Check out these totally awesome and completely FREE activities that you and the kids can do in your back garden over the summer holiday.
1. Rock Painting
We love painting rocks and the bonus of doing it in the garden is less mess! Last summer we painted loads of rocks (some that we had found in our garden, others previously bought from a garden centre).
We then hid them in our local parks, we even found other people’s rocks too! Lots of fun! Any paint you have will do, you just need some sort of varnish to seal the paint.
2. Junk Modelling
We recently spent the afternoon Junk Modelling and my three loved it! They made a robot, space rocket and a fairy.
Over the last few weeks I started to collect our safe recyclable items, together with some coloured pens, bright paper and some sticky tape the kids had a blast! Doing it in the garden gave us more space and it was lots of fun.
3. ‘Paint’ The Fence
Oh this is such an easy one but it’s always a big hit with my kids. ‘Painting’ the fence! Sounds messy, but in fact you just give the kids some water!
I usually give each of them a bucket/tub of water and a paint brush/roller and go tell them to paint the fence. Hours of fun!
4. Ice Exploring
This is one activity we’re yet to try but I will definitely be giving it a go this summer. Place some little plastic toys in old ice cream tubs/Tupperware boxes and freeze.
When ready to play, tip the ice blocks into a large tray/tuff tray with other little toys, brushes, little tools and see how long it takes to get the toys free.
This sounds lots of fun and I know my kids will enjoy it!
5. Mud Kitchen
Hands up who’s kids love getting messy?! I know mine do.
There are some gorgeous mud kitchens out there that you can buy, but my kids play with a completely free ‘mud kitchen’ that works just as well.
I put compost into an old toy box we had. I gave the kids some toy kitchen pans and utensils from their toy box along with some toy animals, dinosaurs and fairies.
They had some much fun, my eldest even joined in when he got home from school!
6. Fairy/Dinosaur Garden
This is another lovely idea that I’m yet to try but will be doing. Using an old plant pot or even a patch of soil in the garden, place some fresh compost with little items that your children could collect before hand.
I always have a car boot full of shells, twigs, pine cones, pebbles etc, all these would be fab for your fairy/dinosaur garden.
Then place your children’s favourite little toys be that fairies or dinosaurs or something else. My three would love to do this and I can’t wait to try it!
7. Toy Car Wash
We have two second-hand Little Tikes cars in our garden that not only do all three love to ride in, they absolutely love washing them!
I give them all some warm soapy water and a sponge and they couldn’t be happily! Any toy will do, anything from small toy cars to dolls!
8. Car Wash
You could even take it a step further and let them wash the actual car! That’s a real treat for my three, haha.
9. Paint Car Tracks
My boys absolutely love this activity. We use cardboard we save from cereal boxes for example with some old toy cars.
The kids then dip the cars in paint before making tracks on the cardboard. Use different paint and different sized cars for lots of fun!
10. Obstacle Course
For lots of fun, use any garden toys and games to make an obstacle course for you and the kids. Balls, hoops, skipping ropes, buckets, scooter and even bubbles! Make up your own obstacle courses and race to see who can do them the fastest.
Take turns in making the courses different and have lots of fun! Change the game depending on the age of the kids, last Easter my eldest coveted the garden in colourful balls. Then he gave his younger brother and sister a bucket and shouted which coloured balls to collect. They loved it!
Out and about mummy 