Getting outside with kids in autumn: 30 activities

In this blog, Kari - De Groene Mama - shares 30 outdoor activities for autumn with the children. Read on to find out more!

Playing outside is so important for children. They get fresh air, vitamin D from the sun, can move around, discover things, get dirty and marvel at nature. That sense of wonder and awe for nature is important, especially for the generation of children we are raising. After all, they are the generation that will have to pay the price for years of environmental abuse. By raising nature lovers, environmentally conscious living is instilled from an early age.

In my experience, “just going outside” is enough in most cases. For many children, being outside is wonderful. Some children lose that feeling a little as they get older, but when you see a toddler sitting on a lawn picking a flower and smiling at an ant, you understand how the world should be. If you need some inspiration or have lost touch with nature a little, here are 30 wonderful outdoor activities to do with children!

Outdoor activities with children

• Go outside together with pencils and a sketchbook, look for beautiful plants, trees or the last flowers and draw them.
• Do you know anyone with a vegetable garden? Ask if you can help with the gardening. If you don't know anyone, see if you know anyone through friends or ask around at a vegetable garden in your neighbourhood.
• Grab your scooter and whizz around the neighbourhood
• Go for a bike ride together. Pack a bag with food and drinks and turn it into an adventure.
• Grab a box of chalk and decorate the pavement in front of your house. Make a beautiful drawing, a hopscotch court or a twister game.
• Use a magnifying glass to examine small flowers, seeds, acorns and insects.
• Take children's binoculars to spot birds in the park or forest. You could download a bird app so you can find out what the birds are called.
• Take an evening walk together under the full moon
• Take an evening walk together to study the stars and the moon. Bring a children's torch to study flowers and stones in the dark along the way.
• Create your own children's garden in your back garden. Plant bulbs and plants and let your child take charge of the garden.
• Go and play football together in the park.
• Set out a course for your children in the park. Let them climb and jump over things, lay down a skipping rope, let them run back and forth between two objects, hang from something, climb under something, hop a little, walk sideways: make it fun!
• Put on some good rain gear and go outside during or after a downpour, find all the puddles and stomp in them with gusto.
• Find a stream or ditch together and go “fishing” with a stick.
• Teach your child to rollerblade, hula hoop or skateboard.
• Start geocaching.
• Go to the forest together, walk around a bit and then have a cup of tea.
• Go to the beach together. Take a ball, a kite or some shovels with you. And also a bucket for shells and other treasures.
• Build a hut together with sticks.
• Find a new playground, in the city or in another village.
• Have a nice picnic in the park: dress warmly and bring a woollen blanket and hot tea.
• Sign up for boot camp with children together.
• Set up a treasure hunt for your children and their friends. It doesn't have to be big or spectacular. Just the fact that they have to search for clues and that there is lemonade and biscuits at the end is enough. And okay, a treasure chest with pretty stones in it is also very cool.
• Fill cola bottles with water, take a ball outside and try to knock each other's cola bottles over. If your bottle falls over, you must first pick up the ball before you can put the bottle back upright. If your bottle is empty, you lose.
• Play badminton or beach ball together.
• Make a nice mud bath or witch's soup in the garden. Throw a few shovelfuls of sand into a tub of water so your children can play with water and mud.
• Find the most beautiful stones outside. Arrange them nicely in the soil in your garden or take them inside, rinse them and paint them.
• Collect seasonal treasures – such as autumn leaves, acorns, chestnuts or pretty flowers – and use them to make a beautiful seasonal table or collage at home.
• Go to the zoo or a farm that is open to the public, such as 't Geertje.
• Find a nature playground and put on some good rainwear

It helps enormously if you have good rainwear for your children and yourself. This removes a major obstacle, especially since the weather in the Netherlands is often miserable. In principle, rain, wind and cold should not be a problem for children: they play through it. But walking or cycling home with a soaking wet child is no fun and also dangerous, because they can get sick. So invest in a good rain suit [trousers and jacket or onesie] and good rain boots. Also bring an extra pair of gloves and a hat in case they get wet. Make sure you can wrap yourself up well and stay dry, so you don't catch pneumonia in the woods while trying to help your child discover whether you are looking at a bluethroat or a barn swallow through your binoculars.