Outside Activities for Small Children

Or, How to keep them occupied for long enough to get things done.

Of course, outside activities are mainly dependant on the weather, you cannot play in mud if there is none, or splash about with the hosepipe and water buckets in the middle of winter when everything is frozen.

Here are some things that my children like to do:

1. Play with water. There was a time that you could not let my daughter anywhere near a bucket of water without her getting in it, fully dressed. Welly boots take a surprisingly long time to dry out once submerged!
2. Mud. Need I say more? You can jump in it, squelch in it, stick things in it, make things out of it, eat it
3. Sticks. Sticks are great for imagination, they can be anything you want them to be - swords, fishing rods, magic wands etc, or you can use them to poke things....

4. Making 'cakes' - this is something my daughter loves doing and I remember doing when I was small. You need a bucket, some kind of stirring utensil (sticks, see above) and whatever stuff you can find - mud, sand, leaves, grass and obviously water (to make it truly disgusting, can you sense a theme?)
5. Chalk. This is quite a good game for if the weather is a bit rubbish. My daughter likes to draw pictures on the insides of the stable walls, and on the stable doors.

6. 'Helping' - Give the children their own tools and let them help (this will actually take you far longer than if you were doing it by yourself!)

Oh, and all of these activities will involve grubby children. Enjoy!