Socially Distanced Fun

Do the kids seem bored with simply riding bikes or playing in the backyard? If so, try these ideas to add some fun and adventure back into playing outside and enjoying the fresh air.


Obstacle course Grab some cones, hula hoops, buckets, jump ropes, balloons, or even some chalk and setup an outdoor obstacle course.	Obstacle Course Ideas
Lego City Use chalk to draw a lego city on the driveway or sidewalk, then take a bucket of legos outside and have the kids build buildings, houses, and cars and trains to drive around the city.	Supplies Needed: chalk legos lego people or small figurines
Sidewalk Chalk Mosaic Using painters tape, make a fun design on the sidewalk, then color it in with sidewalk chalk, peel away the tape, and admire your art!	Supplies Needed: chalk painters or masking tape Mosaic Example
Scavenger Hunt Go on a color walk or try a variety of different scavenger hunts in your backyard, neighborhood or nearby park. Take a clipboard and binoculars with you and have some fun exploring.	Scavenger hunt ideas: Color walk Bug hunt Outdoor
Nature Walk Go for a nature walk in the neighborhood or nearby park, take a nature walk checklist to help the kids explore.	Supplies Needed: Nature walk printable writing utensil clipboard or folder (optional)
Paper Boat Race Make a paper boat, be sure to color the paper with crayons to create a waxy coat, and then have boat races in the bathtub, pool, or even in the curb puddles on a rainy day.	Supplies Needed: paper boat instructions construction paper colored pencils or crayons (crayons are recommended)
Fairy Garden Visit a nearby craft or dollar store and buy some fairy garden accessories or create your own using popsicle sticks or even sticks and pebbles from your yard.	Fairy Garden crafts: Stones and Pebbles Sticks Popsicle sticks
Bean Bag Toss Setup a bean bag toss using colored buckets or paper plates, assign points to help the kids practice counting by 5's or 10's. If you want the game to withstand the wind, try using clay saucers instead.	Supplies needed: bean bags or balloons filled with rice or beans 5 or 6 colored plates, buckets or clay saucers directions for DIY clay saucers
Squirt Gun Painting Setup some water color paper outside on an easle or old blanket or towel, fill a water gun with liquid water color and let the kids squirt and paint away.	Squirt Gun Painting: squirt gun water color paper liquid water color easle or old blanket or towel
Rock Tic-Tac-Toe Make your own outdoor Tic-Tac-Toe game with painted rocks. Paint rocks various colors and then paint X's and O's on the rocks. To make the gameboard use sticks or paint the design on a flat surface, such as a piece of stone or tree limb.	Supplies Needed: 10 flat(ish) rocks paint sticks or base for gameboard DIY example
Treasure Hunt Hide a treasure in your yard, then create a map with clues and send the kids searching. Expand on the activity by letting the kids create their own map, taking turns hiding a small "treasure".	Supplies needed: construction or packaging paper markers or crayons treasure or toy to hide
Egg Hunt Egg Hunts are fun all year round, hide plastic eggs around the yard for the kids to find or make it more challenging by adding clues inside each egg to find the next one. Another idea would be to change it up for the different seasons, maybe hide small pumpkins in the fall, stars in the summer, or ornaments in the winter.	Supplies needed: easter eggs or small objects to hide
Shape Hunt Make shape magnifying glasses (circle, triangle, rectangle, octagon, etc.), go outside and search for shapes outside in nature and around the neighborhood.	Magnifying glasses: construction or cardstock paper popsicle sticks contact paper (optional)
Life Size Chutes and Ladders Using chalk, draw a life size version of Chutes and Ladders on the driveway. Make a game dice by covering a klennex box with paper and write a number on each side of the box (1-6). To play, have the kids roll the dice and physically move that many spaces, see who can reach the finish line first.	Supplies Needed: Sidewalk Chalk Kleenex Box(empty or full) Butcher or Packaging Paper Marker
DIY Bubbles Make your own bubble solution and go outside and have some fun chasing bubbles. Also, try making colored bubbles or bubble wands.	Homemade Bubbles: water dishwashing liquied Karo syrup or glycerin
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Life Size Lawn Twister Try a new yard game and use some spray paint and create a life-size twister game in your lawn or on a tarp. Check out this Lawn Twister example.	Lawn Twister: Spray paint or paint circle cardboard cutout 3 boxes or empty kleenex boxes to create dice construction paper for dice ruler for measuring lines tarp example
Car Wash Need to cool off on a hot day? Grab the hose, some buckets, sponges, and soap and have a car wash. For some added fun, offer to wash the neighbors cars too.	Supplies needed: large sponges car soap buckets and water
Field Day Setup a variety of field day activities in the backyard and have some fun. Examples include: tug of war, sack races, hula-hoop ring toss, balloon toss, etc.	Field Day Activity Ideas
Paper Airplane Contest Have the kids experiment with different paper airplane designs and have a flying contest outside. Mark the starting point and see how far each one goes.	Paper Airplane Designs
Capture the Flag Grab some bandanas or old t-shirts and setup a game of capture the flag in your own backyard or at an open park area.	How to Play
Chalk Art Photography Challenge Take sidewalk chalk to the next level and try chalk art photography. Check out these fun Chalk Art Photography ideas.	Supplies Needed: chalk or spray chalk camera and ladder (optional)