20 Free Outdoor Family Fun Ideas

School's out for summer! The summer sun shines! Let's enjoy it-together. As a family. Summer means more play time. Most of the playtime is spent with the children outside. But it's so much more fun for all of us to play together. We all need to engage with one another in meaningful ways. Summer allows us to do that while enjoying the warm sun.

I thought I'd share a few ways to have everyday family fun this summer. These are all simple ideas that don't require money and almost no parent preparation. By the time I finished brainstorming for ideas, I had more than twenty summer fun and free ideas. They are all simple. No prep. No money. Just family.

  1. Hike a trail. 
  2. Swim in  a pond, lake, river, or ocean.
  3. Pick berries. (Then make strawberry jam.)
  4. Turn on the sprinkler.
  5. Jump in a grass pile.
  6. Visit a farm.
  7. Dig in the dirt.
  8. Roll down a hill.
  9. Play backyard ball.
  10. Plant seeds. Pull weeds.
  11. Draw with chalk.
  12. Fly a kite.
  13. Or fly a plastic bag "kite."
  14. Splash in a kiddie pool.
  15. Play at a playground.
  16. Find beauty in nature.
  17. Ride a bike.
  18. Jump in puddles.
  19. Watch the clouds.
  20. Read outdoors.
  21. Shoot water guns.
Children benefit from outdoor fun just like adults do. Even if I just take a ten-minute walk in the sun, I feel better. My children may complain of being hot and sweaty, but they get along so much better in the fresh air. (And we need to help my three children in every way we can!) Get more ideas for everyday family fun here.

Even if you are not a fair-skinned family like us, it's still important to protect your skin from the sun. If we (adults and children alike) plan to be outside for more than twenty minutes, we are covered in sunscreen. Before we head to the pool, ballgame, or local park, we protect ourselves. (I even burn during the evening hours without sunscreen.)

~ Annette
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5 comments

  1. The spray makes it so much easier!

    We went berry picking last weekend, and had a lot of fun. I was reapplying sunscreen every half hour!

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  2. These are all great ideas! I love Banana Boat for my kids. It smells so yummy

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  3. Chalk drawing has been very popular here this summer, too. We will go on with it (three wild grandsons) - and it is also safer than bike riding which they do, (it means we have to run after them, because breaks seems to be unnecessary for their opinions..). :-)

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  4. Such fund ideas, I haven't done a banana boat since I left Florida...and chalk drawings...oh wow! The fun we had as kids doing those!

    XO,
    Christine

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  5. Hi Annette, great fun for families.When the grands visit, I like to keep them entertained with activities. Regarding Amazon Echo, yes, you can add the free app and sync up your phone, ipad or desktop. That's how you create your lists.

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