My Favorite Backyard Activities For Kids

Our family spends a lot of time in the garden. We practically live there in the summer and we try to sit out for an hour or two in the height of winter.

I find it very easy to entertain my son when we’re out there. Often than not, I don’t have to make an effort to entertain him as he can easily do this himself once we’re out in the backyard.

Here are 7 backyard activities that are always loads of fun.

1) Backyard camping – We regularly pitch a small tent in the garden which my son likes to play in all the time. It’s his own little fort during the day. We often watch at a distance while he plays and talks to himself. Then in the summer, we do overnight backyard camping which my son loves a lot.

2) Water Games – No matter what age, children love water and water toys . My son loved playing with the hose in the garden as well as the water squirt guns and lawn waterslides. We also have the Step 2 Naturally playful sand and water table which he likes to play with a lot.

3) Worm, Snail and Insect Hunting – Sadly, our son is no longer into insects. Last year though, he was crazy about them. We did a lot of worm, snail and insect hunting. For once, the snail were very happy because instead of getting rid of them, we placed all the ones we found in one big special “box” with their own vegetables/plants to eat!

4) Doing Nothing – We have a small bench in the garden just for our son. He loves this little nook so much that we often catch him just sitting there with a teddy or two.

5) Gardening – I’m not much of a gardener. I leave that to my husband. But I do enjoy gardening with my son. Gardening with him is all about having fun and getting messy and not worrying about more adult things like aphids and what nots.

We have given our son his own little patch in the garden where we spend lots of time digging and “planting” vegetables (right now, we’re growing Jack’s giant beanstalk)

6) Playhouses, Forts And Dens – Children love their own little space that they can call their very own. Whatever it is, be it a $5000 playhouse or a den made of tree branches, kids will want to spend time playing make-believe in these special places.

You can build them their own tree houses and little castles in the backyard which I’m sure they will love, but remember that these things don’t need to be so flashy for kids to love them.

I especially like the playhouses that children can build, take down and rebuild. Have a look at the Tobeez EZ fort building set. This is an amazing set. It’s basically made of many tubes, spheres and panels that kids can use to build their own little space.

7) Treasure Hunting – Here’s another game that children enjoy and one that you can easily set up in the garden. I usually do this when we expect other neighborhood kids to come for a visit. It needs a bit of preparation, obviously, but when you see the children having fun, it’s all worth it.