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[Active Outdoors!] A roundup of garden games you can enjoy with your kids
With more time spent at home and the growing popularity of DIY, there are more chances to play in the backyard!
Still, many people may be unsure what kind of games you can play or what you need to prepare when it comes to backyard fun.
In this article, we’ll introduce popular backyard activities recommended for kids!
From games that require store-bought tools to ones where you make the tools yourself, these activities all make the most of your home garden.
If kids only play indoors, they can become inactive and lose stamina—which isn’t good.
Even if you can’t go far, let’s get moving and play to the fullest in your own backyard!
[Get Active Outdoors!] A roundup of garden games to enjoy with your kids (1–10)
inflatable pool
You might want to go to the pool, but there are lots of reasons it’s not so easy—it’s far, it’s probably crowded, and so on.
So why not splurge a little and get your very own pool—a vinyl pool—for home? From simple round designs to large ones that fit 5–6 people, you might be surprised by the unexpectedly wide variety available! With a vinyl pool, it’s safe even for small children, and you can even splash around with your pets.
And on slightly chilly days, just fill it with warm water and turn it into a mini hot-spring pool!
skateboard
Skateboarding, the sport that won a total of five medals including three golds at the Tokyo Olympics, is now hugely popular! The emergence of star athletes like Sakura Yosozumi and Yuto Horigome has further fueled the craze.
If your yard has brick or concrete, you can enjoy skateboarding there too.
If standing on the board feels scary, start by sitting and sliding.
With a family member supporting you as you ride, a future medalist might be born! Be sure to wear a helmet and pads for safety.
stilts
They say stilts originated from kids straddling bamboo with branches, pretending it was a horse.
I’ve heard many schools actively incorporate unicycles and bamboo stilts because they’re effective for developing balance.
For kids today, bamboo stilts might actually feel like a fresh, new kind of play.
The trick is to firmly grip the bamboo with your big toe and second toe.
By the time you no longer feel “afraid of falling,” you’ll probably be able to ride the stilts properly.
Some skillful people can even stand on one leg or jump rope while on stilts.
A good sense of balance helps with running and other sports too, right? It also seems like various pressure points on the soles of your feet get stimulated—so it might be good for your health as well!
kids’ tent
We’re in the midst of an unprecedented camping boom.
Camping videos by comedian Hiroshi and NISHIMURA from Viking are racking up views.
It’s a curious kind of outdoor recreation—you can enjoy going yourself, and it’s also fun just to watch other people camp.
How about getting into the spirit with a kids’ tent? A tent also helps prevent heatstroke and sunburn, so it’s fine even in a sunny yard.
Read a book inside, have lunch, or get so relaxed you fall asleep right there…
Bring your dog along and enjoy a backyard tent life together!
Building a cardboard house
The fun of making things has a different charm from the fun of games, doesn’t it? Let’s pick up some cardboard boxes from a convenience store or home improvement center and enjoy building “cardboard houses” together.
For a one-person house, one large box is all you need—it’s easy.
Cut out a doorway for the entrance, make some windows, and attach a triangular roof, and you’re done! If you’ve got older kids around, try tackling a bigger house.
You can probably make a slide or a bed out of cardboard, too.
Be careful on windy days.
It also sounds fun to eat lunch inside the finished cardboard house!
Badminton
With the rise of star players like Reiko Shiota and Kento Momota, badminton quickly became a major sport.
The medal rush at the Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Olympics is still fresh in our memories.
That sharp “whoosh” when you hit a smash is just so cool! Another charm of badminton is that parents and kids can enjoy it as a recreational activity.
Even if you’re not very skilled, you can keep a rally going with lots of laughs.
You can even use a clothesline as a substitute for the net.
It seems perfect for a sunny, grassy backyard.
Be sure to get out and play on a clear day!
playing in the sand
A story about the sandbox at the park.
In some places, volunteers or the park caretaker cover the sandbox with a cat-repellent sheet in the evening.
I’m grateful for that.
Maybe there are many people who find it a bit of a hassle to go all the way to the park? These days, you can even buy small sandboxes at home improvement stores.
Having your very own sandbox sounds like a dream.
Sandboxes are play spaces packed with imagination—building big mountains, digging holes, and more.
At big toy stores, there’s even something called “kinetic sand,” a strange kind of sand that sort of moves on its own! It would be fun to try playing with all kinds of sand.
horizontal bar
At today’s large toy stores, they even sell personal batting machines and home-use swings.
They even offer horizontal bars with proper bases—apparently a home horizontal bar isn’t all that unusual! Since elementary schools almost always have a test for doing a back hip circle, why not practice by playing on the bar? Try forward rolls, backward rolls, and continuous spins, and keep expanding the tricks you can do while having fun.
A horizontal bar in a sunny garden makes for great photos! People often say that just hanging from the bar is good for your health, so for small children, start with simply hanging.
soccer
If your child is in the lower grades of elementary school, playing soccer in the yard sounds like fun! You could use Dad’s golf net as a makeshift goal, or make a ball out of newspaper instead of using one that bounces too much—those little experiments can make soccer even more enjoyable.
Competing to see how many keepie-uppies you can do in a row will definitely get everyone excited.
Setting up plastic bottles and trying to knock them down from a distance can also be great practice for accurate passing.
Just be sure to keep an eye on the ball so it doesn’t leave the yard!
Basketball
If you have a house with a fairly large yard, you can enjoy basketball there.
You can buy a basketball hoop, but if you don’t have one, you can make your own.
“Port ball,” where someone stands on a platform and acts as the hoop, brings back memories too! Free-throw contests and spinning the ball on your fingertip are classic activities.
You can imitate Jason Kidd and take a shot, or throw down a Vince Carter–style dunk on a low hoop—there are plenty of ways to have fun beyond just playing a standard basketball game!