We have all been in this pandemic for over a year now and many of us are really feeling the strain. From social isolation to cabin fever this pandemic is wearing us out. Those of us with young children at home from yet another school closure may be struggling with their boredom on top of our own. With the weather getting warmer we can start to look to outdoor activities to alleviate this boredom.
In this blog post we will look at five simple activities to occupy kids and parents while getting everyone outside for some fresh air and exercise.
For this activity simply create a list of ten items that can be found in the area you are going to (this can be more or less depending on ages and attention spans).
For example:
Location: Park
- Three leaves
- Two stones
- One stick that looks like a Y
- Three sticks that are straight
- Two pinecones
- Something green
- Something colourful (like yellow, red, purple etc)
- Something round
- Something soft
- Something hard
For this activity you can use the items found during your scavenger hunt or find different items. Using items found in nature create a picture on the ground. Sidewalks or pathways work best for the canvas. You can get messy and more creative by adding mud into the mix to paint your canvas.
For this activity you will need a stuffed animal or something similar. This can be done anywhere outdoors or indoors if the weather is not cooperating. This is a safer version of hide and go seek for outdoors. You simply hide the stuffy and the kids hunt for it. For younger kids you can give hot and cold hints.
For this activity you will need a container of some sort. Clear works best but whatever you have on hand will do. Send the kids into the grass to find and collect bugs. After they have found what they like try and identify what kind of bug it is. Get creative if you don’t know what the bug is make up a story with the kids about what the bugs name is and what they do everyday.
For this activity all you need is a blanket and imagination. Have everyone lay down on the blanket and look up at the clouds. Get the kids to tell you what they see and you tell them what you see. Get creative and make stories about what you are seeing. Encourage the kids to give their cloud images a story too.
These are just a few ideas to get you started. Spending time together engaging with each other can alleviate boredom for the whole family. Having loosely structured activities can also work to guide this time with the family so no one is arguing over what to do or complaining they don’t know what to do. Another way to get everyone outside is to create an activity jar using popsicle sticks or slips of paper. Write activities on them and everyone can have a turn drawing out an activity for the day.
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