Are your kids feeling cooped up indoors? Looking for fun things to do outside?  Cold or rain may keep us indoors, but as soon as the sun starts shining it’s time to get out!

There’s always the typical pastimes like swings and sidewalk chalk.  Add some magic to your kids outdoor play with these fun outdoor activities for toddlers and preschoolers!

These outdoor activities are simple!  No need to search pinterest, plan elaborate ideas and buy tons of supplies.  It really doesn’t take much to entertain kids.  These outdoor activities are also fun!  You’ll be able to bust boredom and keep your littles occupied too.

So get your toddlers and preschoolers outside and playing for hours with these simple and fun outdoor activities!

I Spy Walk

Are walks a common outdoor activity at your house?  Add an element of fun by turning your walks into an “I Spy” game!  

Toddler “I Spy”:  Before you head out make a list of easy things to find like a car, flower, dog, stop sign, mailbox and so on.  Then as you walk around outside tell your toddler what to look for and see how many things you can spy on your list!

Preschool “I Spy”: See what you and your preschooler can find with a little guessing game.  As you’re walking think of something easy to spot and give a few clues to have your toddler guess what it is.  Simply say, “I spy with my little eye something that tweets and flies.”  Take turns with each other as you go on your walk.

Magical Sidewalk Chalk

Sidewalk chalk is a popular outdoor activity for kids.  Toddlers and preschoolers might run out of ideas of what to draw and might tire of playing.  Make sidewalk chalk more magical with these ideas.

Toddler Magical Sidewalk Chalk:  

• Create different designs, pictures or shapes for your toddler and then have them color it in.  
• Draw out a path or road for your youngster to travel along with their little trikes or scooter. Make the roads straight, zigzag or squiggly to keep it interesting.

Preschool Magical Sidewalk Chalk:

• Trace your child’s body for them to color a self portrait.
• Draw out small roads or tracks to use with Hotwheel cars or trains.  Let them draw buildings or homes to make a town or have car races.  
• Draw lines in different shapes (straight, zigzag or squiggly) for your preschool to walk on as if they are on a balance beam.  Walk tip-toe, play follow the leader, or dance while trying to stay on the line.

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are a great backyard activity for kids.  This fun thing to do makes playing outside exciting because toddlers and preschoolers get to explore!

Toddler Nature Scavenger Hunt:  Turn this scavenger hunt into a game of find and fetch for your toddler!  Pre-select easy to find items around your yard.  Then instruct your toddler to find the item and show it to you.  Simply say, “can you find…” and send them off hunting!  Suggested items to use include:

• Balls
• Sandbox toys
• Large trucks or bikes
• Rocks
• Dandelions or other things growing in the yard
• Leaves 

Preschool Nature Scavenger Hunt: This outdoor scavenger hunt is a like a fun Easter egg hunt.  Simply gather up some rocks and put something on them so they are easy to spot.  You can paint, color, or put stickers on them.  Then hide the rocks in different parts of your yard.  Hand your preschooler a bucket and send them off to look for the rocks.  Ideas for places to hide include:

• Under a bush
• Next to trees
• Behind larger rocks or flowers
• In a garden
• Under patio furniture
• On top of slides or swings

Ice Excavator

Curious minds will love this outdoor activity.  Simply place a small object or toy in a bowl of water and freeze it.  When the water is frozen take it out and let your kids chip away at it until they retrieve the toy!

Toddler Excavator:  To make it easy for smaller hands to dig at the ice you could simply use warm water or salt to help the melting process along.  Use a dropper or spoon to apply the warm water. Freeze the toy in a smaller bowl so there is less ice to chip through as well.

Preschool Excavator:  Make digging interesting by using dinosaurs or realistic animals and pretend to be an archaeologist!  Spoons work great to safely chip away the ice too.

Outdoor Water Bin

For days that are warm but you don’t want to bust out a pool water bins are a great alternative.  Water bins can still cool you off while playing outdoors.  Here are some simple and fun ideas!

Toddler Outdoor Water Bin:

This is the perfect outdoor activity for toddlers!  Who doesn’t like to splash and play.  To make it fun try the following:

• Put bins on a table so it’s easy to splash around.
• Use bath toys or small cups to spill and pour.
• Add some dish soap to make it extra special.

Preschool Outdoor Water Bin:

This water activity for preschoolers will keep them laughing.  Try out these ideas:

• Create a carwash station with two bins, one with soap and bubbles, scrub brushes and washcloths and another bin with just water to rinse and towels to dry.
• Set up two bins like the car wash but use animals to create a pet spa.
• Get little squirters with boats and have boat races.

If you’re looking for things to do outside try out one of these simple and fun ideas!  These outdoor activities are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers!