
How to help your child enjoy the great outdoors at home
With Spring and Summer just around the corner (fingers crossed) there are so many ways that you can enjoy the great outdoors with your child at home. It’s as simple as getting out of the house, and into the garden. You’ll be surprised by just how much fun you can have. So here are some super simple ways to help both you and your child enjoy spending time in your garden.
Planting flowers and vegetables
This is a lovely activity to do together, and it will really encourage your child or toddler to get to grips with gardening and how things grow. You could give them their own plant pot, and allow them to add the compost and help by planting the seeds, bulbs or flowers. They will definitely love this, and probably enjoy getting messy at the same time. I know that my 31 month old toddler would really enjoy this activity, and would want to be updating all of our pot plants with pretty flowers.
Find their sense of adventure
Treat your garden as another playground for them, it will make some days easier for you rather than trekking to the local park. You could think about getting a slide and swing for them to play on, or even a sandpit where they can create their own beach and sandcastles. See your garden as a source of adventure for them, and it should then be a place that they enjoy spending time in.
Invest in patio or garden furniture for you and your child
To ensure the best of both worlds for both you and your children, invest in patio and garden furniture from Groupon who have exactly what you need. This could be a patio table and chairs set in a style and colour of your choice, where you can relax and watch your children from. And, for your children this could be a cool wendy house or shed where they can bring their friends, or act as an outdoor space for them to play. It could also double up as a place for their scooters, bikes and outdoor toys to be stored as well.
Hunt for bugs, wildlife or birds
Whatever shape or size your garden you will be able to complete a bug, wildlife or bird hunt with your children. You could create cards that contain different types of insects, and ask your children to find them. Or alternatively you could ask your children to draw what they find. This is a brilliant way for them to learn more about the great outdoors, and the wildlife that they can find on their doorstep.
Create a mud kitchen
Mud kitchens seem to be really popular at the moment, appearing in schools, nurseries and parks. They are a brilliant way for your child to spend time outside, and a good opportunity for you to get rid of a few old pans and utensils. At the same time your child will enjoy playing with mud and water, whilst learning important social and sharing skills. If a mud kitchen seems a bit far fetched for you, just think it’s better for them to be playing outside with mud, rather than being indoors making a mess.
So those are my top tips for helping your child enjoy the great outdoors at home. Spending time in the garden when the weather is warm and sunny is a great way to enjoy the day, and you could also have an outdoor picnic at the same time as well.
How do you spend time outside with your children at home?
Claire x
This is a collaborative post.


30 Comments
Caroline
This is a great post and l think we sometimes feel like we have to go somewhere in the car to feel like weve done something properly but like you say theres lots of opportunity and adventures right on the door step x
Lisa Jane
Great ideas here. I plan to plant more this year with my boys as they loved harvesting their crop last year!
Karen, the next best thing to mummy
I am all for getting children outside and away from a screen of one description or another
The Rhyming Mum
Love this. So many good ideas! #fortheloveofblog
Laura: Adventures with J
Great tips. J loves planting bulbs but he also wants to use the cutters which are far too dangerous for him so that has caused a few tantrums! Oops. I look forward to getting the sand tray out soon. #fortheloveofblog
Chloe
Hi, these are some great ideas the mud garden sounds like fun and a bug hunt sounds fun #fortheloveofBlog
This Scribbler Mum
We like to put on the bubble machine and pop the bubbles! #fortheloveofblog
Tubbs
Some great ideas here. We like going for walks as a family and are lucky to have lots of countryside around us to walk in
Clare
This is a great post, Freddie loves playing outside, although the thought of a mud kitchen would freak him out!! He hates getting messy!!!
Tracy Albiero
Anything to get them into green space! I love this! #fortheloveofBLOG
Fancy
My husband just got a bunch of seeds for ours to plant as a task with him. It is a lovely idea. #fortheloveBLOG
Sara @ Magical Mama Blog
This is such a fabulous post! Our little one adores the outdoors but, unfortunately, the previous homeowner put in rock landscape in front and back and didn’t do it properly so our yards are danger zones. Our daughter loves going for family walks and going to work with Dad at the golf course so she can run around the grass. We can’t wait to get our yards fixed and get some outdoor furniture so we can enjoy it!
#fortheloveofblog
Leah
Great ideas!!! I am looking forward to getting our garden started if it ever stops raining and stays warm long enough.
So funny that you suggest doing a mud kitchen…growing up in the country that was our greatest pastime making food from mud and various plants. My parents didn’t love the endless mudpies laying around or the big ditch we once dug across the driveway to make a stream. lol. But as a parent, living in town, I sometimes wish my kids would just go outside and get dirty.
Leah @ Confessions of Parenting
Michaela - The Mummy Diaries
Heidi loves being outdoors so she hates this weather when she can’t get out. We planted flowers last year and I every night we would go out and she would water them herself, she loved it #fortheloveofBLOG
jeremy@thirstydaddy
some great ideas here. pretty much from the moment she could walk, I started taking my daughter on “adventure walks”, hikes through the woods where we would let our imaginations go free. We absolutely love it #fortheloveofblog
Five in the hive
I love it when the kids get to go out and play in the garden, they seem to be in a much better mood too after they’ve had the freedom of outside. #fortheloveofBLOG
Kayleigh (Mini Human Resources)
Great ideas! Our current favourite is the outdoor chalk! #fortheloveofBlOG
katy (what katy said)
I can’t wait for the warmer weather to get outside more. So far they have been in the garden twice this year!!
Welsh Mum Writing
Fab ideas! Now Small Boy is a confident walker (and runner) I’m looking forward to doing some digging, planting and potting with him this year. We definitely need to get him some outdoor furniture though. #ForTheLoveofBlog
Welsh Mum Writing
Fab ideas! Now Small Boy is a confident walker (and runner) I’m looking forward to doing some digging, planting and potting with him this year. We definitely need to get him some outdoor furniture though. #ForTheLoveofBlog
The Squirmy Popple
If only we had a garden to play in – it’s the biggest downside of living in a flat! We can still enjoy outdoor activities in the park once spring actually arrives – it seems very far away! #fortheloveofBLOG
Briony
I had a swing chair in the garden but it didn’t survive the storms last year and I never replaced it. Used to love swinging whilst he played though, I really need to sort something else out. L has his own corner of the garden, to dig, play and plant in. It’s a right mess but it’s his mess. He’s got one stick or rhubarb, some cornflowers growing. He planted some corn kernels from the bottom of our popcorn bag but he’ll be sad when they don’t grow and we’ve got some sunflower seeds to do this weekend #fortheloveofblog
Michelle | The Willow Tree
Some great ideas – sometimes we don’t need to go far to find fun as our gardens offer so much! We had a sandpit built last year to encourage more imaginative play! #fortheloveofblog
MotherAlmostNeverKnowsBest
Love this! I am so bad for needing to always be going somewhere when actually I could be planning something right there… #fortheloveofblog
Kate Holmes
Nothing on Earth better than a mud kitchen – my late Dad built me s special area in the garden to cook up a mud storm! I quite fancy investing in some new outdoor furniture so I can relax whilst the children run and play outdoors – great to see them so much more interested in the gardens here now the sunshine has finally shown up. #FortheLoveofBlog and thanks for hosting
Rachel | Kids, Cuddles and Muddy Puddles
Fab post! Great ideas and a good reminder of how much fun your back garden can be! We’re planning on making bird seed feeders for our garden this week, then taking photos of the birds that visit, and trying to identify them! #fortheloveofBLOG
Noleen Miller
Outdoor play is so important and it nurtures so much natural curiosity and skills #blogcrush
Noleen Miller
Back from #fortheloveofBLOG
Mrs Mummy Harris
Ben loves a mud kitchen and I saw one in tesco’s that I wanted to pick up for his birthday but it was over £100!! I need to find a cheaper way to do one as I’m sure there is! #fortheloveofBLOG
Helena
These are lovely ideas. I’m hoping to make our garden more catered to the girls this year with swings etc. #fortheloveofBLOG