Published June 1, 2026
Summer is here, which means long, sunny days that are perfect for adventures! With so much free time in your kids’ schedules, though, you might be wondering what all activities they can get up to that don’t involve sitting around inside or staring at screens. Fortunately, we have a whole list of outdoor activities to try that all require zero to minimal equipment—perfect for a fun summer day for your kids or for the whole family!
Activities to Try With No Equipment Needed
Some of the most fun outdoor summer activities actually require zero materials, other than what can be found in nature. For kids looking for some solo activities outside, they can try the following:
- Bird or animal watching – How many different types of birds or animals can they see or hear from their spot outside?
- Leaf or rock collecting – We’ve all gotten excited about a cool-shaped rock or a beautifully colored leaf in the past. See how many your kid can collect in an afternoon.
- Make daisy chains – If you know a yard or a field with daisies or dandelion flowers, your child can pick them and tie the stems together to make necklaces, crowns, bracelets, and other accessories.
- Hunt for four-leaf clovers – If you see a large patch of clover, take your child on the hunt for ones with four leaves. If they find one of these rare four-leaf clovers, have them keep it as a good-luck charm!
- Look for bugs – Even in a city, you can find bugs working hard to spin their webs, gather food for their colony, or simply enjoy the cool dirt under a rock. See how many bugs your kid can spot!
- Climb a tree – A classic summer activity for kids of all generations. Best for older kids or with adult supervision.
- Make art with the dirt – If your child finds a stick and a patch of dirt, then they have a canvas and a paintbrush to make masterpieces.
If you have several children looking to spend the day outside, here’s a variety of games they can play with no equipment needed:
- I Spy – A classic car trip game, kids can also play this outside. Kids take turns picking objects for the others to identify and give clues by saying, “I spy with my little eye something [a one-word description, like ‘yellow’].”
- Red Light, Green Light – Great to help kids build their listening skills, one person will call out directions while the others will stand farther away at a predetermined start line. When the direction-giver calls out “green light,” everyone has to run forward. When the direction-giver calls out “red light,” everyone has to stop. Anyone who’s still moving after “red light” is called out has to go back to the start line.
- Simon Says – One person will be “Simon” and will call out instructions by saying, “Simon says [action, like ‘pat your head’].” Everyone will then have to do that action until Simon gives a different direction, like “Simon says stop” or “Simon says jump on one leg.” Simon will also try to trip people up by calling out instructions without saying “Simon says,” at the beginning, and if anyone does that action, they will be out.
- Duck, Duck, Goose – Have everyone sit in a circle with one person standing up. That person will walk around the circle and tap people on the head while saying either “Duck” or “Goose.” If someone is labeled “Duck,” then they stay sitting. But when someone is labeled “Goose,” they have to get up and chase the standing person around the circle. If the standing person can run around the circle and sit in the Goose’s spot before they catch them, then the Goose now has to walk around the circle and tap people on the head. If the Goose catches them, though, the Goose gets their seat back and the original person standing continues to walk around the circle and try again.
- Hide and Seek – Another classic game, have your kids identify an area with boundaries (like a yard), then have one person count to 100 while everyone else hides within that area. Once the person is done counting, they go and try to find where everyone is hiding.
- Sardines – A twist on hide and seek, but instead of one person counting and everyone else hiding, one person hides and everyone else counts. As people find the person hiding, they hide with that person, so that eventually, only one person is left seeking while everyone else is hiding.
- Tag – Perfect for wide open spaces, one person is “it” and chases the others until they finally touch, or “tag,” someone. Then that person becomes “it” and chases the others until they “tag” someone else.
- Ninja – A game that tests coordination and results in lots of laughs, everyone forms a circle and freezes in a “ninja” pose. Then, one by one around the circle, players have one chance to move their body to try and touch the hand of someone next to them before they have to freeze in that new pose until their next turn. The person whose hand is about to be touched also gets one chance to move their body to avoid being touched before they also have to freeze in their new pose. If someone’s hand is touched, they’re out, and the game continues until there’s one person left.
Activities to Try That Require Minimal Equipment
While it’s possible to spend a whole day without any materials, sometimes having one or two things can help add a little extra variety. Here are a few things your kids can try out, either solo or with others, that only require one or two extra pieces of equipment:
- Making sidewalk art – Where there’s chalk and a sidewalk, there’s art. Give your kid a fresh batch of chalk and let them go wild—have them leave no spot of sidewalk untouched.
- Playing hopscotch or making an obstacle course – Your child can also take that same sidewalk chalk and make a game of hopscotch or a sidewalk obstacle course for them, their friends, and passersby to try out.
- Hula hooping – If you have a hula hoop, this can lead to hours of fun. Once your child can spin the hula hoop around their waist, see where else they can spin it—around their neck? Around their wrist? Around their feet?
- Jumping rope – A jump rope can be a great solo or group activity. Solo, your kid can see how fast they can jump or how many tricks they can learn, while with others, they can learn the art of jumping in while the rope is spinning—and, once they’ve nailed that, they can learn the art of double dutch.
- Blowing bubbles – Simple and deeply satisfying, give your child a bottle of bubbles for a zen afternoon.
- Making crayon rubbings – There are many interesting textures found in nature and with the help of crayons and paper, your child can capture them! Just have them put a piece of paper on top of the texture they like (leaves, flowers, interesting cracks in the pavement, for example) and rub the side of a crayon on top until they’ve captured the likeness.
- Pressing leaves and flowers – If your child wants to keep a leaf or a flower that they like, place it between two pieces of paper (or between the halves of one folded piece of paper) and then put heavy books on top of the paper. After a few days, the leaf or flower should be nice and flat and perfect for your child to display.
- Making shadow drawings from outside objects – Help your child expand their imagination by having them take something they find from outside (like an acorn or a blade of grass) and putting it on a piece of paper. Shine a light on the object from one side so that it makes a shadow on the paper, then see what all new shapes and objects your child can draw using the outline of the shadow. This practice is inspired by the art of Vincent Bal—you can check out his shadow drawings here.
- Reading outside – There’s nothing more serene than taking a good book outdoors. Encourage your child to find a comfy spot outside where they can curl up with their favorite story.
- Flying paper airplanes – What type of paper airplane flies the farthest? Now your child can find out! With a stack of paper and some instructions from the internet, they can make their own airplanes and test them out to see which one reigns supreme.
- Playing sports – There are many sports that don’t require much to play. Take soccer and basketball, for example—kids can practice dribbling the ball or passing it to each other, or if they’re near a goal, they can play pick-up games or practice shooting goals. Frisbees and volleyballs are perfect for casually passing around, too.
This summer, help your child make the most of their time outside by trying out some of the activities from this list. You can also encourage them to come up with their own games or pretend worlds, too—just be sure to take part in them if your kid asks you to. Because when it comes to playing outside, it doesn’t need a lot of objects and set-up in order to be fun!
Tags: fun outside, outdoor activities, summer fun