50+ Fun Backyard Activities for Kids

Are you looking for something to keep your kids active and to encourage outdoor play? Then you have got to make your own kids obstacle course!

Create a fun sidewalk chalk obstacle course the whole family will love.

Playing games together as a family makes for great memories. So grab your bows and head outside to try these fun balloon archery games!

Work on color recognition and have fun outside at the same time!

Build a Nerf War Battlefield in your own backyard, it’s not as hard as you think and it is a great upcycle and engineering challenge for kids. Not to mention the hours of play that will follow once it’s constructed.

Kids will love working to build an outdoor shelter in the backyard!

This is an awesome classic game, perfect for backyard play.

This is a simple nature craft using twigs and stones which also gives kids a game that they can play over and over again

It is  simple game – you need water balloons, water, some string and a stick… and I am sure you can imagine the rest!

Make a simple mud kitchen using items you already have.

You don't have to spend the night in the backyard. Pretend camping can be just as fun!

This fun water wall will keep your kids busy for hours!

Hunting for wild animals in your own back yard? It's possible with this genius scavenger hunt idea.

A Nature Scavenger Hunt in your own backyard is a great way combine learning with outdoor play.

This super fun Color Nature Scavenger Hunt is perfect for sunny days. Preschoolers and toddlers and big kids too, will all have a field day collecting their pieces of nature and matching them to the colors on the printable scavenger hunt sheet. Ready, set, go!

Let's go on a bug hunt! Get the kids ready for an outdoor bug adventure this Spring with our free printable bug scavenger hunt. What could be better than grabbing a magnifying glass and our bug scavenger hunt and heading out to explore.

Even when you have little kids around, like toddlers and preschoolers, who are still too young to read, you can use photo scavenger hunt. They will love to play backyard photo scavenger hunt and get necessary movement in close proximity to home!

Fun nature / outdoor scavenger hunt to do in your backyard, at the park, take with you on a hike or camping

Get kids outside with this FREE printable Backyard Scavenger Hunt that can be done in any yard, from your patio or balcony or around the neighborhood!

One scavenger hunt printable is a classic checklist where your kids mark off each bug they find. The second scavenger hunt is one you cut up and hide the bug photos around your home or yard for your kids to find. 

These free nature scavenger hunt printables are great for keeping the kids active! We love spending as much time outside as we can. 

Kids can engage nature in their own backyard with this backyard scavenger hunt

Your toddler will be intrigued for hours with this activity, all while getting some great sensory and fine motor play.

Is there anything better than the feeling of mud squishing between your hands as you mold it into a mud pie? It’s a childhood sensory activity not to be missed!

Babies can enjoy sensory play outside too!

What better materials to use in your spring or summer sensory play activities than dirt? Seriously. It’s everywhere. Oh, and it’s free. 

Chalk and water make these sight words super fun!

Kids will love building their own railroad in the backyard!

You can't find a science better than this one for the backyard!

Learn about the sun's rays and make some yummy s'mores at the same time!

This fun acid-base reaction experiment, meets creative play is perfect for the backyard.

Science and magnetic play will have your kids intrigued!

Gather rocks from your yard and make fun letter magnets.

Make absolutely massive bubbles with this bubble solution.

Make this washable window paint and allow your kid to paint the outside of your doors and windows. Then hand them the garden hose to clean it off!

Kids will have fun making these lovely play dough and paper straw forests with supplies from the garden! A naturally wonderful way to practice fine motor skills with sensory play.

Learn how to make a fairy garden with the fairy garden supplies and quick and easy do it yourself instructions listed below!

Make bug hotels for the critters in your backyard.

Another great outdoor painting activity for kids.

Make a wee fairy door, and invite a touch of fairy magic into your garden. Great way to encourage outdoor imaginative play.

Water Pistol painting is such a fun outdoor art activity for kids.

Head outside and hold art class at home with these DIY painted flower pots for kids!

Sticky nature cards are the simplest kids craft to set up ever. They’re portable, and a great way to record a day outside. You really can get the kids going on this in under a minute!

Easy, fun, and messy crafting in the backyard!

Discover the color in nature with this fun art experience for kids.

Forage native blooms and herbs for free and learn how to make smashed flower art for card stock and wrapping paper. This is an easy kids craft for spring and summer – it’s even fun for the grown ups! 

These super easy cardboard fairy houses are perfect backyard crafts. 

These fun solar prints will have your kids making art and learning about the science of the sun at the same time.

Create simple and beautiful nature art using items collected from the garden at home.

Are you looking for some fun outdoor art activities kids can enjoy as the weather gets warmer?  

Mud painting is perfect for those rainy days of spring. 

Get active and create vibrant art at the same time with this stomping bubble wrap painting!

Need some fun backyard activity ideas? This simple nature fairy wand craft is so easy to make and lots of fun for kids of all ages! 

Gorgeous process art idea of chalk drawing and ‘earth art‘ combined.