Outdoors
For the park, the garden, the walk to the shop. Some are things to do outside; others are simply ways to notice more of what is already there.
71 activities
By age
71 ideas
Face to Face
Hold your baby about a forearm's distance away and let them study your face. Slowly stick out your tongue or open your mouth wide, then wait.
0 mo – 4 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Tell Them What's Happening
While you change or dress your baby, say what you are doing in simple words. "Now the left arm. Now we're all done."
0 mo – 12 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
The Same Song Each Time
Pick one short song and sing it at the same moment each day — before the bath, or while getting dressed. Repetition is the point.
0 mo – 18 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Hello, Hands
Bring your baby's hands gently together where they can see them, and let them look. Name them: "these are your hands."
5 mo – 8 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Say Something, Then Wait
Say one short thing to your baby, then stay quiet and count slowly to five. Often a sound, a look or a small movement comes back.
1 mo – 12 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Sway Together
Hold your baby close and sway slowly from side to side, humming whatever comes to mind.
0 mo – 12 mo · 5 min · Anywhere · Gentle · No materials
Low Voice, High Voice
Say the same short phrase twice — once in a low voice, once in a high one — and see which your baby prefers.
1 mo – 12 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
After the Feed
When your baby is full and calm, hold them upright where they can see your face and tell them what the two of you are doing next. A minute or two is enough.
0 mo – 12 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Where Did It Go?
Hide your face behind a light cloth, wait a beat, then come back with a smile. Let your baby pull the cloth away when they start reaching for it.
4 mo – 18 mo · 5 min · Anywhere · Gentle
Clap, Then Wait
Clap twice, then stop and look at your baby. If they move, wiggle or make a sound, treat it as their turn and clap back.
5 mo – 20 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Gentle · No materials
This One or That One?
Hold up two safe objects and let your baby look at or reach for one. Whatever they choose, name it and give it to them.
5 mo – 2 yr · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm
Look What I Found
On a walk, stop and point at one thing — a tree, a cat, a bus. Say its name once and give your baby time to look.
4 mo – 2 yr · 5 min · Outdoors · Calm · No materials
Just One Page
Open a picture book on any page and talk about one picture. Stopping after a page is a complete success.
4 mo – 3 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm
One Minute Outside
On an ordinary trip out, stop for a moment and stay still. Let your baby hear whatever is there — traffic, birds, wind — and say what you can hear.
0 mo – 12 mo · 2 min · Outdoors · Calm · No materials
Moving on the Grass
If your child is already moving about, let them crawl or walk on grass or a soft uneven surface. It is slower and stranger than the floor at home, and that is the interesting part.
8 mo – 2 yr · 10 min · Outdoors · Active · No materials
You're the Leader
For a moment, copy the movements your child makes. Then make one movement yourself and see whether they want to copy you.
12 mo – 3 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Gentle · No materials
Kick It Back
Stand a few steps apart and take turns kicking a soft ball to each other. Cheer the attempt, not the accuracy.
18 mo – 5 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Active
Keep the Story Going
Start with: "Today we found a tiny elephant in the kitchen…" Each person adds one part of the story.
2 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Hello, Who's Calling?
Hold a block or a banana to your ear and have a short pretend phone call. Pass it to your child and answer them back.
16 mo – 3 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm
Walk Like a Bear
Cross the room as a bear, then a cat, then a bird. Let your child choose the next animal.
20 mo – 5 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Active · No materials
You Carry This One
Give your child one light item to hold while you shop or unpack, and let them put it in the bag or on the shelf.
18 mo – 2 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm
Find Something Red
Choose a colour and take turns finding things around you in that colour. Three finds is a full game.
2 yr – 3 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
What Was That Sound?
Stop and listen together for a moment, then name one sound each. A car, a bird, the fridge.
22 mo – 6 yr · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
One Word, Right Then
When your child is happy, sad or angry about something, name it with one feeling word in the moment: 'happy', 'sad', 'angry'. Then carry on; they do not need to answer.
13 mo – 2 yr · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Who Knows Who?
Take turns asking easy questions about each other: favourite food, favourite colour, funniest moment.
3 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Count as We Go
Count the steps out loud together as you climb the stairs. Whatever number you reach is the right one.
2 yr – 3 yr · 2 min · Anywhere · Gentle · No materials
Twenty Questions, Small Version
Think of an animal and let your child ask yes-or-no questions until they guess it. Three questions is plenty at first.
3 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
The Best Bit of Today
Each say one good moment from today. Small moments count as much as big ones.
3 yr – 6 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Whose Plane Goes Further?
Fold two simple paper planes and throw them from the same spot. Try again with one small change.
3 yr – 6 yr · 15 min · Anywhere · Gentle
You Make the Rule
Pick a simple game you already play and let your child add one new rule — "only whispering" or "clap when you find it". Play one round with it, then they can change the rule again.
4 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Gentle · No materials
Name What You See
When your baby frowns, yawns or brightens, say what you notice: "you look tired", "that made you happy".
0 mo – 12 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Slow Blinks
Hold your baby's gaze and blink slowly a few times. Watch whether they settle or blink back.
5 mo – 8 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Hold On Tight
Offer your finger for your baby to grip, and talk to them quietly while they hold on. Let them be the one who lets go.
0 mo – 8 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
That Crinkly Sound
Scrunch a clean sheet of paper near your baby, then hand it over and let them try to make the sound themselves.
4 mo – 12 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm
Up and Down, Slowly
Hold your baby securely and lift them slowly up and gently back down, saying "up" and "down" as you go.
3 mo – 15 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Gentle · No materials
Say It Back
When your baby makes a sound, make the same one back. Then add one small change and see whether they follow.
3 mo – 18 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Watch the Branches Move
Sit or stand where your baby can see a tree or a hanging line. Say nothing for a while and let them watch it move.
2 mo – 18 mo · 5 min · Outdoors · Calm · No materials
Humming, Held Close
Hold your baby against your chest and hum one low, slow tune. They feel it as much as they hear it.
0 mo – 6 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Puddle Stomping
Put on boots and jump in a puddle together. Count the jumps out loud if your child enjoys that.
20 mo – 6 yr · 10 min · Outdoors · Active · No materials
Slowly, Then Quickly
Walk across the room as slowly as you both can, then as quickly as is safe. Let your child call which one is next.
18 mo – 2 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Active · No materials
The Toy Asks a Question
Give a soft toy a voice and let it ask your child one thing — what shall we do, or what is that. Answer as yourself.
20 mo – 3 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm
One Song, Two Actions
Pick a song you both know and give it two hand actions — a clap and a wave. Do the same two every time you sing it.
14 mo – 3 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Gentle · No materials
And Then We…
Start telling something you do every day — "and then we put on our…" — and stop there. Let your child finish it with a word, a sound or a movement.
13 mo – 2 yr · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
I Spy Something…
Take turns describing something you can both see without naming it, until the other person guesses.
3 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Count Five Things Outside
On a walk, agree what you are counting — trees, red cars, birds — and count until you reach five.
2 yr – 4 yr · 10 min · Outdoors · Gentle · No materials
The Slowest Race
Race across the room to see who can move the slowest without stopping. The last one there wins.
3 yr – 6 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Gentle · No materials
Wait for a Bird
Sit by a window or outside and wait quietly until you both see a bird. Then describe it to each other.
3 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Copy My Rhythm
Clap a short pattern and let your child copy it. Then let them set one and you copy — theirs is allowed to be impossible.
20 mo – 6 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Gentle · No materials
You Are In Charge of One Thing
On a short errand you are doing anyway, give your child one job for the whole trip — carrying the bag, or remembering what you came for.
2 yr – 6 yr · 15 min · Outdoors · Gentle · No materials
Today I Feel…
Name your own feeling first: 'I'm happy today', 'a little sad', 'a little angry'. Then invite your child to choose a word for theirs if they want. One word is enough; they do not need to explain why.
3 yr – 6 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
You Know What Comes Next
Open a book your child knows well and stop just before a line they can finish. Wait, and let them say it.
3 yr – 4 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm
How Does That Feel?
Outside, let your baby put a hand on grass, a wall or a smooth stone. Name what it feels like and let them decide how long.
7 mo – 2 yr · 5 min · Outdoors · Calm · No materials
Hello, Feet
Press your thumb gently along the sole of each foot and name them out loud. Stop the moment they pull away.
0 mo – 4 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Your Hand on My Cheek
Rest your baby's hand gently against your cheek or jaw and keep talking. Their hand does not need to be open; let them feel the movement as you speak. Stop when they pull away.
0 mo – 6 mo · 2 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Chase Your Shadow
On a sunny day, find your shadows and try to make them wave, jump or grow taller.
2 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Outdoors · Gentle · No materials
Catch the Bubbles
Blow bubbles and let your child chase and pop them. Blow them low and slow for younger children.
14 mo – 5 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Active
Tap the Beat on Your Knees
Sing or play a song you both like and tap the beat on your knees. Let your child tap wherever they like, at whatever speed.
16 mo – 3 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Gentle · No materials
What Happens Next?
Stop halfway through a familiar story and ask your child what happens next. Follow their version, even if it is new.
3 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Sing It Wrong on Purpose
Sing a song your child knows but change one word to something silly. Wait for them to correct you.
2 yr – 6 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Say It How I Say It
Say one everyday word in a whisper, then very slowly, then in a sing-song. Let your child copy each one and then choose the next way.
2 yr – 4 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
Number Spotter
Pick a number — say 3 — and call it out wherever you spot it: a door number, a bus, a price tag. Finding three of something counts too.
4 yr – 6 yr · 5 min · Anywhere · Calm · No materials
You Tell the Story
Open a picture book together and let your child tell you the story from the pictures this time. It does not have to match the words on the page.
4 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Calm
Watch the World Go By
Sit on a bench or a step outside and watch what passes — people, cars, a dog. Say what you see and let your child pick the next thing to watch.
12 mo – 4 yr · 5 min · Outdoors · Calm · No materials
One Thing From Outside
On a walk, let your child choose one safe natural thing to bring home — a leaf, a stone — and put it somewhere special.
20 mo – 6 yr · 10 min · Outdoors · Calm · No materials
Dance Your Name
Clap out the beats in each person's name, then invent a small movement for each beat.
3 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Gentle · No materials
Only When I Say It Twice
Give simple actions — hands up, turn around — but only do them when you say it twice. Getting caught out is the joke, not a mistake.
3 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Anywhere · Gentle · No materials
Three Stops on the Way
On a walk you are taking anyway, stop three times. Each time, look at one thing properly and say what you notice about it.
2 yr – 3 yr · 10 min · Outdoors · Calm · No materials
Dig and See
Find a patch of soil outside and dig a small hole together. Look at what you find, then fill it back in.
2 yr – 6 yr · 15 min · Outdoors · Gentle
Run to the Tree and Back
In an open space, pick something to run to and back from. Let your child choose the target and start you both off.
2 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Outdoors · Active · No materials
Along the Low Wall
Find a low wall, kerb or log and walk along it holding your hand. Let your child set the pace and get down whenever they want.
2 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Outdoors · Active · No materials
How Far Can You Jump?
Outside, mark a starting line with a stick or a shoe and jump forward from it. Mark where you land and take turns trying again.
3 yr – 6 yr · 10 min · Outdoors · Active · No materials