Outdoor Summer Play

Children love to play outdoors. They can talk louder, run faster, jump higher, and get dirtier. And, researchers and child development experts agree—fresh air and sunshine are necessary ingredients to good health.

Jenny Morgenthau, Executive Director of The Fresh Air Fund in New York City, says outdoor play is an integral part of a child’s summer experience. Summer provides an opportunity for children to get out of the recycled indoor air and into the fresh air.  “Children need to have new experiences and see a world outside of their own neighborhood. Jumping into a lake or riding a bike down a country road are activities that are memorable and allow children to just be children," she says.

So what should kids do out there? The back yard or neighborhood park are a staple for kids during the summer, and children of a certain age can find ways to entertain themselves: bike riding, exploring, playing ball. But every so often, it won’t hurt to introduce kids to a new outdoor environment. Trips to nature reserves, hiking trails, bird sanctuaries, or beaches are terrific opportunities for children to make memories that they can’t make in the backyard. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Outdoor Summer Destinations

• zoo
• petting farm
• nursery
• forest
• hill or mountain
• pond, river, or lake
• outdoor fair
• parade

   

Outdoor Summer Ideas

• swimming in a pond, river, lake, or ocean
• fishing
• canoeing or boating
• waterskiing
• flying a kite
• going on a stone, shell, fossil, or leaf hunt
• taking nature photographs
• sketching in the woods

   

And for more specific outdoor activities this summer, try these on for size:

Preschool to Kindergarten

Homemade Sidewalk Chalk

Any excuse is a good excuse to get outside. And homemade chalk ranks right up there! Not only will making your own sidewalk chalk bring hours of hopscotch and drawing entertainment, but all that sidewalk fun builds the hand muscles, which helps young kids as they learn to write.

Use Your Backyard As a Math and Science Lab!

The garden is a place for growing flowers, chasing butterflies…even impromptu tag. But you can slip some learning in without drawing too much attention to yourself. Spring has sprung and summer's coming fast. It's the perfect time to plant a seed.

Make a Parachute Toy!

Looking for an outdoor distraction? Make this parachute toy! You probably have all the supplies you need, without a scramble to the store, and this activity is a blast. Plus, it gives kids an excuse to investigate and experiment—the backbone of kindergarten science.

First Grade to Second Grade

Host a Backyard Olympics!

Form your own Olympics committee and host The Games, right in your own backyard. Appoint your child statistician. This activity makes collecting data serious fun and showing the results on a graph a lot more rewarding! Let the games begin!

Take a Bug Expedition!

Want to take advantage of these simple thrills while boosting math and science knowledge at the same time?  Try taking a walk outdoors with your Young Biologist, and give her some practice observing, tallying, and categorizing while you're at it.  Here's a simple hands-on activity to try together.