Are you feeling out of outdoor activities to do with your children? Sometimes I wake up and feel completely uninspired on what to do with my kiddies and need a reminder of the the little outdoor activities we can do close to home. Then I thought that you might too so I wrote up this list. These little outdoor activities we do with our kids are just as good as the great big outdoor adventures. Here are 10 easy outdoor activities for toddlers:

Take a Hike

A hike does not have to be in the mountains. Find a outdoor space with trails and let your kids walk. Get them out of that stroller!!! Bring it along if you need that as a back up but encourage exploration and walking/running. Try not to choose a park near a playground park or they will gravitate there instead. If you do go to a place with a playground park away from the actual park and ‘hike’ to the playground. Another option is finding outdoor gardens to walk around or a natural forest space in your area with trails.

Make a Mud Pie

It’s time to get dirty so why not make a mud pie. Mix some dirt and water and get creative. Get Messy, Be Creative and Have Fun!!

Play in Water

Play in a puddle, go to a splash park, set up your paddling pool, sprinklers and/or water table. Finding it difficult to do any of those? Instead just take out some bowls outside and start playing with some water.

Playground

Get your kids to the playground! Better yet why not explore a new playground that you rarely visit or maybe never have visited. A new playground gets kids excited! Playgrounds were brought into urban life to help keep kids active and engaged in the outdoor environment.

Collect Nature Objects

Give your child a bucket or bag and tell them to collect certain items or let them have free range of what they are allowed to collect. After sit down with them a go through the objects they have collected.

Dig

Let them dig! Do you have a sand box let them dig? A spot of dirt in your backyard? Let them dig! Feeling short of places for your kids to dig then grab a few bowls and some rice or oats and let them get messy outdoors. The bonus? It is not a big deal if they start putting the oats in their mouth.

Throw Rocks

Find a lake or a river. Collect some rocks, throw them in the river or lake and watch them splash! Don’t have a a river or lake? Fill up a bowl and practice your aim by throwing the rocks in the water.

Plant a Seed

This can be as little as getting a small pot with some dirt and planting a seed or as big as letting them help plant your garden. Let them fill the pot with dirt, create the holes to plant and place the seeds. Then let them water it and put it in the sun. They will want it to grow NOW but talk about how it takes a long time for plants to grow. Teach them that plants need sun, water, soil and time to grow! Our 2 year old was so excited when she started learning where fruits and vegetables come from and what they need to ‘eat’ in order to grow.

Bike Ride

Go for a bike ride! Whether it is biking with your kids, having your kids ride a tricycle or a balance bike or you biking with them in a carrier or bike seat.

Pick Flowers

Those annoying dandelions are so fun for kids to pick and they can bring them inside for you to put them in water. We had so many on our lawn when we first moved in that we made some dandelion flower crowns.