The summer holidays are the perfect time to get outdoors and spend some quality time with the kids. What better place to do it than in your own garden! There are so many ways to keep them entertained, even if it’s raining. It’s only water! Kids love the outdoors, being active and enjoying nature. In this blog post, 10 fun garden activities for children during the summer holidays, we’ll explore some great ways to create memories and get little ones involved!
1. Plant a Garden
Kids love nothing more than to watch tiny seeds transform into vibrant plants. Do you remember growing sunflowers when you were at school!? Involve children in the entire gardening process, from choosing seeds to planting them in the soil. They’ll love picking out their favourite colour flowers and then getting their hands dirty planting the seeds. Make it even more fun by planting seeds that will produce something you can eat like cherry tomatoes, strawberries, or herbs.
Gardening also teaches kids about responsibility, patience, and the importance of taking care of living things.
2. Make a Bird Feeder
Bird watching is both enjoyable and educational for children. To attract birds to your garden, create some DIY bird feeders. You can use pinecones coated with peanut butter and bird seed, or recycle some old milk cartons to make simple feeders.
Hang the feeders from tree branches and keep watch! As the birds start visiting the feeders, your children will love to watch. Use books to look up the different species and learn about their eating habits and lifestyle.
3. Organise a Nature Treasure Hunt
Prepare a list of items for kids to find around the garden. This can be anything, even things you’ve hidden! Different types of leaves, flowers, rocks, insects, or even feathers. A sweet treat hidden at the end will help to keep them engaged. 😉 They’ll love exploring. Give them a small bag or bucket to collect what they’ve found and encourage them to look up more information on the items when they’ve finished. Smaller children might like to get their crayons out and draw some of them.
4. Have a Water Fight!
Okay, maybe a water fight might not be great for little ones but they’ll love some water play with a few outdoor toys. It’s a great way to entertain them whilst keeping them cool on warmer days too. Set up some water sprinklers, or a paddling pool. Older kids will definitely love some water balloons too.
Water play offers endless fun but can also be educational without them even realising. It helps to improve motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and sensory skills for little ones.
5. Get Involved in some Outdoor Art
Getting creative outdoors is a great way to pass a few hours and keep kids entertained. Painting rocks with colours and patterns or collecting leaves, flowers, and other bits from the garden to make a nature collage.
Play chalk is also great fun if you’re not overly precious about your patio. Though most do wash off after a good downpour!
6. Watch for Butterflies
Gardens can attract all kinds of insects, including butterflies. Planting nectar-rich flowers like lavender, and sunflowers will make your garden even more butterfly friendly. Children love to watch them flutter around. Let them count how many there are and take a close look at their beautiful markings.
7. Have a Picnic
Sometimes the simplest activities make the best memories. Let them help you to plan a picnic for the garden. Go to the supermarket and let them help to choose snacks and treat that you can enjoy outdoors. You can even go as far as packing them in a picnic basket and laying out a blanket on the lawn.
Enjoy your picnic whilst telling stories and playing I Spy. They’ll love it!
8. Gardening Tools and Safety
Gardening is great fun but can come with hazards. Teach children about gardening tools and give them age-appropriate ones to work with. Most garden centres have tool sets designed for kids with a shovel, fork, bucket, and watering can. They’ll enjoy it even more if they have their own tools to garden with.
It’s a great way to teach them about more dangerous plants too. Thorny roses, stinging nettles, poisonous berries etc.
9. Enjoy a Camping Adventure
If your children enjoy camping but you can’t get away for a trip, set the tent up in the garden instead. This lets them have an adventure right there at home and they’ll enjoy it just as much. If you’ve got a fire pit, roast some marshmallows and tell stories around the campfire.
It’s a great way to introduce camping to little ones too. You’re not far away from home if it turns out they don’t like it!
10. Try some Stargazing
Get set up with some blankets and pillows as the darkness falls. Pick a night with clear skies and kids will be fascinated by watching all of the activity. Use a stargazing app or a book to help identify constellations and planets. See if you can spot any famous stars.
Spending time in the garden with children during the summer holidays can provide lots of fun, education, and great memories for all. Think back to your own childhood memories and I bet a lot will come from playing out in the garden with parents and grandparents. Kids love to learn about nature and are curious and adventurous. Enjoy it with them and have a great summer!
Kettlewell Groundworks is a family business based in Bradford, West Yorkshire. If your garden is in need of a bit of TLC, we can help with paving, decking, fencing and more. Hop over to our gallery for a bit of inspiration for your next garden project! You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see more.
