Looking for summer activities for toddlers?
This is the summer activities for toddlers list is what you need.
Toddlers love to be busy, and you’ve stumbled upon a great part of the web for kid activity ideas. I have created, searched, and found the most fun ideas for your toddler summer activity list!
This summer, children of all ages will be playing at home.
So let’s get the best list of summer activities to help engage creativity and inspire play in our toddlers and big kids alike.
RELATED: Want easy ideas for your kids at home? You will love our activity cards.
What can I do with my toddler this summer?
Great summer activities for toddlers inspire movement, explore texture, and encourage creativity.
Toddlers need experiences that allow them to learn information about the world around them. – We also made this roundup of 40+ Toddler Activities.
Outdoor activities for toddlers improve:
- Self-knowledge
- Self-regulation
- Self-esteem
- Self-expression through the arts
- Social development
- Gross-motor skills
- Fine-motor skills
- Hand-eye coordination
- Cognitive learning and development
- AND THE BIG ONE…TO HAVE FUN!
RELATED: Our toys for toddlers list is also kept open-ended and simple!
First off, we share these activities with young children so they have a chance to develop a play schema. – a fancy way of saying the more children have an opportunity to repeat the same play ideas, the more connections they will make.
Since you now understand WHY I picked the toddler activities, let’s get started!
RELATED: This is a great educational article to help explain play schemas.
30 Summer Activities for Toddlers
To keep this list of summer activities for toddlers easy to navigate, I broke it down into three outdoor categories:
- Arts and Crafts
- Water and Ice Play
- Summer Games and Easy Ideas
RELATED: Summer activities pair well with our list of Water Games for Kids!
Outdoor Arts & Crafts for toddlers
Toddlers love to do art outdoors! If you are just getting started, here is our guide on how to paint with kids.
- Book Craft The Watermelon Seed – Days with Grey
- Magic Chalk Paint – Days with Grey
- DIY Chalk Paint – The Best Ideas for Kids
- Paint the Sticks – Days with Grey
- Rainbow Sea Shells – Mama in the Now
- Easy Finger Paint Ideas – Hello Wonderful
- Toddler Fish Art – Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds
- Spray Art for Toddlers – Toddler Approved
- Tissue Paper Sun Catchers – Kids Crafts Room
- Graffiti Art for Kids – Playground Park Bench
RELATED: Taking a summer road trip? You’ll want to read our summer road trip tips!
Summer Water and Ice Toddler Play
Water games and water tables are a blast with toddlers! Endless amounts of playtime. Stay close to supervise and keep the water level low.
RELATED: 35 Winning Water Games for Kids!
- Water play and ice activities are great to enhance sensory play. If you are looking to start sensory play and unsure where to begin, start with how to start sensory play.
- Scoop the Limes – Days with Grey
- Bear Soup – Days with Grey
- Easy Ice Grab – Happily Ever Mom
- Summer Fun Colored Ice Play – Mama Papa Bubba
- Squirt the Numbers – Days with Grey
- Ocean Summer Sensory Bin – Days with Grey
- Nature Soup – Happily Ever Mom
- Pom Pom Water Play – Busy Toddler
- Jello Wash Dragons Love Tacos – Days with Grey
- Splash the Alphabet – Days with Grey
- How to Freeze Paint – Busy Toddler
- Ice Boat Racing – Toddler Approved
- Colored Ice Play – Crayons and Cravings
- Muddy Water Messy Play – Days with Grey
Summer Games & Easy Ideas
- Outdoor Name Maze – Happily Ever Mom
- Musical Color Hunt – Days with Grey
- Beach and Ocean Sensory Squish – Fun Fantastic Learning
- Sticky Scavenger Hunt – Little Pine Learners
- Giant Bubble Recipe – Red Ted Art
- Outdoor Maze Walk – Days with Grey
- Jello Sensory Play – The Mom Friend
- Alphabet Stones – Little Pine Learners
- Movement Cube – Days with Grey
- Shaving Cream Block Play – Days with Grey (older toddlers)
- Run and Sort – Days with Grey
- Sweet and Tasty Sensory Play – Days with Grey
- Dry Noodle Sensory Outdoor Sensory Play – Days with Grey
- Home Made Bubble Wands – Messy Little Monster
With summer around the corner, your toddler is now ready to play all day!
These are some really interesting and fun backyard activity ideas for kids. You have explained them so well and these games would also help them to develop skills as they grow. Thanks for sharing!