family

5 Old School Outdoor Adventures For Kids

This post contains affiliate links. We may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you.

I’m serious about summer fun and I’ve joined the CLIF Kid challenge to get families outside and play every day with this sponsored post and 5 old school outdoor activities for kids.

five 5 old school outdoor activities for kids

Can you feel it? It’s summer time!!!

This is the week summer starts for us and I already started preparing ways to keep the kids busy… then, I started to think that back when I was a kid, my mom never had  to do that. She never sat down before summer and made a list of things for us to do like I was doing so I stopped!

This summer the kids are just going to go outside and have fun!

CLIF Kid feels the same way and wants kids to be kids and encourages families to feed their adventure and discover new frontiers in the great outdoors—parks, backyards and city sidewalks. So with that in mind I decided to write down 5 Old School Outdoor Adventure For Kids that require no planning… just good old fashion outdoor fun!

kids having fun outside

1. Be silly and jump around in the good summer warm air. If you are not in a drought like we are, turn the sprinklers on whenever you feel like it and splash around. Even teens love to do this! Since we have to be water conscious we plan ahead to our allowed water times and set them up for watering and playtimes!

outside play for kids

2. Explore nature. We call them nature walks and we go on them all the time. We stop to enjoy the flowers and leaves… and we even have a sketch pad to bring with us to doodle on and try to draw all the beautiful things we see.

kids running

3. Run! I used to love to just run around. I’d run around the house, to friends’ houses and everything in between. Don’t forget the simple pleasures of being a kid and running all over the place. There will be no “sit and be still” around here this summer!

digging for bugs

4. Look for bugs! Give them some sticks and dig in the dirt to see what they can find. Don’t be afraid when they are done and covered in a loose coating of dirt! That’s where the magic of summer happens!

growing food with kids

5. Grow something. You don’t have to spend any money on supplies or seeds. Keep the seeds from an apple tree or other fruits you have from meals and let them plant that. My girls all have loved having a seedling to look after and the excitement of watching it grow!

kids clif barszbar kids clif

Don’t forget snack time on your outdoor adventures!

We love to take a break and enjoy CLIF Kid snacks! They are specifically crafted to nourish active kids so they can play!

CLIF Kid has a whole family of snacks that are nutritious for kids’ growing bodies with no high fructose corn syrup, synthetic preservatives, or artificial flavors. They really do have something for everyone!

Here are the varieties available…

  • Zbar (Little One’s favorite)
  • CLIF Kid Zbar is an organic baked whole grain snack made with a nutritious blend of complex carbohydrates, three grams of fiber, and three grams of protein to maintain kids’ energy.
  • Zbar Protein (Middle daughter’s favorite)
  • CLIF Kid Zbar Protein is a nutritious and delicious snack made with organic whole grains and 5 grams of protein for kids’ growing bodies.
  • Zfruit (these are my favorites, I know I’m not a kid, but still!)
  • CLIF Kid Zfruit is a tangy twisted fruit rope that is an excellent source of vitamin C and doesn’t need to be washed, cored, seeded, cut or refrigerated before eating – making it easy for kids to eat organic fruit snacks anytime, anywhere.
  • Zfruit + Veggie (Teen’s favorite)
  • CLIF Kid Zfruit + Veggie is a tangy, chewy organic fruit and veggie snack that is an excellent source of vitamin C, a good source of fiber and makes snack time fun with its peelable twisted ropes.

zbar smores

What are your favorite summer activities?

Heather Reese
the authorHeather Reese
Heather Delaney Reese is the storyteller and photographer behind the lifestyle and family travel blog, It's a Lovely Life®! For the past decade, she has vacationed over 150 days a year with her family. She is a vegan, and loves being by the water, spending time with her children, husband, 2 Shih Tzus and Cat.

47 Comments

  • My kids will be outside all summer long! We take advantage of the heat while we have it 🙂

  • Lately my kids have been all about bug hunting. Lol I have been laughing and helping them they think it’s so fun!

  • We like to go RV’ing in the summer but it’s funny because my little kids will go outside and look for bugs. Poisonous worms and spiders is what they search for.

  • Growing something is always fun for kids. We love planting a garden and having the kids help out.

  • your daughters are so lovely! we’re growing things in the garden this summer and playing lots of time with the dogs too…and yes the fun bug hunting. My son loves it when he sees a colorful ladybug!

  • These are great ideas all year around for us since we live in Florida. I wish the summer weather down here would get a little bit cooler, my kids go out for maybe 20 minutes and complain its too hot lol

  • I’m so with ya! We tend to send the boys out the back yard to play quite often. No scheduled activities on weekends, entertain yourselves kinda thing. They’ll come running in with lady bugs on their arms, or get excited that they found a worm in the garden. We have a tree swing in the back, and they swing while I lazily read a book in the hammock…that’s totally how summer should be!

  • My kids live off the Clif bars. We use them because of the needed protein for them (they are hypoglycemic). We would need them for every single one of these fun activities!

  • Most parents don’t realize how important it is to let kids be silly and free during the summer. It is a welcome escape from the pressures of having to complete homework assignments and study for tests during the school year.

  • Oh, yes! So many great ways to spend the days outdoors. As a child I loved to press flowers so I got my daughter a paper making kit and flower press. That way she can design some fun paper with the petals. I also just loved to ride my bike. Ah, to be a kid again!

  • I’m all about summer fun too! Just something about the warm air, no school, and just bright skies that make everything seem more fun! We love Clif bars!

  • playing outside or outdoor activities was very fun at the same time their body needs a exercise running outside is the best instead of playing online games all day

  • Me and my kids were cloud watching the other day! Been a long time since I did that! These Clif bars are a favorite of adults and kids alike at our house!

  • When I was growing up we used to be outside most of the time, especially during the summer. We used to love catching lightening bugs. lol

  • Great ideas. We’ve been doing a lot of outdoor activities since the school closed.

  • I love when the boys get out and play. Right now my 8 year old is loving the whole bug thing and even has a bug keeper. He brings it all over with him even to class. At first I demanded to stay outside but after seeing him taking such good care of it I caved and it comes in.

  • These are some great ideas! I’m really trying to go old school this summer and get the kids to unplug but sometimes I have a hard time remembering how we used to do that.

  • My kids and I love being outside in the summer. We like to swim and run around. My littlest loves finding rollie pollie bugs. This is a great list of things to do.

  • What cute little girls. When we were kids we always just took advantage of nature to make our fun. Whether it was swimming, fishing, bike riding or playing in the local creek…it was so much fun. And snacks were such an important part in that fun too.

  • I believe in my kids doing a lot of the same things that I did as a kid. These are all great suggestions. We love to take a hike and look for bugs.

  • Kids need to get out and play more often. My kids used to love going outside and just playing. They could always find something to do.

  • Our tween is big into geocaching, which really gets her out and exploring. I will have to pack some Zbars for our next trip hunting hidden treasures!

  • Besides growing, we do all of these regularly. I would really like to start a garden though. We’re pretty relaxed this summer, though I have some places I want to hit.

  • I love all these beautiful pictures you have shared here. Your girls looks so cute. My kids are very much interested in outdoor activities. Your ideas are going to be very helpful to have great summer with full of fun. I never heard about ‘Z bars’ before, will check for its availability for my kids.

  • Yep, old school activities are the best. I remember them well as a kid. This summer we are swimming in the lake and going boating.

  • Our kids love the outdoors, just not the heat. There are so many fun and learning things to do outdoors, but you have to be outside to enjoy them. Good reminders.

Comments are closed.