Family-Friendly Outdoor Activities For Active Lifestyles
Kids need physical activity to help burn off excess energy, build their muscles, and strengthen bones. Engaging in family-oriented outdoor activities provides another great opportunity for kids to connect with loved ones while discovering nature.
Hiking offers the chance to explore beautiful locations while engaging in physical exercise at the same time. Make your hiking adventure even more exciting by adding an element of competition by creating a nature scavenger hunt with your family!
Hiking
Hiking is an excellent way to incorporate outdoor activity into a wellness regimen, since it requires no special equipment and can be enjoyed by individuals of any age or ability level.
McEwen emphasizes the unique challenges presented by hiking as opposed to treadmill running or gym gym classes, forcing individuals to use spatial navigation skills, memory and attention in an entirely different manner.
Swimming
Aquatic activities can be both relaxing and exhilarating for kids. Not only is water fun to explore, but it’s an effective way to strengthen muscles while getting in some exercise!
A day at the zoo will surely delight children of all ages, while fishing can provide an engaging outdoor activity that builds teamwork and fosters patience.
Risky play helps children learn from their mistakes and rebound – just remember to wear sunscreen!
Kite Flying
Flying a kite is an engaging outdoor activity that encourages both play and exercise for kids, providing both aerobic activity and lessons on wind dynamics as they pilot their kite into the sky. Kids learn wind basics as they watch their unique creation take flight.
This activity is also an excellent way to build social connections and memories among friends and family members, in addition to teambuilding skills and creativity development as children imagine themselves as superheroes or magical creatures flying through the skies.
Air Shows
Military presence plays a prominent role at air shows, which showcase the latest aircraft while often featuring high-precision aerobatics demonstrations from popular teams like US Navy Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds.
Spending time outdoors has numerous positive benefits for children’s physical and mental wellbeing. Spending time outside can also increase concentration, academic performance and positive mood. So encourage your kids’ interest in nature with trips to fish hatcheries, farms, forests, lakes or streams near home; or play classic outdoor games like tag or hide-and-seek. Even an ordinary walk can become educational when kids use magnifying glasses to hunt bugs or pressing tools on flowers and leaves for pressing.
Tree Forts
Backyard tree forts offer children an ideal way to increase physical activity, build strength and coordination, as well as enhance cardiovascular health.
Spending time outdoors has proven to improve children’s mental health, decrease stress levels and enhance mood – not to mention being an enjoyable way to bond with loved ones!
Playing tag teaches children the value of teamwork and social skills while helping them become better prepared to face unexpected risks in the future.
Fairy Houses
Building fairy houses encourages children to get outside and experience nature, developing observational skills and creativity while strengthening ties between nature and mental wellbeing.
Search for a quiet spot away from roads and busy pathways; for instance, the base of a tree, rock face or side of cliff works great as the starting point. Gather sticks, moss, acorn tops, pebbles rocks shells feathers seaweed pine cones to build your structure.
Remember to only use natural materials and pay respect to living things while taking care not to disturb the area.
Bug Hunts
If your young gardener loves insects, then a bug hunt is an engaging outdoor activity for them to enjoy. All it requires is finding an outdoor spot and equipping yourself with tools for collecting, observing and then safely releasing insects back into nature.
Bug hunts provide children with an excellent way to develop hand-eye coordination. Children may need to crouch down or crawl under rocks or logs, and contort their bodies into spaces where bugs like to hide. Furthermore, children can practice using their fingers to gently pick up ants and earthworms from their hunt.
Sidewalk Art
Sidewalk chalk is a timeless activity to get kids outside and unleash their creative energies, only limited by imaginations and easily cleaned up after.
Make some grid drawings. Outline them using painters tape, add chalk over it and pull up the tape for an interesting resist effect.
Practice letter sound recognition with this interactive alphabet grid from 123 Homeschool 4 Me or take hopscotch one step further with an obstacle course designed to strengthen their gross motor skills and creative muscles.