[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!
- Recommended outdoor games you can enjoy without any equipment
- Backyard play ideas: Easy ways to have fun with kids! How to make use of your garden
- Play ideas kids can enjoy from 1st to 6th grade [indoors & outdoors]
- Get Active! Outdoor Play Ideas for Elementary School Kids
- Fun Indoor Games for Elementary School Kids Without Any Equipment
- Outdoor games and recreational activities recommended for children
- [For Kids] Outdoor Recreation Games: Fun Outdoor Play
- [Make with Kids] Handmade Outdoor Play Toy Special
- Kids Will Love It! Fun Games for Your Barbecue
- Fun nature activities that children will love. Recreational games.
- Play equipment that makes the park more fun. Popular outdoor play toys.
- Enjoy traditional games with your kids! A collection of DIY stilts (made from bamboo) ideas
- [Latest] A roundup of perfect toys for outdoor play [Classics]
[Get Active Outdoors!] A roundup of garden games to enjoy with your kids (1–10)
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!
[Get Active Outdoors!] A Roundup of Backyard Games Kids Can Enjoy (11–20)
hammock
Hammocks are hugely popular with kids.
There are free-standing and hanging types.
The free-standing kind is recommended because it’s easy to set up in the yard.
Lately, you can even find them at 100-yen shops.
The hammocks from 100-yen shops have a load capacity of about 60 kg, so they should be fine for kids to play on.
Once you set one up in the yard, kids can use it like a swing, and when they’re tired, they can even take a nap outside.
When the kids are bored from being indoors, a hammock is a great way to change things up without going far.
water balloon fight
How about a water-balloon fight for playing in the yard at home? It’s a great way to get some exercise, too.
This game requires a lot of water balloons, but if you use “magic balloons,” you can make a bunch all at once.
You can buy them from online shops.
Since you’ll be using water, make sure to wear clothes that can get wet.
Once your water balloons are ready, decide who will be the target and who will be the thrower.
After choosing the target, the game begins.
The target should keep running to avoid getting hit by the water balloons.
You compete by how many hits you can avoid, so it’s a thrilling way to play!
soap bubble
When it comes to outdoor play that hasn’t changed since long ago, soap bubbles are the classic choice, right? I think everyone loves them.
They used to be sold at candy shops, but now you can buy them online or at 100-yen stores.
There are many types available, and they’re easy to make, too.
For small children, the kind you wave by hand is recommended.
For slightly older kids, the type you blow yourself is better.
Since they’re easy to make, thinking about things like how to make really big bubbles or how many you can make naturally makes it more and more fun—“I’m going to make an even cooler one!” It’s a perennial favorite among outdoor activities for kids.
Step skip
Step skip is a game you can easily play in your own yard.
Step skip uses a “skip ball.” You can buy a skip ball for about 300 yen on online shops, and that easy availability is part of what makes the game so accessible.
To play, attach the skip ball to your ankle and swing it in a wide circle to build centrifugal force.
Then, skip and jump so the ball doesn’t catch your foot.
Try to see how many skips you can get in a row.
It might be tricky at first to get the ball spinning with enough force, but once you get used to it, you can even move around a little while spinning it—making it really fun! It’s an outdoor game that’s especially popular with elementary school kids, particularly girls.