Outdoor activities for preschoolers are planned play experiences that take place outside to support physical, social-emotional, and cognitive development. By moving the classroom outdoors, you can help children connect with nature while achieving key learning objectives through movement and exploration.
Free Guide to Exploring Nature with Young Children (Fall Edition)
Download a free guide to enhancing outdoor learning and exploration of the natural world at your program.
Why is outdoor play important for preschoolers?
Learning outdoors offers numerous benefits that support a child's holistic development.
Physical benefits
- Reduced screen time: Time spent outdoors replaces time spent interacting with screens, which can lower the risk of nearsightedness and obesity.
- Gross motor development: Outdoor play encourages running, climbing, and jumping, which strengthens hearts, lungs, and muscles.
- Vitamin D production: Safe exposure to sunlight helps children produce vitamin D, which promotes healthy bone growth.
Social-emotional benefits
- Relationship building: Playing outside helps children learn to interact with one another by sharing equipment and taking turns.
- Mood regulation: Exploring outdoors can improve children’s sleep and moods.
- Responsibility: Learning to care for plants, animals, and insects fosters a sense of independence.
Cognitive benefits
- Hands-on application: Spending time outdoors gives children opportunities to apply what they learned in the classroom to the real world.
- Problem-solving: Outdoor play encourages children to use their imaginations and develop critical thinking skills as they discover the properties of natural materials.
How do you incorporate outdoor learning activities?
You can easily integrate the outdoors into your daily routine with a few strategic adjustments. With a tool like brightwheel, you can create custom lesson plans in minutes, track progress, and share updates with families.
- Get out in nature regularly: You do not need a special location to experience nature. Visit a local park, walk around the neighborhood, or simply bring storytime to the playground.
- Follow children’s interests: If your class loves arts and crafts, bring natural materials like twigs and leaves into their art projects. Adapting to their interests will keep them engaged.
- Encourage safe exploration: Remind children how to play safely and respect nature. Ensure everyone washes their hands before and after playing, and check the local forecast so families can dress their children appropriately.
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What are the best outdoor activities for preschoolers?
These 20 outdoor activities combine physical exercise with educational concepts like math, literacy, and science.
1. Nature color hunt
This activity provides a great nature-filled sensory experience as the children learn to identify colors in nature.
- Instructions: Give children a list of colors to find on a nature walk. Ask them to identify an item’s color and draw a picture of it. For a sensory addition, collect items and discuss their texture, smell, and sound during circle time.
- Learning objective: Children will learn to match and identify colors and use sensory-related vocabulary.
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2. Nature memory game
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This is a large-scale twist on the classic memory card game.
- Instructions: Print large matching nature images (with names) and glue them to paper plates. Place the plates face down on the ground. Have children take turns flipping two plates. If they match, they keep them. If not, they flip them back over.
- Learning objective: Children will practice memory and concentration skills while learning nature vocabulary.
3. Birdwatching and nature observations
Spontaneous learning often happens when children let curiosity guide them.
- Instructions: Take children on a nature walk with binoculars, magnifying glasses, sketch pads, and pencils. Allow time to listen for birdcalls or look for insects and squirrels. Encourage them to sketch what they find.
- Learning objective: Children will develop observation skills and an understanding of animals and habitats.
4. The letter and number race
This activity combines physical activity with sorting skills.
- Instructions: Set up two buckets filled with water, sand, or water beads at a distance. Mix foam or laminated letters and numbers into the buckets. Have children race to the buckets, retrieve an item, and sort it into "letters" or "numbers" piles.
- Learning objective: Children will practice letter and number recognition and sorting.
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5. Sight word soccer
This game combines literacy with gross motor coordination.
- Instructions: Write sight words on index cards and tape them to small cones. Call out a word and have children kick a soccer ball to the corresponding cone.
- Learning objective: Children will learn sight words while practicing eye-foot coordination.
6. Nature patterns
Nature offers diverse materials for sorting and pattern-making.
- Instructions: Collect leaves, rocks, and twigs during a walk. Ask children to sort them by color or size and create a pattern on the ground.
- Learning objective: Children will learn to recognize patterns and practice fine motor skills.
7. Spray the flower letters
This activity supports letter recognition and strengthens hand muscles.
- Instructions: Draw flowers on the pavement with sidewalk chalk and write a letter inside each one. Give each child a spray bottle filled with water. Call out a letter (or letter sound) and have them find and "water" the correct flower.
- Learning objective: Children will identify letters and practice fine motor skills.
8. Journey stick
A journey stick is a tactile way to record a nature walk.
- Instructions: Have children collect items like leaves, flowers, and feathers during a walk. Attach these items to a stick or piece of cardboard using string or rubber bands to create a physical timeline of their journey.
- Learning objective: Children will discover elements of nature and identify shapes.
9. Outdoor dramatic play
Moving dramatic play outdoors allows for new role-playing scenarios.
- Instructions: Provide costumes and props suitable for the outdoors. Encourage children to act out scenes like a campsite, a nature preserve, or a picnic.
- Learning objective: Children will practice storytelling, problem-solving, and language skills.
10. Leaf printing
This art project highlights the biological structure of leaves.
- Instructions: Collect leaves with prominent veins. Apply paint to the veined side using a sponge. Press the painted side onto paper to create a print.
- Learning objective: Children will learn about leaf parts and practice fine motor skills.
11. Nature letters
Use natural materials to reinforce alphabet knowledge.
- Instructions: Ask children to form letters using sticks, rocks, and leaves. They can also look for objects that naturally resemble letters, such as a round stone for "O."
- Learning objective: Children will identify and construct letter shapes.
12. Tree bark imprints
This texture activity connects art with nature study.
- Instructions: Tape a sheet of paper around a tree trunk. Have children color over the paper with unwrapped crayons to reveal the bark's pattern. Discuss the texture and pattern revealed.
- Learning objective: Children will strengthen fine motor skills and identify colors.
13. Color hop
This game encourages listening skills and movement.
- Instructions: Draw large circles in different colors on the ground using chalk. Call out a color and have children hop into the corresponding circle.
- Learning objective: Children will strengthen listening, color recognition, and gross motor skills.
14. Alphabet obstacle course
Combine agility with literacy in this active challenge.
- Instructions: Write letters on pool noodle pieces or cards staked into the ground. Arrange them in alphabetical order to create a course. Have children run through the course, identifying each letter they pass.
- Learning objective: Children will learn alphabetical order and strengthen motor skills.
15. Chalk counting garden
This drawing activity visualizes numbers and quantities.
- Instructions: Draw circles with numbers inside them on the pavement. Ask children to draw the correct number of flower petals around each circle.
- Learning objective: Children will learn number recognition and counting.
16. Hopscotch
The classic playground game is excellent for numeracy.
- Instructions: Draw a hopscotch grid. Have children throw a rock into a square and hop through the numbers in order. Ask them to say the number aloud as they land on it.
- Learning objective: Children will strengthen balance and number recognition.
17. Chalk painting
Mixing science and art creates a colorful outdoor experience.
- Instructions: Create paint using cornstarch, baking soda, food coloring, water, and vinegar. Fill squirt bottles with the mixture. Let children squirt the paint onto the ground, mixing colors to see what happens.
- Learning objective: Children will learn color mixing and strengthen hand muscles.
18. Maple seed dragonflies
This craft turns seed pods into art.
- Instructions: Collect maple seeds (helicopters) and twigs. Paint the seeds and glue them onto a twig to resemble dragonfly wings. If maple seeds are unavailable, use leaves.
- Learning objective: Children will learn about insects and practice motor skills.
19. Acorn shapes
This activity combines foraging with geometry.
- Instructions: Draw shapes in the dirt or on pavement. Have children place acorns or small stones along the lines to outline the shapes.
- Learning objective: Children will identify and create simple shapes.
20. Nature faces
Self-portraits take on a new texture with natural materials.
- Instructions: Draw a circle on the ground for a head. Ask children to use items like grass, stones, and leaves to create facial features like eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
- Learning objective: Children will identify facial features and practice fine motor skills.
Frequently asked questions
How often should preschoolers play outside?
Ideally, preschoolers should spend at least 60 minutes per day engaged in active outdoor play. This time helps burn energy, improve focus, and support physical health.
Can outdoor activities replace classroom learning?
Yes, many classroom lessons can be adapted for the outdoors. Math, science, and literacy concepts are often more engaging when taught through hands-on nature activities.
What if our childcare program has limited outdoor space?
You can use local parks, take neighborhood walks, or create small sensory stations (like water tables or container gardens) in available concrete areas.
Get outside
When great weather days abound, preschoolers have the chance to fill their days with outdoor play. Being outside helps children with their emotional development while also encouraging their curiosity.
Outdoor activities are a pivotal part of a child’s early education, helping them develop cognitive skills, gross and fine motor skills, language skills, and a special appreciation for nature.
