Fun outdoor educative activities

Today, kids are spending more and more of their time indoors. Use of gadgets has also increased. But outdoor activities are equally important. Outdoor activities enhance physical and mental well-being. At the same time, they help children learn. This blog talks about fun outdoor educative activities.

Benefits of outdoor educative activities  –

• Helps them learn new things through play

• Promotes motor development

• Help them learn social skills such as turn taking

• Also brings out their creativity

• Improves their attention span

• Develops liking for nature also

• Improved mental well – being

Here are a few fun outdoor educative activities

1. Volleyball

Take a beach ball or also a balloon. You can play this game in teams or also individually. Simply throw the ball at the child. The child has to clap and count the number of times he clapped before catching the ball. This game teaches counting. It also improves their motor skill and eye hand co-ordination.

2. Tug of war

This game is best played in teams. Tell them the rules of the game. Make a line for the two teams on the ground using chalk powder. Firstly, divide the group into two teams. Secondly, give them a rope. Thirdly, ask them to pull the rope towards them. The team that comes to the other side of the line will lose. This game teaches social skills such as working in a team. It also promotes social interaction, sport spirit.

3.Obstacle course

Go to a park or an open field. Use items such as logs, ropes, tyre, pebbles to create an obstacle course. Ask the child to cross the same. You can also keep a reward at the end point for your child to collect. This is a great activity to boost the child’s analytical skills and problem solving. 

4. Hop Scotch Sight Words

This is a great outdoor educative activity. Make a grid in the backyard or the terrace. Fill each grid with a sight word. The child has to hop to the sight word said aloud by you. This is a great way to practice sight words. You can also take the game a notch higher by asking the child to make a sentence with the same.

5.  Name the colored object

For this game, you can take turns. It can be played in the park or while walking down the street. Firstly you say the name of a color you can see around you. For example, you say yellow. Secondly, the child has to look around him or her and say an object which is yellow in color. In case, he/she doesn’t know the name of the object, they can also point to it. Thirdly, it is now the child’s turn to say the color. This can continue till one cannot find the mentioned colored object. This game is great for building vocabulary and teaching turn taking.

6. Count the pebbles

This game is great to help the child learn counting. Ask the child to count the number of pebbles he sees around him. You can also modify the game and ask them to count and collect different objects. These can be flowers, leaves and pebbles. They can also say which object is most in number and which is the least. This will help them to compare quantities too.

7. Size me

This is a great game to learn sorting according to size. Take the child outdoors and ask them to collect stones or leaves. They can collect twigs too. Next, ask them to arrange the collected objects according to size. If the objects collected are of the same size, write numbers on them using a marker. Now ask them to arrange in ascending or descending order.

8. I Spy

This activity is great for building vocabulary. It also improves attention, memory and the child’s expressive skills. It helps them speak in complete sentences. Teach the child to say I SPY something (they need to fill it by describing the object). The other person then has to guess that object. Take turns to play the game. This game can be played at the supermarket or on the way to school too.

9. Build me

This activity brings out the child’s creativity. It also boosts their imagination. Tell the children they are required to build something from the objects they collect around them. You can provide them with a few stationery such as glue and scissors to help them build something. You’ll be surprised with the things kids can build with things they collect. So go outside right away and get building.

10. Spell me

Give a twig to the child and give them pots of sand. You can also sit in the lawn or park. Now ask them to trace the spelling of the words said by you. Depending on the level of the child, you can make them practice CVC words or 4 letter words. This will give the kids a break from the pencil and copy. They’ll have a great time practicing spellings.

11. Cloud watching

This is a great way to improve the child’s expressions. It will help them speak in sentences and express their ideas. Go to the lawn or the terrace with a blanket. Now lay on it and look at the clouds in the sky. Ask the child to describe the shapes of the cloud. What is the cloud looking like and so on and so forth. Encourage them to answer in complete sentences. In case they are finding it difficult to come up with sentences, help them by asking WH questions.

12. Scavenger hunt

This activity boosts their problem solving skills. It also builds their vocabulary. This also makes reading fun. It promotes learning through play. Select a pre – defined area and the objects you want the kids to find. It can be played in teams or individually. Make small riddles to help kids decode what object they have to find. For example, you can write I am red, juicy and keep the doctor away for the apple. Kids will have to read the riddle and find the apple.

For more ideas on fun outdoor educative activities