Kids activities at home

Outdoor Toys for Kids- Ultimate Fun List

Summer is almost here which means you will be spending a lot of time outside with your kids! I’ve put together the list of must-have outdoor toys for kids that will give you hours of entertainment. Since we live in Phoenix there are a lot of water toys on my list but even if your temperatures don’t reach 115 like us, water is still a great activity and kids never get tired of it.

All of my picks range in price depending on what you are looking for but each one is well worth the investment. The bubble gun is $3 and is a favorite! All the way up to our $200 bouncy house that is a year round activity that never get old and we have had it for 4 years!

After 6 summers I have my tried and true toys that we have love, both big and small. If you click on the title of each toy it will send you to a link. Order fast because the pools and water tables sell out fast!

Disclaimer- Some links below are affiliate links, meaning at no extra cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Outdoor Toys for Kids List

Bubble Gun–

So easy to use that my 3 year old can play with it on her own. They love the battery power that blows them and it makes it less frustrating for everyone.

Sprinkler

Melissa and Doug Splash Patrol Sprinkler– This fun sprinkler doesn’t get too crazy. It’s perfect for ages 2-6. My son didn’t love the ones that whip around and spray you in the face so this was the perfect starter sprinkler for him!

Water Table- Must Have Outdoor Toys for Kids

If you only buy one outdoor toy this should be it! There are tons of water tables in out there but here are two that work great.

This was our first water table when the kids were smaller.

Little Tykes Island Wavemaker- This option is a little bigger with a few more bells and whistles.

Inflatable Pool

We always buy a new inflatable pool every year because they get so much use out of them. They typically don’t make it through to another year so be prepared. I like to get one with a slide to extend the play longer. Don’t forget to buy a pump to blow it up too! Click here for the pump.

Kiddie Pool

If you’re little one doesn’t need a slide this pool works great too and is only much less!

Slip N Slide

My kids love to run and slide down this in our front yard. We even have a little hill and put it on there to get a little speed. Sometimes we even put a little soap on it to go even faster!

Bunch O Balloons

These self-inflating balloons can make any summer day a party! Every time I break these out my kids cheer. I buy the big pack and use two or three each time. They are well worth the price tag since they are easy to fill up and even more fun to throw!

Splash Pad

Make your own splash pad at your house! This one can be a little splash pool for a baby without the sprinklers and then transform into a splash pad as they get older.

Kite

This timeless classic never gets old. Whenever the wind picks up we get out kites and fly. We even break them out and make our own wind sometimes which really wears kids out. These kites are a great low cost toy that will give you lots of bang for your buck.

Water Blobz

This is a new outdoor toy for kids that we bought! It’s a mix of a trampoline and pool. The fun texture is a great sensory experience. This is great for any age and there are endless ways to play with it. You fill it with water and then jump away.

Saucer Swing

Swing into summer on this fun saucer shaped swing. You can swing safely on this swing since you sit in the middle and hold on. My kids love to spin each other on it too.

Jump Rope

This easy to use jump rope is a fun way to get some outside exercise in! You can use it for obstacle courses too! Another great $5 outdoor toy for kids.

Sandbox- Must Have Outdoors Toy for Kids

Dig for treasure or have fun making sandcastles in your own sandbox. It comes with a mesh cover on this sandbox which is a must to keep it clean and I love the corner seats that give you a place to sit!

Bouncy House

Invest in this bouncy house and you won’t regret it! It is fun to play in every day especially during the summer. So easy to put up and down. It is a great alternative to a trampoline and much safer. You can even use it indoors if you have a basement and bounce all year round. Our bouncy house has stood the test of time and I would highly recommend it. This is the ultimate outdoor toy for kids.

Playground

This is the next big purchase we are thinking about getting with all the time we will be spending at home. I have always loved Kidcraft products and feel like they are well built. Do you have a playground you love? Leave a message of your favorite!

More Kids Activities

Looking for more fun activities to do with your kids? Try these two great ones!

Build your own mini golf course with boxes

Make Rainbow Rice for Sensory Bin

Books and Cooks for Kids- Cooking with Kids

Get your littlest chefs excited about reading and cooking with books and cooks fo kids! This idea came from cooking class that my son had at school where they put a book together with a fun cooking activity. Since we are at home during school break I thought it would be a perfect activity to add to our day. Cooking can help your child work on their math skills by counting marshmallows or pouring ingredients. Here’s a quick example of how I set up the cooking class.

Pick a Theme for Your Books and Cooks with Kids

Easter is coming up so we decided the theme of Books and Cooks class was going to be Easter. We read an Easter book, “The Story of the Easter Bunny” and make Rice Krispies candy-filled Easter Baskets. Feel free to switch the book to any Easter book you want or have. And you can even skip Easter and you can use any theme to go with these Rice Krispies bowls, it could be a bird theme and these could be nests with eggs. The possibilities are endless!

Prepare

Cooking with kids can be fun but preparation is key. If you have little kids like me it’s best to have everything measured out ahead of time. Put each ingredient in separate bowls they can easily pour. I have them double check the measurements when they cook with me so we work on math with numbers. Also, they learn how to read a recipe with step 1, step 2, step 3 and following directions. As long as you prep before they come to help it keeps it fun instead of stressful.

Get Reading-

We start by sitting down and reading the book before we start cooking. This is nice to start with because they calm down before we head into the kitchen. Once we finish reading we head over to the kitchen and talk about how the book relates to what we are cooking. For example in our book “The Story of the Easter Bunny” he makes baskets for all the kids and fills them with candy eggs. We talk about how we are doing the same thing as him. This helps the kids work through critical thinking and correlating. Who know cooking could be so educational!

Get Cooking- Books and Cooks with Kids Style

This recipe can be done on the stove or in the microwave. We do it in the microwave since the stove might be a little too dangerous for kids. My daughter (3) pours the ingredients in and my son (5) does the stirring. Teamwork! Once everything is stirred together you can make your baskets. The kids grab a handful of the mixture and push them into the muffin cups and top with M&M eggs. They work on their identifying colors and adding 2 eggs per basket. Once all the hard work is done you get to enjoy your sweet treat! Click here to get the recipe.

More Fun Cooking with Kids Recipes

Build Your Own Mini Golf Course

Say Fore for fun! All you need to make this DIY mini golf course is leftover boxes. Do you have some Amazon boxes or any size boxes laying around? Build Your Own Mini Golf Course! Take those boxes and transform them into your very own putt putt course in the backyard or even indoors! This activity has multiple steps so it a great project for when you have a lot of time at home. You can even count this as an educational activity since it works on motor skills and math too!

Skills Used to Build Your Own Mini Golf Course

Cutting and painting helps with hand eye coordination
Working on math with numbers
Following steps

Have Kids Help- Build Your Own Mini Golf Course

As you can see, I really let my kids decorate and build them so they are not the cutest. As a result of building them, they love playing with them even more. Putt Putt golf is fun to play as a family and we played it as a family after dinner! If you don’t have golf clubs you can even just do it with your hands, imagine skee-ball style which is how my daughter (3) likes to do it. Hope this free kids activity helps you up-cycle some boxes and have an interactive activity as a family!

What You Need

Boxes
Scissors
Paint or Markers
Lots of Creativity

Instructions to Make Your DIY Mini Golf Course

Step 1- Collect all the boxes you can. The more boxes the “holes” you will have for the golf course. (We only had 4 so that’s what we used).

Step 2- Cut out a hole in the front and the back of the box. You may have to help with this section since cardboard can be hard to cut. Make the holes larger than you think. We had to make our much larger once we played.

Step 3- Paint and decorate boxes. This part can be as simple or elaborate as you want. You can add flags, tape construction paper or even make a windmill! Need Paint? Make sure to use washable paint with your kids. We always use Crayola Washable Paint.

Step 4- Make numbers for each box and tape them on the box. This is another great way you will be incorporating learning into this fun activity. The kids will work on how many numbers there are and putting them in order.

Step 5- Step up each hole in numerical order. Play golf in backyard or in your house. You can make it as easy or difficult as you want. My son wanted to add the slide into our last hole to make it harder.

Repeat Step 5 all day long!

More Fun Kids Activites

Try these 35 At Home Kids Activities

Get Cooking with the kids with these easy No Bake Oatmeal Energy Bars.

At Home Activities for Kids

These boredom busters are perfect to break out when you hear those two words…”I’m bored”. Looking to fill your daily schedule during the school closure and need some new ideas of to create the best “camp at home”!

These 35 At Home Activities for Kids is a great please to find fun new things to do. Try one or all of them when you are stuck at home and can’t go anywhere! Comment any ones that you guys do at home since I am always looking for fun new ones too!

Arts and Crafts

Painting Shapes– Take a giant piece of kraft paper and draw shapes all over it (square, circle, heart etc..). Tape on wall and let the kids paint. This idea is from Busy Toddler and if you want endless amazing kids activities I recommend heading over to her site immediately.
Painting Rocks- Easy as it sounds. Get rocks from outside and paint them!
Fuse/Melt Beads– These are my son’s (age 5) favorite thing. It is the only thing he will do for up to an hour. You take tiny beads and make them into and pattern. Once the pattern is finished you iron them and the beads melt together.

Legos/duplos– Make a city! Here are more great ideas…https://www.mykidstime.com/entertainment/download-free-30-day-lego-challenge-creative-fun/

Make a Racetrack for cars with painters tape on the ground. Have the kids help make it and they will love to race on it all day.
Build with Play-Doh– Play-Doh Kids can work for hours of fun.

Kinetic Sand– Get seashells or animals and hid them in the sand. Have kids find them all.

Coloring pages- Print out all your Disney favorites or even color online. Here is a link to their free coloring website!
Board Games– Count your Chicken, Candlyland, Zingo and Headbandz are the ones that work for my family, ages 3 and 5. Here’s a link to all my favorite ones!

At Home Activities for Kids — Painting shapes and Board Games

Science

Science Experiments- All you need is vinegar, baking soda and dish soap! Food coloring makes it even better. Add them to each other and VOLCANO. We purchased this science experiment kit and use it a ton.

Here are some other easy ones. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McVpXiSttnU
Make Ice Cream in a bag with only a few ingredients.

Get Moving with these At-Home Activities for Kids

Build an obstacle course- This can be as easy without any ropes or ladders. I usually put pillows on the ground to jump on and chairs to climb under and over.
Pillow Fight- Break out the pillows and start throwing.
Blow up balloons- This one amazes me every time. If I blow up two balloons the kids will play with them and make up games. My go to is don’t let the balloon touch the ground. Here are some easy games if you want ideas. –https://www.brisbanekids.com.au/10-best-balloon-games-kids/
Timed races- My kids will run for a half hour as long as I’m timing them. I pick different places they need to run to and time them.

Dancing and YouTube

Freeze Dance- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UcZWXvgMZE
I am A Robot- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbL61Ex3avM
Milkshake Waffles- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNL6RwymoNg
Make a band by getting all your musical instruments out and create a song!

Classic Games

Red Light/Green Light- Kids start and one end and you say green light they run, yellow light go slow and red light stop.
What Time is it Mr Fox- https://www.kidmintools.com/2012/11/14/childrens-game-what-time-is-it-mr-fox/
I Spy- Someone picks something they see and says what color it is. Everyone guesses what the object is. Whoever wins get to be the “spyer”
Play “Simon Says” or “Follow the Leader.”
Grab a deck of cards and teach your kids the simple joy of Slapjack.
Easter Egg Hunt- This works anytime of year! Break out the eggs and get hiding.
Puppet Show- Socks or paper bags work great if you don’t have puppets.

Outside Games At-Home Activities for Kids

Scavenger Hunt- Click here for an easy scavenger hunt to get the kids outside. These are all pictures so no adults needed if your child can’t read yet. After they find everything mine usually stay outside playing with all their treasures!
Water Fight- Fill up a bucket or bowl with water. Give cups to everyone and run around.
Wash toys and trucks
Water table- Add food coloring and soap to the water table. Throw in cups, spoons and any other pourable items for open-ended fun.
Chalk Art- Break out the chalk and make a hopscotch pattern.

Other At-Home Activities for Kids

Build a fort- If we are going to do screen-time I always like to build a fort before to try and extend the activity a little longer.
Daytime bath- Break out the bathtub during the day and it becomes exciting instead of routine.
Clean the windows and dust- My kids love to do this. I let them spray while I wipe. Two birds, one stone!
Make a paper boat and see if it floats! Click here for instructions

Screentime

Break out the tablet- Click here for a list of free educational apps that your kids will love so much they won’t even know they are learning!
Cosmic Yoga is a way to get moving and calm your mind! They are for kids and have great themes like Frozen, Spiderman and Trolls themed yoga sessions!

Best Free Online Kid Apps

Here’s a list of the Best Free Online Kid Apps to download today for your screen time! If you are home all day because school is canceled then get busy downloading. The great part is they are educational, free and fun. Plus, they have NO ads and tons of options to choose from! Independent play allows the kids to make their own choices on what they want to play and you don’t have to help them…Win-Win. The best free online kids apps will help you stay sane while we stay home. I use these options in my screen time for my daily schedule. Click Here for my daily schedule if you are looking to add a little structure to your day!

List of Best Free Online Kid Apps

Khan Academy Kids– This app is built with ages 2-7 in mind. There are hundreds of games, books and coloring pages to choose from! They focus on early literacy, math, emotional feelings and reading. If you have an older kid check out Khan Academy.

Duck Duck Moose Apps– More great apps from Khan Academy! Type Duck Duck Moose into your search in the App Store and ALL the options will pop up. They have so many different options depending on what your kids enjoys. Pick a few since they are FREE . My kids love Moose Math, Build A Truck, and Trucks! They have Princess Fairy Tale Maker and Fish School which are fun too. Actually every app they make is a hit. Here’s the link but it works best if you just go to your App Store and search.

PBS Kids Games– Educational content from all your favorite characters at PBS. Daniel Tiger is the favorite in our house but there are plenty to choose from. Content you can count on since PBS is making it! Link- https://pbskids.org/apps/

Scholastic Learn at Home– Scholastic is offering a free at home school with new curriculum everyday during the shut down. Pick your grade and go! Link- https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

Here are some new options we have found!

Splash Learn– Easy for kids to follow along independently with fun games with either math or reading. My son (5) really enjoyed the new games. You pick your grade level and it offers different content for math and letters. They offer a daily lesson in math and reading for free! You can’t win the big prize at the end unless you subscribe. But I just made tickets to give him each time the purple screen pops up and told him that he won the lesson. After he gets 5 tickets he gets a prize!

Starfall– There is a free option that has some good learning activities. You can also pay to upgrade but we are using the free version. We do the alphabet lesson everyday!