Physical activity is essential for a child's development. As your children grow, they learn a variety of new physical and social skills. Including daily indoor and outdoor activities in your routine is a great way to encourage this development.
Coming up with fun activities for kids can be difficult because there are many things that your children may not want to do no matter how enjoyable you make them. Many of the things to do with kids that you try to start will fail, which is why having a wide variety of fun games for kids is a good idea.
Take at least 20 minutes each day to enjoy outdoor play. Try to have outdoor time throughout the day in a variety of settings where your child can explore.
There are many great indoor activities for kids, outdoor games for kids, and kids sports games to play, and it's worthwhile to spend some time researching new games or attempting to invent some of your own.
Today, many children prefer to stay indoors and play video games or watch television rather than go outside. However, now is the ideal time to resume outdoor activities! Why not try to find a way to balance the activities so that your child can have the best of both worlds?
Regardless of how well you think you know your child, he or she will always keep something from you. Having a strong bond with your children allows you to learn more about their lives and interests.
Here are some fun indoor and outdoor play ideas to get your child moving:
Indoor activities:
- Organize a closet
- Make and play with Play-Doh
- Paint artwork
- Practice tying shoes
- Play hide and seek
- Work out with your kids
- Make paper airplanes
- In a hall, “bowl” with a ball and plastic cups
- Dye grains of rice with food coloring, then place the dry rice into empty water bottles for homemade shakers
- Have kids act out a book
- Look through family photos together
- Play teacher with your child and let them “teach” you something
- Count coins and money with kids
- Make a “store” and buy things
- Give kids items to sort by color or numbers (pom poms, beans, blocks, etc.)
- Tell kids stories about your childhood, how you and your partner met, stories about their grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc.
- Cut shapes out of cardboard, sort them, and paint them
- Teach kids card tricks
- Play board games
- Sort toys
- Make a sensory bin with beans, rice, or water. Throw in some containers and let them scoop, pour, and play!
Outdoor Activities:
- Go for a walk
- Plant a garden
- Go on a hike
- Make a bird feeder (simple pine cone, peanut butter, birdseed, and string)
- Draw artwork outside with a pencil and paper
- Have a picnic or an outdoor tea party
- Fill a spray bottle with water and let the kids spray plants
- Build something outside
- Play sports like four square, baseball, basketball, etc.
- Toss, kick, or roll a ball
- Pick up trash (with gloves on)
- Play with chalk. I like to write letters with chalk and have kids jump on the letter that I call out.
- Create an outdoor scavenger hunt
- Play with bubbles
