Fun Outdoor Activities for Kids

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At IZZAROO™, we believe in the importance of play. When parents play with their children, it creates a strong bond and memories that will last a lifetime.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics' "play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength". It is so important for a child’s development and for learning life skills.

Throughout history, children have spent hours playing with their parents, siblings and friends. It is a cherished part of childhood. Sadly, the amount of time that children spend playing each day has gone down considerably.

We're hoping to change that! Here are some fun and easy ways to play with your kids outside, whatever the weather may be.  If playing indoors is more your thing, come see our blog post for fun ways to play indoors.

TURN ON THE SPRINKLERS

Beat the heat, water your lawn and keep the kids entertained for hours - all at the same time. As a kid, I loved running through sprinklers and launching down a slip-n-slide. They left lasting memories for me and I hope for our kids, too.

WATER BALLOON FIGHT

During the summer months, we love a good water ballon fight. It's good, old fashion fun. As a bonus, we get some exercise. Filling water balloons can be a pain to do one-by-one. Check out this cool product called Bunch O Balloons that fills and ties 100 balloons in 60 seconds!

BURST SOME BUBBLES

During a recent backyard campout, we made some gigantic bubbles. Here's one for scale of Zander as he pops one larger than he is. Here's a fun way to make your own ginormous bubbles.

DRAW ON THE SIDEWALK

This is a timeless activity we love doing with the kids. Whether we are drawing pictures, playing tic-tac-toe or hop-scotch - it's always a fun time. We like to get a large pack with multiple, bright colors. 

A fun alternative to chalk is sidewalk paint. We found that neon colors work best.

READ SOME BOOKS

One of our favorite things to do in the backyard is relax on the hammock with a good book. This hammock is awesome. Super light weight, portable and perfect for the backyard or camping.

SPLASH AROUND AT A SPLASH PAD

Luckily the drought in our area has ended and our local splash pads are open again. Find some in your area for hours of fun!

GO TO THE PLAYGROUND

It's true, parks really do make life better!

One of our favorite things about where we live are the shear number of parks. In our city alone, there are 16 big community parks and 18 mini parks. Find one near you and PLAY MORE. (link to our Play More tees)

We love discovering parks with fun things to climb on, like these giant grapevines and snake head!

Of course, Chris and I love to join in on the fun.

This is great quote that helps remind us to play more with our children. 

Check out our Quote to Live by blog post for more inspirational quotes. 

SKATEBOARD

Living in San Diego, we're lucky to be surrounded by some rad skate parks. On a whim most days, we grab our skateboard, pads, helmet and we're off. Who knows, if you are lucky like us, you might run into a skateboard legend like Steve Caballero!

WATCH AN OUTDOOR MOVIE

Grab a blanket, lawn chair and pack a picnic basket for a fun night of watching a movie under the stars. This is one of our favorite summer traditions! It's a nice change from our movie nights at home.

HEAD TO THE BEACH

We love the beach. Sometimes we'll go for the entire day and have dinner while watching the sunset. It's quite possibly, the perfect lazy day. Here are some things we like to bring along: sand toys, a beach blanket and this sweet portable table.

Here I am, killing two birds with one stone. Playing with the kids and getting my daily exercise in. Notice what I'm using as a jump rope? That's right, sea kelp. Sometimes, you have to make the most with what you have - where ever you are!

PLAY IN THE RAIN

Living in southern California, rain is scarce. When it rains, it is truly a treat. We love to head outside and taste the sweetness.

For heavier rain, we love using our cute dragon and mermaid umbrellas, rain jacket and rainboots.

And of course, jumping in puddles is a must during the rain. The rainboots will come in handy for this.

PLAY WITH THE FOLIAGE

Growing up in Virginia, I remember rolling down hills and jumping in piles of leaves every fall. Those were some of my best childhood memories. We don't get too much fall foliage in San Diego but we still seek it out and play as much as possible.

PLAY IN THE SNOW

Whether it's building snowmen, making snow angels or having a snowball fight, we love playing in the snow. 

Here's a fun clip of Chris getting nailed by Zander!

For a great time in the snow, you'll want to bring along: a sled, snowball maker, snow suit, snow boots, and snow mits.

There you have it, fun ways to play with kids outside - in any kind of weather.

I hope this inspires you to get outside with our kids and #PLAYmore! If playing indoors is more your thing, come see our blog post for fun ways to play indoors.

Have any ideas we haven't mentioned?  Leave a us a comment below and we'll be sure to try it out and share.

If you love to play like us, you'll love our collection of Play shirts. 10% of net profits will benefit organizations that empower underprivileged youth. Learn more about our mission to Be The Good.