Cheap & Easy Outdoor Activities For 3-5 Year Olds

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This blog post is all about outdoor activities for 3-5 year olds.

As a daycare provider, I believe in getting outdoor play as often as possible! Seriously, we are outside from 8-12 and again at 3, weather permitting.

That is why I have compiled a list of some of our favorite outdoor activities for 3-5 year olds!

I hope this list of outdoor activities helps you beat some of the boredom and create a sense of creativity in your toddlers!

LIST OF OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

Water Play

1. sponge toss~ fill a bucket or two with water and sponges and throw them at each other
2. water painting ~ fill a bucket of water and the kids use paintbrushes to "paint" the sidewalk
3. sprinkler~ one of our favorite activities we love this sprinkler
4. water balloon toss~ toss at each other or turn it into an educational activity with numbers, letters, and/or letter sounds
5. sink or float~ this is a repeated offender
6. water table~ I've had this water table for 5 years now

Nature Activities

1. rock painting~ kids paint rocks, or you paint the letters of their name on rocks and they dig them up and put them in order
2. stick building~ collect sticks and see what they can build and you get your yard cleaned win~win
3. nature bracelet~ place tape inside out on their wrist then go a nature walk to find different flowers to put on the bracelet
4. bug hunt~ you can imagine this will always be a winner

Gross Motor & Movement

1. obstacle course~ use items around your house to create an obstacle course that allows the children to practice climbing under, over, and balance
2. hopscotch~ use traditionally or turn it into a number recognition and counting game
3. red light, green light or Simon says~ classic listening to directions games
4. shadow tag~ a kid is it, and they run around chasing the shadows of the other kids
5. jump over the rope~ put the rope on the ground and have them jump over, use a stick if you don't have a rope

Imaginative Play

1. mud kitchen~ I put old pots, pans, and utensils outside in a dirt pile and called it a mud kitchen. You can build one with pallets or old containers.
2. binoculars~ build binoculars with two toilet paper rolls and go on a hunt
3. magic potion~ water in a big pot and let them put grass, flowers, and other objects they find in it and stir around
4. story time~ take the learning outside

Science Experiments

1. exploding sidewalk chalk~ mix baking soda, cornstarch, and vinegar in a baggie shake it up and now you have fizzing chalk to use
2. ice play~ freeze small toys, numbers, or letters in water and have the children attempt to free them 
3. melted crayons~ don't throw out the small broken crayons instead, place them outside in the sun to melt you can use molds like these and now have fun-designed crayons
4. vinegar & baking soda volcanoes~ build a volcano with dirt or use old apples let the kids mix and watch the fun
5. rainbow paint~ mix shaving cream with food coloring in a cup and let the kids paint

Active Play

1. kick the can~ kick an empty can at a target 
2. paper airplane race~ build paper airplanes and see who goes further
3. bubble chase~ blow bubbles and let them have fun chasing them
4.  diy bowling~ using old milk jugs or pop bottles set them up as pins and use a ball to bowl

Sensory Play

1. mud pie contest~ who made the best mud pie
2. oobleck play~ mix water and cornstarch for a messy but fun time
3. shaving cream fun~ put shaving cream on the sidewalk for them to finger-paint 
4. colored ice play~ freeze water with food coloring it and the children use paintbrushes and a cup of water to unthaw or use the colored frozen ice to paint paper

Classic Outdoor Games

1. Simon says~ call out movements for kids to do
2. duck, duck, goose~ sit in a circle, one kid is it and goes around saying duck, duck, goose taping the kid's heads then is chased by the kid that was wold goose
3. freeze dance~ put on music dance and freeze when the music stops
4. nature scavenger hunt~ going around looking for things in nature

Relaxing Outdoor Activities

1. cloud watching~ lay down in the grass and watch the clouds move
2. outdoor picnic~ this is equal to eating McDonald's at my daycare they love them that much
3. wind chime~ make a wind chime out of sticks, string, and beads

Outdoor play doesn't have to be complicated or expensive to be fun, engaging, and educational!