Ideas for Playing & Learning Outside:
(Remember...always follow Leave No Trace principles.)
(Remember...always follow Leave No Trace principles.)
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1. have a picnic
2. play in a creek or creek walk 3. fly a kite 4. toss a ball or frisbee 5. enjoy a playground 6. find symmetry in nature 7. listen to the river or a creek flow 8. watch and listen to birds and try to identify them 9. listen to the breeze in the trees 10. relax and do nothing 11. take a bike ride 12. play with your shadow 13. build a snowman or a snow fort 14. geocache 15. disconnect from electronics 16. make bark or leaf rubbings with crayons or chalk 17. play with a dog 18. watch the sunset or enjoy the sunrise 19. roll down a hill 20. read a book 21. try a nature scavenger hunt 22. stargaze and identify constellations or make up your own 23. skip rocks 24. hula hoop 25. draw or write in the sand or snow or dirt 26. use sticks to create your name 27. try slacklining (use tree safe straps) 28. find a place with a grill (or take one along) and cook-out 29. play a game |
30. rock stack and build a cairn (return them when done)
31. volunteer 32. try an outdoor workout 33. make leaf art on the ground and take a picture 34, organize a hike and take your friends 35. play pick up sticks with sticks you find 36. have a sing along 37. chase bubbles 38. use a compass 39. make a video 40. use a magnifying glass to see the tiny things 41. make plaster casts of nature tracks 42. splash in a puddle 43. make mud sculptures or mudpies 44. enjoy a hammock (use tree safe straps) 45. try outdoor yoga 46. look for and identify scat and tracks 47. play flashlight tag 48. daydream 49. journal 50. look for 4 leaf clovers 51. relax or read in hammock (use tree safe straps) 52. have a campfire and make s'mores 53. cartwheel or somersault 54. try forest bathing 55. play in the rain 56. build a stick fort 57. learn to be still... |
Thru-Hike: Choose an area and hike every trail. Choose a county and hike every trail in the county.
Have a progressive picnic: Pick a few areas and have a different part of a picnic at each.
Play Park Tag: How many parks can you visit in a day, a week, a month, a year?
Outdoor Alphabet Book: Build a book with areas or objects for each letter.
Flat Stanley Adventuring: Create a Flat Stanley type of character (or use your favorite toy or mascot) and take it to visit as many outdoor places as you can. Take a photo with it at each.
Leave It Better than You Found It Litter Hunt: Grab a trash bag and see how many pieces of litter you can pick up and remove.
Art Outdoors (a.k.a. Art-doors): Create outdoor inspired art. Write an outdoor inspired poem, story or song. Create outdoor inspired visual art. Dance outdoors. Build art from found outdoor objects, take a picture and then return the objects to where they were found. Make a video of the outdoor fun.
Hometown Tour Guide: Plan a tour of the best outdoor areas near your home. What are the 'must see' areas for your guests?
Cross-Generational Adventuring: Grab your favorite folks from different generations and treat them to a day in the outdoors.
Outdoor Pup Date: Find an animal rescue organization and volunteer to take one of their dogs (or your own) on an outdoor date.
Challenge Your Balance: Choose an outdoor area beyond your normal places and visit. Try an activity that challenges you.
Spontaneous Potluck Picnic: Contact your friends and go for a spontaneous potluck picnic. Try an extra challenge and limit potluck foods to only the items you already have in your home.
Cloud Watch: Look for creatures in cloud shapes. Given them names and make up stories about them.
Forest Gump It: Find a comfortable bench. Relax. Enjoy the day.
Vintage Post Carding: Visit an outdoor area and create a postcard inspired by it. Write a message on it and send it to friend or to a person at a nursing home or hospital who isn't able to get out to enjoy it.
It Happened in My Hometown: Visit historically significant areas near your home and learn about your local history.
Inside Out: Try an activity outdoors that you would normally do indoors (game, pillow fight, playdoh sculptures, etc).
STRUX (Small Town, Rural, Urban Criss-Cross): Visit an outdoor area in every type of setting.
Gift It: Experiences are more memorable and longer lasting than things. For your next gift, plan and take your special someone on an outdoor adventure. You can even describe it in a note and wrap it up for the big day. Make your gift a great outdoor memory.
Every Place Tells A Story: Learn about the history of the place you're visiting. Who established it? Why was it established? For who is it named? What was it like 100 or 200 or 1000 or more years ago? Who called this place home?
Singing & Dancing In The Rain: Anyone can play outside on a sunny day. On a rainy (not stormy) day, grab your umbrella, boots and rain jacket and adventure out. Make memories in a world that smells, sounds and looks different on a rainy day.
If I was a Critter: This game is played while hiking and looking for places a creature might call home. When a hiker/player spots a place they think would be a good home, they complete the statement "If I was a critter, I would live ____ because ____." Alternate turns and see who can spot the most, the best or the most unusual places area wildlife would call home.
Auntie (or uncle) Nature: Help a family and offer to nature-sit their children for a couple hours by treating them to a local outdoor adventure.
Park Pick & Pitch: Pick your favorite outdoor area, join together with friends and pitch in as volunteers to help care for it.
Resource Links:
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1000 Hours Outside hundreds of outdoor ideas and hiking prompts Discover the Forest wide variety of easy-to-use, family-friendly activities for enjoying the outdoors Illinois Department of Natural Resources Publications outdoor activities, posters & brochures National Wildlife Federation Ranger Rick Nature Notebook activities for helping children learn about the natural world Together in Nature: Pathways To A Stronger, Closer Family outdoor ideas and activities for family bonding with children of all ages Seasonal Activities Spring/Summer: beetles, mud, fireflies, birds, ponds, milkweed, peepers and more Fall: bats, pinecones, pumpkins, hibernation, leaves and more Winter: read tracks in the snow, learn how snow forms, identify trees in winter and more The Art of Sauntering games and activities for hiking |
National Forest Service Adventure Guide for Children activities for becoming a junior forest ranger US Forest Service Kids activities with Smokey Bear, Woodsy Owl and more Thriving Through Nature, Fostering Children's Executive Function Skills nature-based activities for improving executive function in children of all ages Walking in the Forest Family Activities (name that tree, evegreens in winter, ecosystems, seeds, how plants grow, fallen logs, invasive species, tree cookies, tree lifecycle, leaves) Exploring a Local Park Family Activities (name that tree, value of a tree, tree health, tree parts, pollution search, adopt a tree, tree buds, signs of fall, and more!) |
Green Hour Program resources and ideas to encourage children to spend an hour per day learning and playing in nature Learn about Cranes activities from the International Crane Foundation |
