Summer is the perfect time to round up the family and head to a great outdoor adventure. But how do you get the kids on board when they care more about TikTok than fun in the sun?

Well, physical activity is absolutely essential for growing minds and bodies. It supports development, refines motor skills, sharpens cognitive power, and encourages things like problem solving when playing games. In other words, goofing around with your kids in the yard is more than just an afternoon distraction from tablets and other screens.

Here are just a few ways to have fun with your children through outdoor activities. Most of them require nothing more than a few supplies and a lot of imagination, so they can be enjoyed at home or during your family vacation!

Get Crafty

You don’t need a craft room to get creative. In fact, the outside world can encourage creativity big time, allowing your children to repurpose everyday items of nature into works of art. Leaves, for example, can be rubbed and traced on paper to become “leaf art.” Rocks can make great painting canvasses. Acorns and pinecones are prime instruments for decoration. Flowers can adorned with glitter, beads, markers, and stickers. There are endless ways that you can get artsy with natural objects, so don’t be afraid to experiment. It’s not like you’ll ever run out of materials. As a bonus, collecting them together with the kids can be just as fun as bedazzling them.

Escape Boredom

An escape room activities require a bit of planning, but if you have the time and resources to set them up, they can keep your kids entertained for hours. To save time, you can download escape room kits that come with puzzles, maps, and riddle sheets all ready to go.

Otherwise, it’s easy enough to set up your own outdoor escape room, since they are basically scavenger hunts or more cerebral obstacle courses. You just have to guide your kids through a series of activities that are centered around some kind of theme. For example, you might create a scenario where the prince or princess has to escape a locked tower, finding clues and solving minor problems along the way. When done right, this can be great fun for all ages.

Keep It Simple

Outdoor games are always fun, and if you keep them low-tech, you can play them anytime and anywhere. This means that they’ll be an enduring favorite whether you’re in the backyard, at the park or playground, or on the beach. Among the many outdoor games they can play without equipment there’s tag, hide and seek, relay races, red rover, or Simon says. If you are willing to splurge on a few accessories, you can expand your options even more. Just think of the many games that you could come up with by using a single bouncy ball.

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Exercise That Body

You don’t need to be an Olympian athlete to enjoy exercising with your kids. If you guys aren’t the active type, try to start small with simple fitness activities like kicking around a soccer ball or playing horse on the local basketball court. Once you’ve developed a bit more stamina, you can go skating, hit the swimming pool, or lob some tennis balls. You might also enjoy martial arts, which can become a lifelong skill for kids. Yoga with mom and dad can result in lots of giggles. Dance practices will be a hoot. You can even find videos on YouTube to practice these things right in the backyard if you don’t want to sign up for official classes.

Enjoy Nature

Nature activities can instill in your children a bigger appreciation for the great outdoors. They’re also physical and mental health boosters thanks to the sunshine, fresh air, and increased physical activity. As for what you can do, you know what they say…the sky is the limit. You can go for walks or bike rides, take overnight camping trips, or teach your kids new skills in the form of fishing, kayaking, or stargazing. If they really take to the outdoors, you might even expand on their interest with field trips to local gardens or booking family trips to visit natural history museums.

The most important thing isn’t how your children spend time in nature, but the joy and fulfillment that you get from spending quality time with them in a healthy setting. Have fun!

Had any awesome outdoor family outings lately? Tell us all about it in our comments section below!