10 Summer Outdoor Activities
The kids are finally out of school and enjoying their playtime outside.
I know the “I’m bored” responses are going to be headed my way soon… so I thought I’d share a few summer outdoor activities I suggest to my own kids to get them off the couch.
1. Swing: This can be a tradition swing on a swingset, or consider fashioning an old tire and rope to a tree, or even just a rope hanging from a tree with a few large knots on the end. Swinging is fun and good exercise!
2. Skip Rope: You can find skipping ropes for as little as $1 at the Dollar Tree. Buy a few, when the kids are finished skipping they can use them for imaginative play. We used to put them in circles and pretend they were islands floating on lava.
3. Ride a bike: Two wheels, three wheels, four wheels… it doesn’t matter. Riding a bike to a friends house is exercise, gets them there faster and helps their coordination.
4. Climb a tree: Yep! No accessories needed, except maybe a pair of shoes. Heck, my kids like to climb them barefoot. It’s another physical activity that is fun, challenging and you can make a game out of who can climb higher or faster. Just make sure the tree is not near power lines and you discuss how high is too high.
5. Roll down the hill: My friends and I used to have races down the hill. Lay sideways and let the tumbles begin. It sounds painful as an adult, but I used to have a blast doing it!
6. Pogo: I never got to use one as a child, but my kids have loved their pogo sticks. This one costs a bit more than $1, but you can find them used on swaps or garage sales. It’s a great investment… it’s a fun physical activity that teaches balance and core strength. Emma can bounce for a long time now and giggles when I challenge her to time limits.
7. Sidewalk chalk: I give my children a box of sidewalk chalk and let them decorate the entire driveway. This will entertain them for an entire afternoon and also attracts the neighbor children. You can also use the chalk to create new games like Hop Scotch and Four Square. Check Pinterest for homemade recipes, the Dollar Tree or even Amazon for affordable bulk boxes.
8. Slide: A traditional slide can be turned into a fun summer activity with a simple water hose or sprinkler. You can also create your own slip ‘n’ slide with cut up trash bags, tarps or anything plastic and a hose. Get creative… it can be done cheaply!
9. Hula Hoop: Hula Hoops are inexpensive (I just purchased 4 at $1.50 each) and can be used for more than twirling around your neck, waist, arms or legs. Hula Hoop contests are fun, but think out of the box. You can play the island/lava game with them, you can do bean bag tosses, tie them together to create a frame for a fort or roll them down the hill.
10. Balls: Balls are a staple at our house. From Four Square in the driveway with the sidewalk chalk above, to rolling it back and forth while sitting on the ground, hot potato, basketball, soccer, baseball and more. Balls are as versatile as your imagination and can be fairly inexpensive.
If you have a competitive family, you can organize a summer family tournament. Whether it’s volleyball, basketball, or soccer, you can divide yourselves into teams and have a blast. You can make custom tees for the teams and get a few friends or other relatives to officiate all matches to make it even more competitive. You’ll have a good time with your family, and it’s a great way to teach your kids how to be good team players.
Summer fun is as limitless as your imagination. Getting our children to enjoy the outdoors is fabulous for their fitness as well as soaking in the essential Vitamin D from the sun. Don’t forget the sunblock to avoid harmful rays, though!
(The photos above were shot during an afternoon of play with my kidlets. Clothing provided by Gymboree.com.)
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I love Gymboree but don’t get there as much as I would like. My boys love their clothes! They are so durable and cute on them! I could see Riley in the Deep Sea Explorer set and Gavin the Shark Point set.
I would love to get my niece the Brushstroke Dress.
Bright Brushstroke Dress for my daughter. 18 months 🙂
I learned you can get some stylin’ boy graphic tees for $10!
I would love to get some of the graphic tees and shorts for my boys. They have adorable pjs too!
I like their $8 dresses. I think those are a good deal! 🙂
I love that they have long sleeved polo shirts. My daughter will be attending a school next year that has a uniform, and one of the rules is that they can wear polo shirts, any color. It’s hard to find purple ones of any sleeve length, but Gymboree has a short sleeved one! I also love the watercolor flowers dress and the starfish necklace t-shirt.
I would love to have the Cheetah Print Pajama Gown for my daughter
I like the Geometric Flower Romper for my youngest daughter. Thanks for the chance to win!
mrsmchappell at gmail dot com
I like the boys Striped Henley Tee with the jean shorts and Dino Laceless Sneakers
They have Music Classes
Enhance your child’s development and love of music through song, dance, movement games and instruments. With an array of styles, our music classes help children explore the power of rhythm, melody, tonality and beat while nurturing key physical, social and intellectual skills.
Thanks for the contest.
I want the Bright Brushstroke Dress!
My son would love the Dino Polo Shirt!
I like the Embroidered Chambray Dress for my daughter.
i like the button front bubble shorts
I really like their boy’s uniform shorts. They wash SO well and hold up for the entire school year!
I love the Patterned Rompers!
I like the biking adventersaurus tee
I love the Watercolor Floral Dress and Wavy Chevron Dress. Very cute!
I like the Patriotic Dots and Stripes Dress. So cute!
I learned that Boys Graphic Tees are on sale for $10.
I love all the summer dresses and rompers. Even better that they’re on sale right now!
I like these for my boys! Tropical Ripstop Cargo Shorts
I would like the chevron bow tank in warm colors stripe for my daugther!!
I love the Wavy Chevron Dress.
I like the Boys Stars and Stripes Polo.
I love Camping and Swimming with my boys!
I love to take them swimming!
I want the Painted Rhino Tee
I saw their classes on the site. Might have to see what they have to offer in our area for some summer activities!
I love all the pretty dresses. My daughter would look great in the floral dress and the embroidered tassel dress.
I would love to get the Tropical Splash and Gator Gear outfits for my nephew.
I really like their Backpacking T-Rex Tee. My grandson would love it!
Our favorite outdoor summer activity is to blow bubbles in the backyard!
I like the Tropical Splash outlet.
We like to go camping!
I really like the Brushstroke Dress
We look going to the beach.
I like the bright stripes swimsuit
We like swimming.
I would like to get Brushstroke Dress for DDs.
we like to blow bubbles, write on chalk, and kick the ball around.
I love the Tiered Eyelet Bubble and the Water Garden Floral Dress …. gorgeous colors!
One of our favorite things to do during the summer is to go to a state park … we can float on the river, take a hike on one of the trails, have a picnic and then hit the springs!
I would like to have the Ready to Indigo outfit for my daughter.
I like the Cheetah Print Pajama Gown.
I learned that they have $10 graphic t-shirts
I like going to the local splash pad
I’d love to get the Striped Henley Tee and some shorts for my son.
My kids love chasing bubbles and playing in the sprinkler.
I love this dress Watercolor Floral Dress
Visited the site and I really like Every Day Is An Adventure Tee and Cargo Ripstop Shorts
I like the Bow Shoulder Tank for my niece.
We like to spend time at the beach in the summer.
I love the Colorblocked Maxi Dress
We like to go swimming!
I like the Little Clover Girl outfit.
Most def the pool and sprinklers. 🙂 Thank you for this chance.
I love the Keep It Cool Shortie Two-Piece Gymmies®
I want the Ruffle Elephant Dress for my niece!
we like to go to the park or just stay home and do sidewalk chalk and bubbles
I like the Colorblocked Maxi Dress for my daughter.
I love the mermaid pajama gown
I love taking walks to the park with my daughter and play in the yard.
I like the color blocked maxi dress…that is so pretty!
I would stock up on boy graphic tees for $10
I learned that the sleep wear starts at $6.99
I would love this outfit for my son–http://www.gymboree.com/shop/dept_item.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524446035202&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374306287247&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395917465&bmUID=1401974525127&productSizeSelected=0&fit_type=
Entered the rafflecopter form as “Wild Orchid”
Thanks for the chance to win!
wildorchid985 at gmail dot com
My favorite activity would have to be going on our family bike rides! We all really enjoy them!
I love the Brushstroke dress.
The post is amazing! Great job!
I love the graphic t’s my son would love them too
we love going to the beach and building sand castles
I think children will have a blast with the Samba Set with CD. Fun for outside or inside the house.
Dino-Sweet Set is so adorable!!
Playing at the park & riding bikes
Our favorite outdoor summer activites are swimming, hiking, camping, playing soccer, softball, badmitton, minature golf, tec.
I like the Watercolor Floral Dress.
We like going swimming.
My daughter would love the Kitty Glasses Shortie Two-Piece Gymmies
my kids love going to the local water park throughout summer
I like their Boys Plaid Adventures outfit.
Favorite Summer activities are swimming and visiting our local zoo.
I love to go swimming with the grandkids and taking them for walks on the trails of our local parks.
I love taking my kids to our local splash pad during the hot summer months!
I like the Chambray Pinwheel Dress.
I adore the girls brushstroke dress! So pretty!
Loving the summer outfits
My kids love swimming, camping and playing outside at home and at a nearby playground
I would love the Mission Control Outift for my little man!
Biking Adventure-Saurus Tee would be great for my grandson Eli
I’d love to have the Ruffle Bow Shorts. They are so colorful. Thanks for the giveaway!
I love the wavy chevron dress for my niece!
We love to set up a slip n slide and have water balloon fights
I love the Brushstroke Dress, its so cute, I’d love to get it for my little girl.
Our favorite summer activity is going to the community pool nearby!
love the Pretty and Splashy swimsuit
we love to go to the $1 movies and have a picnic in the park after
I would love to get the Brushstroke Dress for my little girl to add to her summer outfits! We have lots of special events to go to so this will be perfect!
We love our little blow up pool in the Summer! Maybe someday we will get a real one!
We like to go to the lake during the summer!
I like the checkered shirt for boys and the camp tee!
I’d like the seashell bubble one pc outfit for newborns.
I like Dino Striped Socks Two-Pack
We like swimming.
I really like the Bright Brushstroke Dress.
I really like that they are having a sale right now and a $30 enrollment bonus on their credit card, that makes for a lot of really cheap, super adorable kids clothes!
One of our favorite summer activities is to go hiking and nature walking, staying active while still keeping our brain growing c=
We love to go swimming!
I really like the Painted Stripe Dress for my daughter carly
Definitely need the Soft turtle footed one piece for my baby!
We love using sidewalk chalk and swimming!
that gymboree has great clothes
I would love the King of the Jungle outfit!
My favorite outdoor activity with the kids is water guns! Its a blast me and hubby get involved too!
I like the Ombre Halter Dress.
We love to go swimming in the summer.
I like the Painting Al Fresco baby girl outfit.
I would love the Embroidered Chambray Dress for my daughter.
Favorite summer activities are having backyard parties and outdoor movie nights.
I like the Rhino Kick Shortie Two-Piece Gymmies® .
I want the ruffle elephant dress
I like the Wanna Have Sun tee for girls
We like going to Magic Water Waterpark
I learned that they have sleep wear for only $6.99!
We like going bike riding!
I love Gymboree because they have such cute and affordable kids clothing. I especially would love the Cargo Active Pants and the Drawstring Cargo Shorts for my youngest son! Thanks for the great giveaway!
My kids and I love to walk down to the American River and find a great spot in the grass to have a picnic and enjoy nature!
I would like to get my son the white linen shirt, and my daughter the brush stroke dress!
I like the Biking Adventure-Saurus Tee.
i like the metallic corsage top! 🙂 thanks so much for the giveaway!
I love all the cute swimwear they have to offer for girls! We spend a lot of time outside in the pool (our favorite outdoor activity!)
I like the Colorblocked Ruffle Dress…so adorable.
I would love the Little Beachcomber outfit for my nephew.
I love the seersucker sweetie outfit!
I learned that if I sign up to the emails and get 20% off my next
purchase and FREE shipping on $50 or more. I also like that the Bright & Beachy outfits are 40% off.
I love taking my kids to the beach!
I really like the solid skirt in purple!
I like the Dots Ponte Shift Dress
I love to take my kids to the splash pad.
my kids like to go to the park during Summer!!
I like the Scalloped Dot Dress.
Water balloon fights would be one of my favorite summer activities with kids. Something so fun about it.
I like the Patriotic to Boot outfit.
I love the Wildlife Expert outfit for baby boys from Gymboree.
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
Geometric Flower Romper is cute
kport207 at gmail dot com
We love spending the day at the lake swimming, fishing and cooking out.
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
My grandson would look perfect in the Patchwork Breeze outfit for boys. I really like that.
I love the Ruffle Elephant Dress…
The Summer Stroll outfit is so cute!
I would like the Glitter French Bulldog Tee and Bow Skort for my daughter.
My favorite summer activity with my kids is going swimming at the lake.
The grill master tank is pretty cute!
I love to play in the kiddie pool and do water activities with my kids. The baby is a total water addict!
I love the Bow Shoulder Smock Top .
I love all their girls clothing.
I really like the “Rock the Waves” outfit for boys.
My son is a big help to me in the garden all summer.
Swimming is the number one sport in the summer.
Thanks for the contest.
I like the Floral Bow Dress
I love the sailor shorts, soo cute
We love to turn on the water hose and get wet, PLay soccer, go to the park!
Ballpark Hero
I love the newborn Daddy’s Best Buddy Bodysuit
we love to go swimming and hiking
I like the shark patrol outfit
Anything that involves getting wet. It is really hot here in AZ so we do the splash pad, water play at home, and pools.
Something I really liked from Gymboree is the girl’s Watercolor Floral Skort with the Howling Glitter Wolf Tee
and the matching headband.
One of my favorite outdoor summer activities with kids is playing miniature golf.
I love the Floral Gem Tankini. Thank you!!
Catching lightning bugs with my girls. thank you!!
As a new first time grandma to a beautiful baby girl I love that they carry lots of gifts, basics and outfits!
We love to go to the park and play on the playground!
I think the Kitty Glasses Shortie Two-Piece Gymmies pajama set is adorable!