Seven Budget Friendly Backyard Activities for Summer

“Mom, I’m bored!”

Those three words strung together can trigger waves of anxiety in any parent, especially during the summer months when a child’s daily schedule is wide open while your schedule is cresting to its fullest.

If summer camp isn’t feasible, you don’t have to resort to letting the kids get glassy-eyed in front of a screen. Instead, look no further than your backyard for these seven affordable activities your kids can enjoy from the first to the last day of summer.

Seven Budget Friendly Backyard Activities for Summer

Set up an obstacle course.

Backyard obstacle courses are loads of fun, can be easy or elaborate depending on your child’s age, and can consist entirely of objects you already own. For younger children, an obstacle course can include:

• Hula hoops to hop in and out of
• Buckets to weave around slalom-style yoga mats spread on the grass for forward rolls
• A low balance beam to walk across
• An inflatable pool to jump into at the end of the course

For older kids, a more challenging course can consist of:

• Folding tables to crawl under
• Planters to jump over
• Water balloons to transport by spoon without dropping
• A hose to knock down items lined up on a table
• Newspaper pages to place underfoot with each step while racing across the yard toward the finish line

Paint a classic with a game of lawn Twister.

To make a grass-version of this classic game, purchase cans of marking paint in red, blue, yellow and green from your local hardware store. To create the game grid:

Use a plate to trace a Twister dot on a piece of cardboard or poster board. Trace a small circle for the smaller hands and feet of young children or a large circle for older players. Cut the circle out to create a hole in the cardboard or poster board and, voila, you have a Twister dot template.

Place the cardboard or poster board template on the grass and spray paint through the hole in the template to create rows of dots. Be sure to place the dots close enough so that children can easily reach over from dot to dot and be sure the game grid area is large enough to accommodate the number of children playing.

Once the dots are all painted onto the grass, grab your indoor Twister game spinner, and start playing! If you don’t have a Twister spinner, write down each of the four directions—left hand, right hand, left foot, or right foot—for each dot color on separate index cards or slips of paper. For example, one card will read, “Right hand. Green.”

Call out each direction and watch players stretch, reach and balance as they strive to be the last kid standing on your lawn Twister board!

Make a slip and slide splash pad.

Have your kids change into their bathing suits for this giggle-inducing activity. All you’ll need is a large tarp and a hose. Lay the tarp down in an area with plenty of space around all sides of the tarp. Run the water from the hose on the tarp until it’s soaked and slippery. Keep the hose running as your kids splash on the tarp and slide on it barefoot or Superman-style.

Throw a fiesta with water balloon piñatas.

Your kids can keep their bathing suits on for this wet and wild game of water balloon piñatas. For this activity, you’ll need water balloons, string, a strong piece of rope and a plastic bat.

Tie the rope between two trees or two other sturdy structures

Fill the water balloons with water, tie into a knot, and then tie a string around each knot

Tie several water balloons to the rope using the attached strings so that the balloons hang overhead like a row of piñatas

Have each child take a turn swinging the plastic bat to see how many balloons she can burst in 30 seconds. Use a blindfold with older children to further test their skill.

Blast the sprinklers.

Your kids can stay cool in this at-home spray park, courtesy of your lawn sprinklers. If you have an oscillating sprinkler system, scatter water-friendly toys around the sprinkler unit for each child to scoop up before getting soaked by the swinging water stream.

Get creative with colorful water art.

Bring out your child’s inner artist with this game of water squirter art. Fill water squirters with water mixed with food dye, using a different color for each water squirter. Set down sheets of paper on the grass or tape sheets of paper onto trees and enjoy watching your kids paint colorful masterpieces.

Beat the summer slide backward with an outdoor reading haven.

If a more mellow activity suits the bill, create an outdoor reading haven for your child to enjoy and beat the decrease in a child’s reading and other academic proficiency that can occur during the summer months.

Prevent this learning loss by turning a shady spot of your yard into a reading oasis with items you already own, such as:

• Beach or patio chairs to kick back in for a relaxing read
• A milk crate or bench to use as a makeshift table to hold books, word game or math problem paperbacks, and educational magazines
• A divided serving tray filled with healthy snacks such as pita triangles and hummus, turkey and lettuce pinwheels, carrots, grapes, and cheese

If your child needs a nudge to get reading this summer, look online for summer reading incentive programs offered by various businesses. To further keep expenses down, visit your local library so your child can sign out summer reading books of her choosing.

Get your kids to release their judo grip on their tablets or phones this summer by turning your backyard into an activity-filled playland, all without breaking the bank!