When the sun is out here in Washington State, we find ourselves outside most of the day every day. Since moving here from the South, we have learned how to embrace good weather whenever we get it here. I’m not sure I really appreciated the sun quite like I do now, and my kids have learned to do the same. In our family, when it’s sunny and warm, the television stays off and toys stay put away until the clouds and rain come home.
While I’m a big believer in letting the outdoors be sufficient as a child’s playground, it also helps to have a few tools or activities in my “back pocket” to keep my kids engaged outside — especially when we find ourselves in smaller and less explorative spaces, such as our backyard. Here are some of our favorite outdoor activities for military children:
- A mud kitchen basket: If you don’t have the space or money (or desire) for a full-on mud kitchen, you can just keep a small basket of mud kitchen tools handy. I went to our local thrift store and found some small muffin tins, a mini cast iron pan, some tiny pots and pans and a few utensils. My daughters have so much fun making “dandelion soup” and “grass muffins.” It is so fun to see how creative they get with their recipes!
- Sand play: Whether you are willing to deal with a big sandbox in your yard or not is a personal decision. Personally, I find sandboxes to be a bit impractical for military families just because of how inconvenient it can be to dispose of sand before each PCS, and transporting a large sandbox is not always ideal. We prefer to have a sand table that contains only a little bit of sand but keeps the kids content with sensory play. The other plus to a sand table versus a sandbox is the kids don’t get as messy or drag as much sand inside.
- Bubbles: Whether it is your traditional bubble wands or fancy bubble blowers, bubbles always add a little joy to the outdoors. Sometimes we go for bubble walks when the sun pops out, and it makes everything just a little bit more magical.
- Bounce houses: Last year, Santa Claus brought the kids an inflatable bounce house, and it has been a big hit. Like sandboxes, trampolines can be quite impractical for military families, since they are not easy to transport. We enjoy the convenience of our bounce house that we can easily deflate and stuff into a large tote when we aren’t using it during a large part of the season. We pull it out when we host families over for dinner or parties. It is a serious kid-pleaser. We even add plastic balls to ours for a little extra something.
- Making tiny houses: My daughter and I love to gather sticks and pinecones and rocks and make little homes for bugs, fairies, lizards or whatever creature we can think of that day. I love seeing her check on it the next day to see if there was any evidence of tiny tenants being left behind.
- Watercolors: One of my very favorite things to do with the kids is to bring out a big quilt and our basket of watercolors and paint outside. Our watercolor basket contains a palette of colors, multiple paintbrushes, a notebook for each of my kids, and a mason jar with a lid and a washcloth. For painting prep, all I have to do is fill up the jar with water, grab the basket, and lay down the blanket under the sun (or shade on a hot day), and we are ready to paint!
- Picnics: I saved the best for last. We are a big picnic family. Whether it’s the playground, the lake, a hike or our own backyard, we love a good picnic. Not only does eating yummy food together make the outdoors more fun, but it prevents my floors from getting covered in crumbs and grime for the day, which is a nice break occasionally.
These are some of our favorite ways to keep the kids happy and engaged outside when they grow bored of stick swords and catching bugs. Obviously, you don’t need any of these things to have family fun outdoors, but it can be helpful to have creative tools and hands-on activities available for your kids to maximize their fun in the fresh air.
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