Spring and Summer Outdoor Play

After a dark, cold winter, spring has officially sprung. To help you and the kids make the most of the new season, I teamed up with outdoor play specialists, All Round Fun, to answer your Facebook questions on all things outdoor summer and spring fun. If you have any questions you’d like answered, feel free to leave them in the comment section below and I'll reply in the comments and with an email to you.

So here goes -

How can I incorporate math learning with outdoor play?

Despite what you might think, the garden provides ample opportunity for math-based learning – from calculations and measurements to tougher problem- solving activities. If you have young children, a counting game is a great way to incorporate learning with outdoor fun. Simply grab a pen, tour your garden and tally up all the different plants, flowers and bugs you spot. Alternatively, scavenge your garden for objects of a specific geometric shape, such as squares, triangles and circles.

What are the best activities for smaller gardens?

If you have a small garden, it can be difficult to keep your little ones entertained. If your garden is lacking in proportions, make the most of the space by bringing fun puzzles and toys outdoors. Or, invest in a sandpit. Being relatively small, sandpits are perfect for small gardens and will keep your kids happy for hours. Water play centres are also a great choice but do require an exterior hose to fill up – making them inconvenient for some gardens.

What are the best activities for gardens without grass?

Grass or no grass, kids will relish any outdoor space, so let their imaginations run riot and ask them to come up with a fun game. If you’re still struggling for ideas, buy a pack of chalk and get creative. Kids love drawing with chalk and it’s easily washable. Plus, with chalk, they can partake in the timeless childhood classic: hopscotch. If you aren’t familiar with hopscotch you can find out how to play, here.

What are the best seeds to plant for kids?

Watching seeds grow can be an enjoyable and educational activity for children. To ensure their interest doesn’t waver, it’s important to plant fast growing seeds that’ll garner visible results quickly. Spring flowers such as primrose, lavender and forget-me-nots will grow rapidly at this time of year, and are perfect for developing your youngster’s sense of smell. Alternatively, vegetables and fruits are perfect for children thanks to their interesting colour, shapes and edibility. Try strawberries, pumpkins and cherry tomatoes, or for more easy to grow plants for kids, check out BBC Gardening Guides.

What to plant to attract butterflies?

It’s a fact: kids adore butterflies. As your garden reawakens after the winter, butterflies will begin to flurry back to your patch – provided you have the appropriate foliage. Butterflies will visit a garden of any size and shape if there are enough suitable nectar plants for them to graze on. Buddleia (aka. The Butterfly Bush), Lavender and the Wallflower are among the best plants to attract butterflies to your garden. Top tip: to maximise the amount of visiting butterflies, grow your plants in a sunny, sheltered spot.

If you enjoyed this post, take a look at my round-up of 20 fun outdoor play ideas.

This is a sponsored post brought to you by All Round Fun

Author

Cerys Parker

Cerys is a marine biologist, environmental educator, high school teacher and mum. Realising that life doesn't have to be put on hold and you don't just have to survive whilst the kids are young she shares ideas to inspire you to LIVE with the kids, with activities to do together, recipes to cook and enjoy and family travel to make memories to last a lifetime.