Outdoor Activities for Toddlers with Muddy Puddles (Part One!)

With Summer well on its way and some beautiful sunny weather just around the corner, now is the perfect time to start thinking about fun outdoor activities to enjoy with your toddler.

We’re Muddy Puddles, by the way, children’s rainwear experts, and our mission is to inspire and enable thousands of children and families to enjoy the natural world around them and spend more time outdoors. We’re delighted to have partnered with Mamamade to bring you our guide to our top 20 toddler-friendly activities which you can do outdoors.

This week we’re bringing you part one, so make sure you come back next week for more outdoor ideas for little ones!

1. GROW SOME SUNFLOWERS 🌻
Children of all ages love gardening, and it’s a great way to teach patience and discipline. Sunflowers can be planted from April to June, and the rate at which they grow makes them perfect for little ones. All you need is a pack of seeds, some good quality compost, and a watering can.

2. GO ON A BUG SAFARI 🐞
A bug safari is a brilliant way to get toddlers up close to nature and encourages them to use their observation skills. All you need is a spotter sheet like this one from The Woodland Trust, and a magnifying glass, and they’ll be entertained for ages. Remember to look under stones and logs, between the cracks in tree bark, and in the long grass.

3. BLOW GIANT BUBBLES 💨
Bubbles are always a huge hit with children of all ages, but especially toddlers, and chasing them around the garden is perfect for building on their motor skills. It’s easy to make your own bubble mix using washing up liquid, but there are also incredible giant bubble kits available, such as this one from Dr Zigs.

4. MAKE A WORMERY 🪱
Making a wormery is such a fun and simple science project for little ones, and teaches them all about what goes on underneath the surface of the soil. All you need is a big glass jar with a wide opening (such as a Kilner jar without the lid), some sand, damp soil, dead leaves, a scrap of fabric, elastic band, and of course some worms. The Woodland Trust have a really simple guide that you can use to set up this brilliant activity.

5. DRAW WITH CHALK 🎨
For some reason, drawing outside is always so much more fun than drawing inside, and children love the creative freedom that comes with drawing on the patio with chalk. They can create huge masterpieces, or you could draw a hopscotch or giant snakes and ladders game for them. You can also create chalk paint by mixing crushed chalk with water, and children love washing away their artwork when they’re finished with a watering can or hose.

6. MAKE A BIRD FEEDER 🦜
Make sure you save those pinecones that your toddler brings home from family walks – they’re perfect for making DIY bird feeders! This is such an easy activity and perfect for little ones to do themselves – you just need to cover a pinecone in peanut butter, then roll in a tray of birdseed, and tie on a ribbon, ready to hang from your favourite tree.

7. MAKE A BUG HOTEL 🪲
Children love collecting the things they find outside, so this is a great way to put their treasures to use. You can make a really simple bug hotel by using a small terracotta plant pot placed on its side, and filling it with sticks, pinecones, leaves, stones, broken bits of pottery, tree bark, moss, old grass cuttings, moss and cardboard tubes.

8. GET MESSY IN THE MUD KITCHEN 🙌🏽
Mud kitchens are a brilliant way to take playtime outdoors, encouraging role play and building on their imaginations. There are some incredible Mud Kitchens available to buy, but really all you need is a table, some old pots and pans and utensils, and of course lots and lots of mud! Keep your old foil trays and takeaway containers, and little ones can use them to make mud pies, with leaves and flowers to decorate.

9. MAKE A FLOWER SOUP 🌸
For the ultimate sensory activity, fill a large tub with water and pick some flowers from around the garden that you don’t mind your little one playing with. Give them some pots, colanders, scoops and bowls, and let them make their own flower soup. This activity is perfect for warm Summer days, and is great to play with a friend or sibling. For an added sensory element you could add a few fruit tea bags to colour the water.

10. GO ON A NATURE WALK 🍃
A nature walk is the ultimate outdoor activity for a toddler. Visit your local park, or plan a day out at a nature reserve, country park or forest, and let them run off some steam. Little ones love leading the way, so try to take a step back and let them explore. You could also start a nature collection and search for pinecones, leaves, sticks, stones and feathers, to take home and use to make a bug hotel or collage.

We’ll see you next week with even more outdoor fun for your little ones!

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