Updated April 2024

It can feel like a big job transforming the outdoor space at your home (whether it be a backyard, front lawn, patio, or deck) into a space that your kids will want to go out and play in! We’ve found that a space that is a blank slate, like a flat lawn, can be tricky to entice kids to play with, and can even be depressing for us to look at!

But turning your outdoor space into a kid-friendly, frequently used space for active play doesn’t have to be a big job. It doesn’t take a lot of time, energy or money to make a yard fun and appealing to children.

And we all know how important play is, right?! Mister Rogers got it right when he said that play is the work of childhood.

Fun Backyard Ideas for Kids

As you consider your own backyard, think about which aspects you already have, which ones might need an update, and which details you would like to add.

Don’t feel like you have to incorporate all of these to get your kids outside to play!

Simply use these ideas as a starting point for making your outdoor space more kid-friendly (even if it’s simply a balcony!).

1. Create a Play Space or Outdoor “Room”

Give kids a feeling of privacy and intimacy for their play. Your yard may already provide this with nooks, corners, or trees. But you can also create “rooms” by adding shrubs or trees, a trellis, an umbrella or canopy, or some sort of fort or hideaway.

Some other ideas for creating spaces:

• A bean pole tent
• Or a fabric tent
• A frame playhouse (on Bev Cooks)
• Sunflower house (on Let’s Lasso the Moon)
• Fort Magic Playhouse
• An Old tent
• An Umbrella or a shade canopy

2. Outdoor Sandbox Ideas

A place to dig in the sand (or dirt), mold it, build with it, and touch it is an important element of a kid friendly backyard. Sand is both a wonderful sensory experience and fun to manipulate. You can buy or build your own DIY sand box, sand pit, or sand table and outfit it with a few basic sand toys.

Sandbox toys

• Scoops and shovels
• Molds (we also love these cupcake molds!)
• Buckets
• Construction vehicles
• Funnels or this funnel tower!

3. Outdoor Water Play

Water is another fun sensory experience for children, especially in warm weather. Kids love to run through a sprinkler on a hot day, play with water balloons, splash in the kiddie pool, and water the garden. Here are a few more ways to incorporate a water element in your space.

• A water table (for the littles)
• Slip n slide
• A stream or pond
• DIY water wall (on Tinkerlab)
• A water fountain

4. Outdoor Art Activities

You know we are all about art and creativity, whether indoors or out. Sometimes we do art outside, just because it’s so nice out and anything we do needs to be outside.

And sometimes we do outdoor art activities that are best suited to the backyard, because they are big or messy projects, or they involve nature or outdoor equipment.

An easy way to incorporate art outside is to bring the kids’ easel out for some fresh air painting!

The same is true for the sensory table. We like to bring messier sensory play outdoors during warmer weather which makes for an easier cleanup.

The nice thing about outdoor art is that you don’t need to worry about paint dribbles and splashes!

5. Chalk, Chalk, Chalk

Sidewalk chalk is a childhood staple (check out this fun set!) and is used for everything from sidewalk drawings and body tracings to games. Mandala stencils are a fun way for older kids to get into chalk art as well.

Chalk paint is another fun material to explore outdoors. And since chalk washes away easily with rain or the hose, kids can draw in many places.

6. A Kids’ Garden

Any kind of garden that a child has ownership of is a wonderful experience. Watching a seed grow into a plant (and then into a fruit, flower, or vegetable!) is a magical learning experience. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to exercise responsibility for a child.

We encourage any parent to give children their own garden space, whether in a pot or a small plot in the ground, and the support to help make it a success.

Some children’s gardening tools to consider:

• Trowel and hand tools
• Child-sized watering can
• Gardening gloves
• Child-sized wheelbarrow
• A small shovel and other gardening tools

7. Attract Birds and Butterflies

Our kids LOVE watching the birds, hummingbirds, and butterflies in our garden. You can make your garden friendly to wildlife by planting native flowers, shrubs, and trees around the perimeter of your yard to provide shelter and food.

Add bird feeders, a bird bath, and bird houses as well, if you can. We’ve painted bird houses in the past and even assembled our own from kits.

Or add a bee and bug hotel to help pollinators and beneficial insects. DIY your own or assemble a butterfly house for your garden.

8. Nature Observation Kit

Treat your backyard like a natural science lab by having a few key observation tools handy:

• Butterfly nets can be used for catching insects.
• A jar with holes in the lid or a bug house can be a temporary insect observation room.
• A magnifying glass is helpful for looking closely at your subject.
• A set of binoculars allows kids to watch larger bird and animal life more carefully.

9. Bubbles!

This is a no brainer. Bubbles are magical and fun for most children. They also arguably provide the biggest bang for the buck when creating a kid friendly backyard.

We’ve tried all kinds of wands, machines, and bubbles and they are all a big hit. We’ve even made our own beaded bubble wands! We especially like the larger multi-bubble wands and a never-ending supply of homemade bubble solution in a shallow bowl.

Or try this bubble kit to create gigantic bubbles that will wow your kids!

10. Toys for Outdoor Play

Basic childhood toys, such as balls, hula hoops, jump ropes, and stilts are great for simple, active fun. One of our favorites, though, is a set of activity cones which are fabulous for open-ended play as they can be used so many different ways. They are perfect for setting up obstacle courses, made-up games, and races.

A trampoline is another backyard element that you may want to consider. Our large 15 foot trampoline has been well worth the investment and doubles as a backyard room. The kids play there every day and it’s the playdate hangout of choice. (Or you might try a mini trampoline that can be moved indoors or outdoors).

11. Backyard Swings 

Swings are fun and soothing, great for developing equilibrium and balance, and a superb way to be active. The swing set at our old house (a big wooden DIY affair) got more use over the years than anything else in our backyard––even the much-loved sand box. If you have space for a swing set or a tree swing, it can be a worthwhile addition.

How about you? What are your family’s favorite kid friendly backyard ideas? What do you have in place that’s working well for you? And what would you like to add to make your outdoor space more inviting and workable?

More Outdoor Play for Kids

• 21 Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids
• 10 DIY Outdoor Games for Summer
• 22 Nature Art Ideas for Kids
• The Best Children’s Books About Gardening
• 13 Nature Walk Activities for Kids (+ FREE Nature Scavenger Hunt Printable!)
• 16 Garden + Nature Crafts for Kids

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We love homemade bubble solution. It’s inexpensive and easy to make, which is great when you’ve got kids who love to blow bubbles!

And if you think regular bubble solution is fun, you need to try super bubbles! These bubbles are larger, floatier, and more vibrant than your average soap bubble, and they’re surprisingly easy to make.

With just a few household ingredients, you can create a bubble solution that will have everyone amazed. Here are the simple steps to make your own super bubbles.

How to Make Super Bubbles

MATERIALS

• 6 cups of water
• 1/2 cup of blue Dawn dish soap
• 1/2 cup of cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1 tablespoon of glycerin (optional, but it helps make the bubbles stronger and last longer)
• Large bowl
• Bubble wands and small jars for solution

That’s all there is to it! Once your bubble solution has had time to sit, you’re ready to blow some bubbles! We like to pour the solution into a bowl and use giant bubble wands to make the biggest bubbles possible! You can also use homemade bubble wands!

And if you’d prefer not to use glycerin in your bubble mixture, or don’t have any on hand, check out How to Make Homemade Bubbles.

More Bubble Fun for Kids

• How to Create Bubble Prints for Kids
• How to Create Bubble Snakes
• Make Easy DIY Bubble Wands with Beads
• How to Make Homemade Bubbles

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Updated March 2024

If your kids are anything like ours, they love to blow bubbles! And with a big batch of our homemade bubble solution, they can blow bubbles as much as they want!

But here’s a fun way to let kids make their own bubble wands. Set up a homemade bubble wand making station!

Set out a few simple materials and let kids make their own bubble wands! This is a great summertime activity, or craft for a birthday party. Once the wands are made, hand out some bubble solution and let the kids go for it!

How to Set up a Homemade Bubble Wand Station

MATERIALS

• Trays for working on (and containing beads!)
• Small bowls or dishes for the beads
• Pipe cleaners
• Wooden dowels
• Assorted beads
• Hot glue gun (optional)

Have fun creating and blowing bubbles with your homemade bubble wands!

More Bubble Fun for Kids

• How to Make Homemade Bubbles
• How to Make Bubble Wands
• How to Make Homemade Super Bubbles
• How to Create Bubble Snakes
• 11 Ways to Have a Creative Summer with Kids
• How to Create Super Fun Bubble Prints

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Updated March 2024

Are you beginning to make your summer bucket list yet? How about adding some DIY outdoor games to play in the backyard or when camping?

Games don’t have to come in a box, and they definitely don’t need to be battery operated to be enjoyable. In fact, the best games are sometimes the simplest. We all remember playing games outdoors as children with little more than simple natural materials, companions (siblings, friends, parents…), and our imaginations.

Here are 10 simple DIY outdoor games perfect to play with the kids this summer!

10 DIY Outdoor Games for Summer

1. Blow Bubbles

Make a batch of bubble solution and set up a bubble station with all kinds of bubble wands for kids to create and chase bubbles.

2. Hopscotch

This one is so simple but every kid we know loves it! Draw out hopscotch boxes and let the fun begin!

3. Chalk Art

Use sidewalk chalk to create a mural or a game on the driveway or sidewalk. Or you can make some chalk paint and try one of these fun ideas.

4. Obstacle Course

Create a simple obstacle course using items like cones, hula hoops, pool noodles, and ropes for jumping or crawling under.

5. Nature Scavenger Hunt

Go on a walk and see what you can find with a nature scavenger hunt! We’ve made it easy for you with our FREE printable nature scavenger hunt!

6. Bean Bag Toss

Set up targets using buckets or cardboard boxes and have kids toss bean bags into them from a distance.

7. DIY Giant Blocks

Raid the recycle bin for leftover cardboard boxes and use them to create giant blocks! They are lightweight and large, allowing you to build BIG!

8. Sponge Relay

On an extra hot day, fill a bucket with water and have kids use sponges to transfer water from one bucket to another, racing against each other.

9. Painted Rocks

If you’ve got lots of rocks gathered from nature walks, you can paint them or make melted crayon rocks. Then use them in hopscotch, pretend play, or as kindness rocks to hide around the neighborhood!

10. Swimming Pool Painting

This is an Artful Parent classic! Do marble painting on a big scale with balls or water balloons in a kiddie pool!

And don’t forget, you can always bring the arts and crafts outside and try one of our outdoor art ideas for kids!

More Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids

• 21 Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids
• 11 Ways to Have a Creative Summer with Kids
• 12 Best Summer Art Ideas for Kids
• 100+ Summer Crafts & Activities for Kids
• 22 Nature Art Ideas for Kids
• 16 Garden + Nature Crafts for Kids

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Updated April 2024

Do you have a child who loves to make noise? Consider going on a sound hunt! Helping kids learn how to listen with intent (try this with music, too!) and experiment with their own sound making is really engaging for all ages.

Here’s a simple activity to help kids appreciate sound in a new way and encourage them to find interesting sounds out in the world.

You can go on a sound hunt anywhere—in the backyard, out in nature somewhere, or inside on a rainy day. This activity works well if you happen to be at a big gathering with cousins and friends or if you’re having a quiet afternoon at home.

Ready? Let’s go on a Sound Hunt!

How to Go on a Sound Hunt with Kids

MATERIALS

• optional: a way to record sound (you can download an app on your phone or use a cassette recorder)

No matter how you choose to try this, outside or inside, with or without a recorder, I hope you can encourage your kids to notice the sounds that are all around them. Happy exploring!

More Nature Activities for Kids

• 13 Nature Walk Ideas (+ FREE Nature Scavenger Hunt)
• 11 Ways to Have a Creative Summer with Kids
• 10 DIY Outdoor Games for Kids

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Updated April 2024

If your kids love blowing bubbles as much as ours do, then this recipe is just for you! It makes a big batch of solution and the bubbles it makes are fantastic!

We’ve got lots of tips and tricks for you, to help make your summer full of bubbly fun!

First, here’s a video tutorial on how to make the bubbles. And keep scrolling to get the bubbles recipe and some photos of the bubbles in action!

How to Make Homemade Bubbles

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups warm water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup blue Dawn dish soap

Super easy, don’t you think?

How Do You Make Super Bubbles?

If you want to make extra strong bubbles, you can follow the simple recipe listed above, and let the solution sit overnight. This will help the bubble solution come together.

You can also add either 1/4 cup of vegetable glycerin, or 1/2 cup of corn starch, or 1 tablespoon of baking powder to your homemade bubble solution. Each of those ingredients make the bubbles work just a tad bit better. Or check out our recipe for Super Bubbles!

We usually have a big bowl or two of the bubble solution out and available to the kids. You can also fill individual mason jars with bubble solution for each kid. Or re-use one of those no-spill bubble cups for your homemade bubbles.

Sometimes we blow bubbles, sometimes we let the wind do the work, and sometimes we twirl around with a bubble-laden wand in tow.

Bubble Wand Ideas

We recently discovered bubble wands with two handles that make really big bubbles, and we can’t get enough of them!

If you’re looking for something extra fancy to blow bubbles with, be sure to check out our homemade bubble wands! Or set up a bubble wand making station!

You can also try making 3D geometric bubble wands! String pipe cleaners through cut straw pieces to form a pyramid or a cube shape. Then dip the entire shape into your bubble solution and see what geometric bubbles look like!

People Also Ask

• How do you make bubbles without glycerin? We find that this basic recipe of 4 cups warm water, plus 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup blue Dawn dish soap works great without glycerin!
• Can you make bubble solution with dish soap? Yes! This recipe calls for plain old blue Dawn dish soap.
• Do bubbles last longer in hot or cold water? Higher temperatures will make the water in the soap bubbles evaporate faster, so colder water is better for long-lasting bubbles.

How about you? Have you made your own bubble solution? Do you have a favorite recipe?

More Fun Bubble Ideas for Kids

• How to Create Bubble Prints for Kids
• How to Create Bubble Snakes
• Make easy DIY bubble wands with beads
• How to Make Super Bubbles
• How to Set Up a Bubble Wand Making Station
• Bubble machines are magic!

Want even more bubble ideas?

Check out our Bubbles Creativity Pack!

Full of tips & tricks, recipes, and activities this 27-page printable eBook is absolutely bursting with bubbly fun!

SHOP NOW

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Updated January 2024

We love playdough. And while we use it for building, creating, and sensory play, we most often use it for pretend play.

Whenever we get the playdough out, the dinosaurs, Paw Patrol pups, and various other little figures end up coming out, too. My kids can’t resist using the playdough to create lots of little worlds for their critters.

This open-ended play ends up being more independent and lasting longer than when my kids use playdough in other ways. Once the materials are out, I often sit back and watch as little worlds are created and stories are acted out, and my kids are completely absorbed in their play.

Small World Playdough Play

MATERIALS

• Playdough, either homemade or store bought
• Tray, cookie sheet, or Tupperware container
• pom-poms
• jewels
• beads
• buttons
• tiny erasers
• LEGOs
• and lots of little animals and creatures

Playdough is seamlessly incorporated into their small world play, adding a new and different level of creative play to the entire experience, each time they play.

Creative Playdough Play for Kids

If your kids aren’t into little figures, we also do our fair share of playdough baking and pretending that we are the next Food Network star.

All you need to create your own playdough bakery is:

• silicone muffin liners (these are great for so many creative play opportunities)
• rolling pins
• cookie cutters
• beads and sequins for decorations

Take turns making each other pretend treats or let your kids set up a kitchen or cupcake store and start taking orders!

We love to use our favorite homemade playdough recipe, but you can use any playdough, homemade or store bought, of course.

Do your kids incorporate figures and little toys into their playdough play? If not, you might want to try setting out some animal and people figurines, matchbox cars, and other little odds and ends with some playdough and a few open-ended add-ins (beads, buttons, large sequins, and toothpicks) and see what they come up with.

More Ideas for Playdough

• Our Favorite Playdough Play Ideas for Kids’ Everyday Creativity
• Fun Playdough Activities for Kids with Ideas to Play & Learn
• How to Use LEGOs to Make Pictures in Playdough
• Creative Small World Play Ideas for Kids
• Playdough Pretend Play Ideas

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Updated February 2024

We don’t know about your kids, but when our kids play with playdough, it usually turns into a pretend play fest more often than simply sculpture or art.

Whether they are setting up a playdough bakery or creating a small world for their animal figures, kids love to use playdough for pretend play.

Here are 5 of our favorite pretend play ideas for playdough!

Playdough Pretend Play Ideas

1. Playdough Bakery

Whip up a batch of apple pie playdough and let your kids set up their own bakery or restaurant! All you need are a few silicone cupcake liners, buttons, beads or sequins for sprinkles, and maybe even some candles!

2. Halloween Creatures with Playdough

You can make spooky creatures any time of year, but we especially love these at Halloween! Before you get started, take a look around the house for buttons, Lego parts, beads, pipe cleaners that your kids can use to create their own playdough monsters!

3. Small World Play

Add your child’s favorite small toys or animal figurines to take the playdough play to a whole new level of small world creative play for kids. We keep these materials in a large Tupperware container with the playdough, so it’s ready whenever the kids get the urge to play.

4. Playdough Turkeys

This is the best activity for the kids table at Thanksgiving! Add some Autumnal feathers and glitter, and a dash of cinnamon to your playdough for a Fall sensory experience. 

5. Playdough Snowmen

Playdough snowmen are easy to make and fun to play with, especially when it is too cold to go out and play in the real snow!

More Pretend Play Ideas for Kids Using Playdough

• 33 Ideas with Playdough for Kids
• 3 Homemade Playdough Recipes for Kids
• How to Set Up a Playdough Play Tray
• How to Use LEGOs to Make Pictures in Playdough
• Our Favorite Playdough Play Ideas for Kids

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Updated March 2024

Here are some easy ways to make your own obstacle course in your backyard!

One thing we love to use for this type of play is a Fort Magic kit. Our kids like taking the Fort Magic kit outside in the summer, especially during playdates, to make their own forts, houses, obstacle courses, and games.

Here are some backyard obstacle course ideas and inspiration, from our kids to yours!

How to Make Your Own Obstacle Course for Kids

1. Hopscotch

Use sidewalk chalk to draw a hopscotch board on the ground. Kids can jump from square to square, following the traditional rules or creating their own challenges.

2. Limbo Stick

Use a broomstick or some Fort Magic poles held by two people as a limbo bar. Kids can take turns bending backward and passing under the bar without touching it.

3. Maze Course

Use colored tape or sticks to create a maze on the grass or pavement. Kids can navigate the maze by walking along the lines without stepping on the maze line.

4. Obstacle Course Flags

Use Fort Magic poles or dowels with flags attached to create a series of flags that kids have to weave in and out of as they run through the course. You can also lay them across a kiddie pool to add a water feature!

5. Balloon Obstacle Course

Blow up balloons and scatter them around the yard. Kids have to navigate through the balloons without popping them. Or try tossing a balloon (or water balloon!) through a hoop.

6. DIY Slip n Slide!

You can make your own Slip n Slide with a tarp and some soap!

We folded over our tarp and created a canopy entrance for the slip n slide using the Fort Magic kit and some colorful pool noodles. We weighted down the edges of the tarp slide with a few sandwich bags filled with sand from the sand box.

Then we squirted some dish soap onto the new DIY slip n slide and turned on the hose. We took turns running and sliding. Over and over and over!

Do you think you’ll try one of these fun obstacle course ideas this summer?!

More Summer Fun Activities for Kids

• 10 DIY Outdoor Games for Summer
• 24 Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids
• 33 Nature Art Ideas for Kids
• 11 Ways to Have a Creative Summer with Kids
• 12 Best Summer Art Activities for Kids
• 100+ Summer Crafts & Activities for Kids

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Do your kids love making fairy gardens? Mine do! In the yard, on the playground, on a nature walk, wherever we go, they’re making fairy gardens or fairy houses.

Here’s a simple way to make a fairy garden so you can move it wherever you like or change things up with the seasons.

We made these with our cousins and love the way they look arranged together on the stone wall.

How to Make a Fairy Garden for Kids

MATERIALS

• Shallow planter
• Soil
• Natural accessories: moss, flowers, rocks
• Fairy accessories: little houses, signs and fairies

Once your fairy garden is in place, encourage your kids to play and use their imagination with their new magical creation!

These fairy gardens are so sweet! They are such a fun addition to our backyard.

More Summer Fun for Kids

• 100+ Summer Crafts & Activities for Kids
• 10 DIY Outdoor Games for Summer
• 11 Ways to Have a Creative Summer with Kids
• 12 Best Summer Art Ideas for Kids
• The Best Fun Backyard Ideas for Kids
• 24 Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids

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