As the weather warms up it is time to get outside and play! This post is filled with ideas to set up for your kids that inspire play. Most items in this video are from the Dollar Store, which makes these ideas very budget-friendly. Adapt each one to the skill level of your child making it easier or more challenging.
Ball Pick Up & Dump – Starting it off real simple, great for toddler age. Just a cute basket (Basket Ball Hoop Basket) and a package of plastic whiffle balls (“Baseballs”) from Dollar Tree, spread apart for the kids to find get in the basket, dump, and start again. Can adjust the challenge with how far apart they are spread. Make it into a math game by counting the balls as placed. Lots of options for those littles.
Ball Toss & Score – Now this one was thought up by my kids. They set their baskets in a line and set a point scale to the baskets. Further away more value. Another great one for math skills! The kids made it even more challenging trying to get one ball in each basket. Seemed simple, but being hard plastic, getting the balls to land just right to not bounce out was a fun challenge.
Number Order & Recognition – Sticking to budget-friendly, another way to use the same baskets and balls is adding the challenge of number sequencing. I also picked up at Dollar Tree just a regular dry erase marker and wrote numbers on each of the balls. So you can either start the challenge with number recognition or make it more challenging to pick the balls up in different sequencing orders. Also, for multiple kids can make it a competition to see who will get them all in order in their bucket first.
Hold & Toss – Another idea for those with multiple children or to get you playing along, simple hold and toss! And still using the same supplies. Great gross-motor activity, especially for the Preschool and up kids, because they can move around. Move further apart or keep their baskets moving.
Add a math flare with multiplication, addition, you name it! Just call out a number and see if the landing balls can make that amount. Can switch it up to letters for sight word challenges or letter recognition.
Chalk Paint – For this we switched to another bucket style, still Dollar Tree, more typical sand style. Grabbed some regular sidewalk chalk (you can even get cheap at Target). Filled the bucket with water. Let the kids dip their chalk in and then get creative.
This was our first time trying this method, but it was a really simple way to switch things up. New experience and a different texture. Maybe your kid is like mine and doesn’t enjoy dry chalk as much, this might be the solution. It also made the colors more vibrant. you may go through chalk a little faster, but it washes off just as easily as the typical dry method.
Chalk Mosaic – Now this one you might have seen, it was all over Pinterest, but my kids loved it. We used the tape we had on hand, but I would recommend maybe a painter’s tape or masking tape and once again that chalk and water from the “chalk paint” idea.
Actually, this works just fine dry, but my kids liked the chalk paint and went for it. First, they taped off squares and added lines, making sure the tape was gripping the ground the best they could. (You can mix this up with whatever shapes come to mind.) Next, they colored in each block. Letting it then dry and whit lots of ooohs and awwws peeled back the tape to leave their chalk mosaic.
Water Squirter Knock Down – Time to bring those buckets and pails blackout. Just set them out upsidedown. Balance those balls on top. One bucket of water and with a pack of water squirters from Dollar Tree, let them knock those balls down. You can add challenges with letters or numbers or who can get them down faster. Lots of fun, options are really endless and these squirters are a great bang for that summer buck.
Fill the Bucket – Now, I had a different idea than my kids had on this one. I set up 2 buckets (could be 4 or more). One with water and one without, thinking of a rally challenge of getting water from one to the other with the water squirters. They ended up trying just squirting the water from the bucket distance. They also did it as a team challenge, filling it together. So really, either way, it was fun and burned some energy!
Really the fun is endless and it is extremely budget-friendly! For more ideas see the link below.
MORE OUTSIDE PLAY IDEAS:
Check out this Playlist – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Disclaimer: The products featured in this video were purchased by myself or sent to me for review for free. Some videos may be sponsored by brands that I enjoy. Make sure to *ALWAYS* use discretion when deciding on age-appropriate activities and supervise your children.
MUSIC: courtesy of Soundstripe.
