As soon as the weather is decent, we find ourselves spending majority of our days outside in the backyard. After a long, cold winter, the kids are always beyond excited to run around the backyard and play with the outside toys. Being a daycare provider, it should be of no surprise that we have a lot of different toys around our yard. Here are some of our favorites we play with, broken down by age ranges.
1.) Soccer and Other Sports Set. I love
multi-sports set and giving the kids lessons on how to play each sport.
2.) Golf Set. I highly recommend explaining
(and re-explaining) how to nicely swing the golf club and hit the ball.
3.) Bounce House. I was very hesitant about
this toy, but it's a favorite of most of the kids. Complete supervision is
required at all times, but a lot less dangerous that I had imagined.
4.) Swing set. I was actually completely against
getting this, however it was a great buy and the kids love it!
5.) Bow and Arrow. My six year old loved
trying to shoot and aim at the target. Great hand eye coordination activity for
older kids.
6.) Slip n' Slide. It may ruin your yard
completely. Our rather shaded backyard is still destroyed from last summer's 4
hours of Slip n' Slide fun, but it's so worth it.
7.) Stomp Rocket. Be prepared to climb up on the
roof or hop the neighbor's fence, but it's also a great way to teach about
gravity....and who doesn't love stomping on something as hard as they can?
8.) Nerf Guns. I definitely recommend paying
attention to the manufacturers recommended ages on these, but when used
appropriately, can be way fun. Last summer, my oldest and a few neighborhood
friends had a game of Nerf Gun Tag going.
9.) Water Guns. These are a lot of fun on a hot
summer day. The kids love playing a game of Water Gun Tag in the yard.
10.) Hopper Balls. The kids love to have races
across the yard.
11.) Rock Climber. This is massive, but great if
you have a kid who likes to climb.
12.) Kick Ball Set. Another great activity to
strength hand (or in this case feet) eye coordination in older kids. It's also
hilarious to watch them figure out how to kick the ball and then remember to
run the bases.
13.) Bean Bag Toss. Kids younger than 3 have
thoroughly enjoyed this game too, but kids 3+ years really enjoy challenging
each other to games and seeing how far they can toss the bags.
14.) Badminton Set. Yet another good game for hand
eye coordination, plus the kids love it.
A Buying Tip or Two:
·
Love
these ideas but don't want to spend the money to get a "fun"
backyard? Check out your local Craigslist or buy/sell swap sights on Facebook.
All of these outside toys hold up well and are great second hand purchases!
·
Toys
R Us, K-mart, and Target will be running spring toy sales in the coming
weeks, which means a lot of these items will be on sale for nearly half of the
original price. Be sure to check online prices as well for any deals.
To read more gift giving
and summer toy recommendations, check out our favorites for 0-18 Months and 18 Months-3 years!