5 Quick Outdoor Activities for Kids
Whether you have a fun day of outdoor activities planned or simply need quick ideas for outdoor activities, here are 5 things you can easily do with a group of students while outdoors or in, no matter what age of students you teach.
Play a Collaborative large-group Game
- Camouflage – One person stands in the middle and stays still. This person needs to look for the others that are hiding. When the person calls “feeding time” all hiders reset by touching base and finding a new hiding spot.
- Manhunt – A combination of hide-and-seek and tag.
- Sardines – One person hides and the others seek this person. Once found, the seekers stay hidden with the hider until all seekers have found the hiding spot.
- Red-Light, Green-Light
- What time is it Mr. Wolf?
- Any variation of tag
No Set-up, Quick Scavenger Hunt for Kids
- Ask students to find something that they can hear but not see
- Find something that has a smell
- Find something unusual
- Find something for each letter of the alphabet
Oral Storytelling
With only five minutes you can create a story together. Begin by sitting in a circle. Students can retell their favourite memory of your class or of a regular routine. You can have them imagine a character that has a problem and needs help to solve it. Getting students to share about their real-world experiences is one of the best ways to grow their confidence when storytelling. I really enjoyed this lesson called The Learning Circle: Classroom Activities on First Nations in Canada. Luckily, several stories have been shared so you have something to start with!
Quick Outdoor Activities using Design and Process Art
Give students a few minutes to choose five objects (or any number that will work for your group). Once they have collected their five items, they create an art piece. They can name it and share it with students in the “Found Art” museum. The museum can be the location of the yard that you decide. Let students know that it’s a temporary exhibit and that all art found will be removed at the end.
Get Dramatic Outside
Students often enjoy acting like animals, people, and anything their imagination allows. Try a quick game of the family classic – Charades! Students can take turns pretending to be trees, frogs, seeds, butterflies, or flowers. If you’d like a game that has more structure you can try a deck of Outdoor Learning Charades cards. Simply print, grab and go outdoors.
What other outdoor activities do you have in your teacher bag of tricks? Let me know in the comments below.
