I’ve found that having the right outdoor toddler activities at home can lead to hours of fun so us busy toddler parents can sit for a while! Here are our favorite outdoor activities for my twins and singleton when they were toddlers and beyond.
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Summer Toys for Kids
Water Table
Children LOVE water play! A water table is one the most engaging activities I’ve found my toddlers to love! Beyond just playing with water, it’s a sensory experience that can help little kids develop their fine motor skills and problem-solving skills by seeing cause and effect of water flowing through different toys.
The first water table we got our oldest was a $5 used water table off of Facebook Marketplace. It was one of our best purchases at that time as it amused our son for longer than anything else we’d tried!
Over the years, we upgraded that basic water table to nicer versions with funnels, different areas to play in, water falls and more!
If you’re just starting out and get a used one like I did, you can always just give your toddler some plastic bowls, measuring cups, plastic cups, and things like that to play with in the water table if you don’t want to buy water table toys at first.
There are a lot of water tables out there, some more durable than others. The ones below are sturdy and strong. Our 3 boys are rough on things and these have lasted us years and haven’t wavered at all.
We LOVE the water table below, it is so much fun! The top part has holes in it to slowly rain onto the bottom part and then it also has areas where it goes down the wall in different fun ways depending on how your children set it up. It’s been such a fun table to have! It works great with more than one kid as well which is a HUGE bonus!
Water Table Safety
Be sure that you always are with your toddler when they play with water. You want to make sure they don’t drown, even in a water table they could put their face in it and drown as odd as that seems. You also want to make sure that they don’t drink the water as it could make them sick, especially if you don’t refill the water everyday and/or clean the water table with soap regularly (we don’t, don’t feel bad if you don’t, just don’t let them drink out of it).
Water Discovery Wall
If you don’t have the space for a water table or want something a little different, check out this water wall. It has so many different items on each side including funnels, waterfalls, scoops, and more! It’s two sided so perfect for twins or siblings. It comes with 13 accessories and you can always buy more from the Step2 Store for even more endless fun!
The product description says for ages 18 months to 72 months but our kids still love it at 6 years old. Our son actually got it for his birthday when he was 6 and we’ve all enjoyed it ever since. I even think it’s pretty cool.
Kiddie Pool
The great thing about a blow-up pool is you don’t have to store a huge plastic one in your garage at all times. You can just deflate it when you’re done using it. Be sure though that you put it where you want it before you fill it up with water, they’re basically impossible to move once they have water in them!
We have this one and the kids love it! Even with just a few inches of water up to a foot of water, they are quite entertained! Up here in Minnesota, we’ve had an unseasonably warm summer so far with weeks in a row of 90s with high humidity. A pool is very much needed right now!
For toddlers, I’d just fill it with about 4 inches or so of water so they can splash around and play but not slip and drown. Still, keep an eye on them at all times while they’re in the kiddie pool.
We found that to inflate the pool we used the exhaust function of our small Shop-Vac. Apparently, there is even a special attachment for this if desired.
Diving Toys
Even if your kids don’t swim yet, my littles have proven these can still be a lot of fun. We have a small blow-up pool, like the ones above, that we filled with just a few inches of water. The kids LOVE throwing these into the water and retrieving them. There are enough toys in here for multiple children.
These could also be used in a water table or just a bin of water, really. It’s amazing how easily kids are occupied and entertained by ANYTHING in water.
Sand Table
Sand tables can keep kids entertained for HOURS! We have two sand tables and have found that even the most basic sand table, shovel, and pail can provide so much entertainment for kids and great sensory play.
Honestly, there aren’t a lot of sand tables available on Amazon.com right now. They tend to get sold out every year. We got both of our sand tables off of Facebook Marketplace in years past or buy and sell groups on Facebook. I highly recommend checking these out. It’s one of those products that they are amazing while the kids play with them but once they’re old enough to not anymore, you just want to get rid of them so people tend to price them low.
One of our sand tables is like the one below, but like I said, they’re hard to come by unless second-hand. We have sand on both “sides” instead of water in one and sand in the other. Keeps things less muddy that way.
We have considered getting a sandbox for the kids but the thought of them sitting in sand, other than going to the beach once in a while, seems like a huge mess I don’t want to deal with on a daily basis. However, if you are so inclined to get a sandbox, here is an option we’ve considered.
This sandbox is awesome because it has built-in benches and closes when the kids aren’t using it so you don’t have to worry about stray cats using it as a litter box or leaves getting into it.
Sand Toys
Of course, you need to have sand toys to go with the sand table! There are always the basic pails and shovels but don’t forget about dump trucks and sand molds. You can also use more creative ways to get toys for your child’s sensory play such as using old plastic cups or measuring scoops. Using items that aren’t toys can help develop your young toddler’s imaginative play!
These sand toys are back to basics but I’ve found that each kid seems to require their own pail and shovel so this would be a good set if you have multiple children.
Splash Pad
Admittedly I bought a splash pad as an impulse purchase while it was on sale last year but wow it has proven to provide a lot of cool entertainment for the kids! It sprays water at varying levels depending on how strong you have the flow of your hose, and the water can pool slightly so you get the splashing effect as well.
As you can see from the picture below of my children, we had the water at a pretty low level so it wasn’t taller than them. This is when they first were getting comfortable with it. Soon our 5 year old had turned up the water and they were all enjoying the water shooting above overhead!
Unfortunately, the one pictured below is not currently available but I’ve linked another one below that also looks like a lot of fun!
Sidewalk Chalk
A great way to help develop your toddler’s fine motor skills and creativity is to get some sidewalk chalk for them and let them draw to their heart’s content! Our kids love sidewalk chalk on our driveway to draw shapes, roads for their Cozy Coupes to travel on, and more. When they were younger, I used sidewalk chalk to help them learn different colors, numbers, shapes, and letters by drawing them on the driveway and teaching them. Later, I’d draw them and just ask them what I drew. It’s a perfect way to incorporate learning and cognitive development into your outdoor experiences.
Local Park
If you’d like to venture past your yard, going to a local park to play is a great way to get fresh air, have a new place to explore, and enjoy the great outdoors!
We’re lucky to have a neighborhood park just a couple of blocks away that we visit often. However, sadly, it will be demolished sometime soon. There are plenty of other local parks around that my kids love, we’ll just have to travel a bit further.
Going to a local park with your toddler or toddlers is a great new way to meet other local families, make some new friends, and get some social interaction!
While at the local park there might be an obstacle course your young toddler can use with your help to increase physical activity overall.
If you aren’t sure where the parks are around you, check out the Park Finder linked below.
Explore a Nature Preserve
A great way to get toddlers out in the fresh air and explore the natural world around them is to head to a nature preserve! Being in one’s natural environment is a good way for young children to enhance their overall development by playing with natural materials all around them.
Free play is so important and is great to explore within a nature preserve, or really anywhere. While on a nature walk you could challenge your toddler to a nature scavenger hunt asking them to find common things found in nature such as leaves, bugs, flowers, sticks, and more.
Nature preserves are a great outdoor space to let your children explore!
Bring along a picnic blanket for a picnic lunch to make it even more special!
Even older children like nature preserves, our kids still love them at ages 6 and 8.
Headed to the Beach?
Click the image below to read my blog post about my favorite family beach day necessities!!
What are your kids’ favorites toys for outside?
As a mom of identical twins and a son two years older, I have gained invaluable experience in the realm, and chaos, of parenting. With a Master's Degree and Education Specialist Degree in School Psychology, I spent years as a school psychologist, helping children navigate through their educational and emotional challenges. Now as a stay at home mom and professional blogger, I combine my areas of expertise to help you in your parenting journey.