Top 30 EYFS Outdoor Activities

As we approach summer and the weather becomes warmer, you might start to hear, “Can we have class outside today?” more and more often. However we can appreciate that it can be difficult to come up with new EYFS outdoor activities that are fun and enriching. That’s why we have culminated a list of the top 30 outdoor activity ideas for Early Years pupils that fit in with a range of goals.

PSED outdoor activities

1. Gardening with friends – having an allotment or simply an area of your space where children can grow flowers or vegetables is a great way to introduce them to the life cycles of plants as well as introduce an exercise that will allow your class to feel a shared sense of achievement and get everyone involved
2. Team den building – encouraging children to work in pairs or small groups, provide them with an array of loose parts and weatherproof materials for them to problem solve and work together to build a den.
3. Outdoor circle time – why not create a dedicated outdoor space for circle time. Here children can gather for group discussions or sharing sessions. Consider providing your little ones with props like talking sticks to facilitate turn taking and respectful communication. Encourage children to use this space to express their feelings, thoughts and experiences openly.
4. Nature friendship bracelets – this is a lovely activity to encourage relationship building whilst incorporating the outdoors. Elevate the standard daisy chain and encourage children to hunt for natural objects that they think their friends will like – these can then be glued to card and turned into a bracelet for a friend!

Communication and language outdoor activity ideas

6. Storytelling in nature – this activity presents many different options. Why not have your class sit in a circle outdoors and each contribute a line of the story inspired by their surroundings one at a time? The key to this is to encourage your little ones to use their imaginations whilst practicing their communication skills to describe their surroundings.
7. Listening walks – there are so many sounds that can be heard outdoors that are different to those experienced indoors. Encourage children to tune into these outdoor sounds and encourage discussions around this, can they identify where the sound is coming from or what is making the sound?
8. Talking telescope – a simple yet effective activity to enhance early communication and language skills. Providing children with cardboard tubes (we suggest the cardboard from a kitchen roll or toilet roll) – encourage them to look through their “telescope” and describe to their friends what they can see
9. Cloud watching – cloud watching can be a very relaxing activity but can also be used to encourage language development. Lying down and looking up at the clouds, encourage your children to describe the clouds that they see as best as they can to develop their vocabulary and language!

Physical development outdoor activities

10. Nature weaving – weaving and threading is a great activity to support hand-eye coordination, dexterity and general fine motor development. Encourage your children to thread twine or string through their frames and supplement with natural treasures found outdoors like leaves, flowers or twigs
11. Obstacle course – why not set up an obstacle course in your outdoor space? These can be made using loose parts like tyres, planks and crates or natural materials like stumps of wood. Children can crawl, climb and balance developing their gross motor skills, coordination and spatial awareness
12. Nature yoga – introducing yoga to your little ones is a great way to promote a sense of calm and mindfulness as well as flexibility, balance and body awareness. Practicing yoga outdoors and guiding children through poses like downward dog and tree which are inspired by animals and nature is a fantastic way to connect to the natural world
13. Parachute play – parachute play is a classic EYFS outdoor activity that many know and love. Games like Cat and Mouse and Popcorn, to name a few, will help your children to refine their communication and gross motor skills whist engaging in a fun game.
14. Bean bag toss – practice hand-eye coordination with this bean bag toss activity. Using hoops or other resources as a target, challenge your little ones to throw the bean bags to particular locations and targets. Why not introduce a maths element with a target mat and challenge children to throw the bean bags at corresponding numbers?

Literacy outdoor activity ideas

14. Story stones – for this activity, start by collecting smooth stones. Once you have a sufficient pile, draw or paint simple pictures of objects, characters or settings on each stone. Then scatter the stones around your outdoor space. Invite your children to hunt for stones and use them as prompts to create a story
15. Water writing – this is a fantastic way for children to practice letter and word formation in a fun and different way to classic classroom teaching. Using different pouring utensils, brushes or pipettes children can draw letters and words on the ground using the water!
16. Nature journaling – provide your little ones with journals or sketchbooks and encourage them to document what they observe around them. This can be a great activity to enhance literacy skills whilst nurturing a sense of love and appreciation for the world around them
17. Outdoor alphabet hunt – this is a great way to reinforce understanding of the alphabet. Start by giving children a letter of the alphabet and task them with finding something in the outdoors that begins with that letter

Mathematics outdoor activities

18. DIY sundial – for this activity you can either use our clock face free download or simply draw a clock face on a flat outdoor surface with some chalk. Push a stick into the centre of the clock and watch as the sun casts a shadow over the clock face. Use this activity as a way to introduce the concept of time telling to your little ones
19. Shape scavenger hunt – start by providing children with a list of geometric shapes, you may want to consider shape templates or cards for reference. Encourage children to hunt for these shapes in their natural environment, this could be circular tree trunks, pebbles or leaves.
20. Outdoor measuring – provide children with various measuring tools like rulers, tape measures and scales and encourage them to measure lengths, widths, heights or weights of natural objects they can find outdoors – a great way to introduce measurement concepts and comparisons
21. Nature sorting – sorting is a great activity to support early maths as it requires children to think critically about objects and identify similarities and differences. Encourage your little ones to find a range of different natural objects and sort them by different features such as height, colour, material etc.
22. Hopscotch maths – hopscotch can be used to practice number recognition and counting skills whilst also getting active! Why not consider adding simple maths problems to solve on certain squares?

Understanding the world outdoor activity ideas

23. Mini beast hunt – explore different outdoor areas to discover a variety of insects in different environments. Provide children with magnifying glasses and bug magnifying jars to see the mini beast up close to learn about insect diversity and the importance of nature conservation.
24. Recycling relay race – a relay race with a twist! Ask children to take part in a relay, and have them sort items and materials into the correct recycling bins as quickly as possible. This activity not only promotes teamwork and communication but also instils crucial sorting skills and reinforces the importance of recycling in preserving our environment.
25. Planting and growing – teach children about the life cycle of plants by planting seeds and observing their growth over time. Children will not only learn about the stages of a plant’s life but also cultivate patience, responsibility, and a deeper appreciation for nature.
26. Litter picking bingo – using our free download and some litter pickers, encourage your little ones to find and pick up litter in your local environment. This is a great activity to prompt discussions into the protection of our environment and looking after the world around us.

Ideas for expressive art and design outdoor activities

27. Create natural art installations – use a scavenger hunt to adventure into nature and collect natural resources such as leaves, stones, and sticks. Ask children to use what they have found to create natural art installations either as a team or individually.
28. Create an outdoor stage – transform an outdoor space into a stage for music, acting, or even puppet shows where children can perform songs, dances or plays that they have created. This activity can boost a child’s confidence and foster self-expression.
29. Natural music – make simple instruments such as percussion instruments or shakers from natural materials including twigs, seeds or dried beans, or logs and perform outdoors. Try exploring different sounds with different materials. What happens when you use bigger sticks? What about when you try using a hollow log as a drum compared to a solid tree stump?
30. Making potions and pies – ask children to design their own recipes for mud pies or potions, allowing them to be as creative as they want. Use natural materials such as mud, leaves, flowers to encourage imagination and scientific thinking while also developing sensory and artistic skills.