I am SO excited to have Erin Ziering, the founder and writer behind At Home with the Zierings, guest blogging at The Cuteness today. Erin and her husband Ian launched their new blog as an outlet to share how they create magic and memories as a family through creative projects and adventures. Erin and I met through Instagram when we both hosted an Instagram takeover for @ClubMomme and we’ve been friends ever since, collaborating on cute dresses for her beautiful girls, including these custom dresses for their birthday party. Today, Erin is sharing is sharing fun Summer outdoor activities you can do with your kids. Enjoy, and happy Monday!

Fun Summer Outdoor Activities for Kids

We love playing at home. Unfortunately, our backyard doesn’t have any fun structures or a pool that give my girls a easy outlet for fun. We have learned to get creative to pass the time!  My two little girls spend most of their time together at home. They love being creative and imagining they are on adventures. Sometimes they are Peter Pan and Tinkerbell hiding from the pirates, other times they are spies going through booby traps. When these activities start to lose their interest, here are our favorite outdoor fun activities to keep them having fun:

1. Throw a backyard picnic. We love to take our lunch to the yard.  The kids love to help. They set up a blanket and help to gather their favorite snacks while I prepare the food. They usually are more willing to try new foods when they are outside having a picnic too. It feels like an adventure to them so they get adventurous with their food!  They can even help clean up and it is a great way to start teaching them how to fold a blanket.

2. Play hop scotch. This is such a fun activity even for the youngest of walkers. Following a pattern, looking at the shapes (sometimes I change it up) is a great lesson for the little ones. Even if they don’t truly follow along, hopping and jumping is also a great workout for mommy! It is a reason to get up and move. It is a great way to connect and give them a good laugh while you try your best at hopping. I also love to have the kids help me draw the squares in chalk and write in the numbers. It is a great learning tool for the toddlers!

3. Be nature explorers. This one is so simple. I grew up on a farm. I remember my mother sending me and my brother off in the morning with a sacked lunch and told to go explore the farm. Our backyard today is really small. We live in the city, but there is still so much to explore. There are snails, ants and birds all around. Sometimes the girls get lucky and find a ladybug or a butterfly visiting a flower. It is so cute to see them quietly tip toeing around to hear the birds and sneak up on the bugs.

4. Use nature to your advantage. Using nature in arts and crafts is very important to me. We waste so much in art supplies and paper just to keep them busy every day. There are so many great things sitting in your back yard to turn into a craft project. You can paint pine cones and rocks. You can even create your own paint out of old berries or cherries from your refrigerator. Allowing them to pick what they want to use can be really fun and creative. I always learn so much about my children’s interests while letting them pick their own things. It can lead to some great conversations!

I hope these simple activities can give you a little bit of peace during these long summer days in the backyard!

Make sure to follow their adventures at their blog and on Instagram!