• Balls

Outdoor balls are a must have in any household for kids to play with. They’re a fun way to get kids running around and helps physical development and hand eye coordination. 

There are loads of popular ball games for kids to play, even a simple game of catch. Try playing the game Donkey. In Donkey, you must throw the ball to each other without dropping it. If someone drops the ball, they gain a letter D from DONKEY. If they drop it again, they get DO. If someone gets Donkey they lose and have to pretend to be a donkey!

  • Frisbee

Frisbee is another fun alternative to playing catch with a ball. It’s great for getting kids running around outdoors and developing gross motor skills. 

If you get a group of players you can try a game of ultimate frisbee. In ultimate frisbee the goal is to catch the frisbee in the end zone. Throw the frisbee to a teammate and avoid having the frisbee intercepted. You cannot run whilst holding the frisbee.

  • Bubbles

Young kids love blowing bubbles! What’s great is that it’s cheap and anyone can do it. You can blow bubbles in all different shapes and sizes. See who can blow the biggest bubble and who can blow the longest bubble snake. You can even try creating your own bubble blowers out of pipe cleaners or wire. If you want to create an enormous bubble, try using a hula hoop in a paddling pool full of solution!

  • Skipping Rope

A skipping rope has been a popular kids toy since the olden days that’s really good for keeping your kids healthy. Even boxers use them to train because it’s so good maintaining fitness and a healthy heart and the American Heart Association included it in the Kids Heart Challenge.

There are many different types of jumps your kid can learn and practice. Hopping on one foot, speed jumping, arm crossovers, body twisting and moving forward as you skip. 

Think of some songs for kids to sing whilst skipping and seeing if they can get to the end of the song without missing a jump. Alternatively you can challenge them to achieve 100 consecutive jumps. If you have more than two people, have two people hold the rope out across the floor at different heights and see how high the other kids can jump over it. 

  • Hula Hoop

Hula hoops are great to help kids build core strength. Seeing who can spin them the longest and who can spin the most at any one time will work wonders for your kids’ coordination and core strength. Hoops are surprisingly versatile and you can do more than just spinning them. If you get a few they can make a great hopscotch formation. Another fun game is to practice throwing or kicking balls through the hoops from different distances. 

  • Chalk

A simple piece of washable sidewalk chalk can give hours of fun for kids. What’s great about chalk is that it encourages creativity in kids as they can keep creating their own games to play with or produce new artwork. There are of course loads of classic games to play on the driveway such as hopscotch and tic tac toe. If your kid has other toys such as toy cars they could even create a chalk racetrack to play with the cars on.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the fun and cheap games you can play outdoors with kids, you can find more outdoor toy ideas here. Having fun with kids and creating strong family bonds is what life is all about. Please leave a comment if you know any more fun outdoor games that you or your kids love.