16. Spray Bottle Painting or Target Practice
17. Host a Jogging Club
18. Paint with sticks
20. Play catch with a frisbee or a ball (we love this frog toss game)
21. Roll a ball through a tunnel
22. Water the flowers
23. Make a Backyard art studio (this tabletop easel makes it really easy)
24. Have a read-a-thon in a tent
25. Build block towers (with play with these blocks indoors and outdoors)
26. Create a pretend flower shop
27. Make a backyard beach
28. Play Red Light Green Light
29. Make bubble snakes
30. Play pool noodle hockey (this big ball works great)
31. Play pool noodle basketball
32. Drive trucks in the dirt
33. See who can make the biggest bubble
34. Play jump rope games (or just learn to use a jump rope!)
35. Play in the sprinkler
36. Start a game of hopscotch
37. Go pretend camping and make solar s'mores
38. Play hide and seek
39. Build a fairy garden
40. Make a treasure hunt
41. Play follow the leader
42. Have a dance party
43. Trace body outlines with chalk (or just draw chalk pictures)
44. Play frisbee tic tac toe
45. Play roll 6 and splash (or other water games)
We love the My First Sidewalk Chalk Set!
46. Have a toy hunt in the yard
47. Set up a toy or car washing station
48. Make a chalk race track for cars
49. Paint rocks to make pet rocks
50. Put on a performance (use puppets or costumes)
DOWNLOAD OUR FREE ULTIMATE BACKYARD PLAY IDEAS PRINTABLE LIST HERE
Disclosure: This is a companion post to our sponsored Grab & Go Station guest post over on Melissa and Doug Toys. Melissa and Doug provided us with most of the toys featured in this post. All opinions are my own.
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