How to entertain children outside

I don’t know about your little ones but my two much prefer being outside than inside and the fresh air certainly tires them out which is always a good thing. One of the best things about being outdoors with the kids is that your house doesn’t get messed up. It’s so lovely to come home after a day out to a neat(ish) house! So I have put together a list of a few things to do outside with the kids. Whether it is in your garden or out and about in the countryside, get out there in rain or shine with the kids, have fun and tire them out! As someone once said “there is no such thing as bad weather just inappropriate clothing” dig out the puddle suits and wellies (after all we live in England it’s wet a lot of the time) and enjoy!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

• Do some gardening. Freya always loves getting out and about in the garden and planting seeds is a great way of getting little ones involved. We planted some sunflowers last year and she loved helping water them seeing how tall they grew. My plan this year is to get a grow bag and plant some tomatoes this summer with the kids. I’m not terribly green fingered so we stick to the simple stuff.
• Go on a picnic. This doesn’t have to be a big thing, grab a picnic rug and just pack a couple of sandwiches, some crisps, a biscuit and a drink or whatever you usually have for lunch go for a little walk and eat your lunch outside. Even if its just sat on a park bench. It breaks the day up and its something a bit different from the norm.

Having a lovely picnic at our local pony show after a successful morning, smiles all round!

• Go on a bike ride/walk. Freya and Toby both got bikes this Christmas so we will be getting out and about the bikes a lot this spring/summer.
• Make a den, either in your garden with chairs and sheets or if you have a local woodland where you can make one out of fallen branches and twigs. Children love to make dens, I remember making them with my brothers when I was younger and having hours of fun.
• Go to your local park. Do play parks these days seem so much better than when we were younger, or is that just me?! Parks are a great way of burning off energy in an enclosed area so perfect if you have multiple little ones to keep your eye on.
• Go mini beast/animal/bird spotting or even a bit of pond dipping. There are various free printable lists that can be easily found on Pinterest such as the ones below. It’s a great way of keeping children entertained as I have found  Freya loves searching for things. We will definitely be going on various hunting missions this year.

• Go to your local national trust property. We were bought National Trust membership for Christmas this year (very grown up, I know) as we love getting out and about. The National Trust provides so many lovely days out all over the country. Just hop on to their website to see what local National Trust properties are in your area. A lot of them have great adventure play parks and lovely Cafes too so everyone is happy!
• Play Pooh sticks. If you are lucky enough to have a river or stream near you it’s a game you have to play and all ages can get involved.
• Go and feed some ducks. My two absolutely love going to feed the ducks. So much so that Freya has actually named one of them and now thinks that it is hers! We are so lucky that we have a lovely place which is only a 5 minute walk from our house where a group of ducks live. Just remember its much better to feed them vegetables rather that bread. Peas always work well and are great for little fingers.

• Make a mud kitchen. Kids love getting dirty and this is the perfect excuse. Grab some dirt, leaves, stones, twigs and what ever else you can find and make a mud pie or two. Your mud kitchen can be as simple as taking some old kitchen bits out into the garden or if your kids really enjoy this sort of thing you can buy some really lovely mud kitchens from mud kitchen.

• Make a bug hotel, again there are some fab ideas over on Pinterest. But you can make yours as simple or elaborate as you want. I think these two look great and would look lovely in any garden and children will love to see which bugs move into their hotel.

• Go to your local farm park. We are lucky to have a couple of really lovely farm parks close by, the kids love getting to see and pet all the animals and watch the various displays they have on.
• Visit your local county show when it is on, or any countryside show. There are usually lots on over the spring and summer with a great variety of things to see from horses to tractors and there are always great food stalls too!!

So there are a few ideas to get you and the little ones out and about in the fresh air. Hope it has given you some inspiration. We will definitely be feeding the ducks and going on animal hunts very soon. I just wish the weather would warm up a bit. I also  really want to make a cool bug hotel for the garden so keep an eye on my instagram account to see how that turns out.