This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group but all my opinions are my own. 
Plant a garden.It’s been a long, cold winter in Georgia with crazy temperatures, weird weather patterns and too much time trapped inside. Now that it is finally spring, I’m ready to hustle the kids outside and begin enjoying the outdoors. I want the kids to get exercise, while perhaps sneaking in a little educational activities, and promote family togetherness. Sadly, our family is not big on sports because someone usually gets hit in the head with a ball when we attempt a game. Instead, I’ve found alternative ideas to help keep us fit, while keeping our entertainment costs down.
1. Plan a playdate to a local park with a friend. This one served a dual purpose when the kids were younger. While the kids played on the playground, my friend and I would walk around the track and catch up on the latest news. We all got exercise, I got adult conversation and the kids were tired and ready for a nap when we came home.
2. Find a list of local state parks. Choose one to spend the day exploring. This plan allowed me to sneak in some education by pointing out different types of trees, flowers and wildlife without arousing the kid’s suspicions that I was trying to educate them. Check with your local library before you go. Ours offers state park passes that can be checked out on a weekly basis allowing us free admission.
3. Plant a mini garden. We have planted a small 3 feet by 3 feet herb garden. It’s easy to keep the weeds under control, plus each family member was allowed to choose a favorite herb to use in cooking. This helps us find new recipes to use with our herbs and gives us time in the kitchen together too.
4. Take a stargazing walk at night. Check out a book at the library on astronomy. Review the constellations and planets visible in the night sky. Then take a walk around the neighborhood and see how many are identifiable.
5. Plan a water day. Set up a sprinkler in the yard and run through it. Have a water balloon fight. Spray each other with a water hose. After doing these activities, finish by allowing the kids to help wash the car for some productive splashing!
6. Plan a family treasure or scavenger hunt. This is a great way to keep the kids occupied for up to an hour! I write clues and hide them around the yard. Sometimes I draw a treasure map and hide a small buried treasure. (The kids love to dig things up with the shovel.) At the end of the hunt, reward them with a small prize of some sort. My kids are partial to bubbles. They’re fun to blow and can be chased around the yard.
7. Take a family bike ride. One of our favorite vacation memories is the year we rented a bike carriage and explored a coastal island. The entire family was enlisted to peddle on this trip. Bike rides around the neighborhood or in the park are fun options as well.
8. Take a Walking tour of your city. We have done all sorts of walking tours of our city. We live in an area that is supposed to be highly haunted. We have read local ghost stories and then walked by the houses, pointing out facts like, “This is where the ghost of Mrs. Carissa is supposed to live.” We’ve done other tours too; historic sites, fun local landmarks and more. This also sneaks in some research and map skills, making it a double win.
9. Volunteer as a family at a local agency that’s important to you. We’ve been doing this for years and have volunteered to work with animals at the local wildlife rehabilitation center when we were in Birmingham, worked with special needs children doing hippotherapy and with the local animal shelter and rescue league. The kids have had amazing opportunities to sit in on specialized classes, worked up close with animals and learned the joy of helping others.
10. Have an outdoor picnic. Pack some goodies and a blanket and head outdoors. Spend the day exploring and then enjoy the treats. We invite friends to do this with us and it’s always a hit. There’s something about eating under the sun that can’t be beat. All these activities work up a thirst, so we need to stay hydrated.
What fun, low cost outdoor activities do you enjoy doing with your children?
Sometimes walking is the best thing to do with the family. And you discover things along the way.
There is so much the family can do outside that our choices are limitless unless you factor in weather.
We live in the Rockies, and my kids are all at an age where they are loving climbing and hiking. It’s wonderful!
These are some wonderful activities for getting the whole family outdoors to enjoy some fresh air and get active.
I always tell my husband that there are definitely things we can do that don’t require us to spend a lot or even any money at all. I’m going to show this to him!
We live near the beach. So we often go down and walk the boardwalk. We also like to check out antique fairs and window shop. Where we live it is a seasonal area, so there is lots to do for very little(Kim)
What a great list. I agree… never too old for scavenger hunts!
These are some great ideas for family fun. We love water days, but usually save those for the summer months.
these are some interesting outdoor activities. Thank you for the ideas
Awesome ideas! I’m looking forward to the warmer weather so that I can try a few of these activities!!!
Some really great ideas for having outdoor fun with your family. My family and I enjoy visiting our local state parks. More families should try this.
I am so glad winter is ending and we can get outside again. I can’t wait until it’s warm enough for a picnic here in NJ!
We love spending time outside, walking around the city.
These are great ideas! Growing up we always spent so much time outdoors, biking, fishing, swimming, and just playing. I loved the family biking days my parents would plan, complete with a lunch pit stop along the way. – Katy
These are some really great ideas!! I love going on treasure hunts!
I love the idea of the walking tour. There are often SO many things right in our own towns that we don’t know about!
I love your ideas, I’ve meaning to take my son to explore some parks in the area, that we have never visited!
These are all great ideas. I live in Maine and we have a lot of beautiful places to hike and go site-seeing, so we do a lot of that during the warm months. I love driving to the ocean, getting some fresh air, walking around collecting seashells and sea glass.
Your list has a few good ideas that I never thought of before. Thank you for sharing.
We like to geocache. There are lots of great finds in our area to search for.
These are all great ideas. So nice to get out of the house and have some fun.
I love getting outside and getting active. We love going on walks and going to parks that we’ve never gone to or even driving to another town to explore.
I love discovering new local parks to walk around. Being outdoors is great 🙂
These are real nice and brilliant tips! In today’s tough economy, it’s great to know that there are ways that we can have fun without breaking the bank! Thanks for this post. 🙂
It’s so great to get outside and enjoy activities with the family. Nice tips!
These are all great ideas for outdoor family activities. We have already been to lots of parks, ponds, out to eat on the river, Fairy Tale Town. We can’t wait to go on picnics, to the zoo, and many other places this Spring and Summer.
I was lucky enough to spend most of this winter in Florida– in northeast Ohio where we live most of the time, I have cabin fever by January 1st and cannot stand it– the cold, the grey skies are just too much for me.
Thanks for the coupon and the great ideas! We hit up a lot of parks and we’re big on bike riding because we have a nice long trail by us.
I like the park idea. I usually use google to find a local park I have not visited and take my girls to it. It is low cost and great to spend time outdoors.
We love to garden and it is fun to do as a family! Not as cheap as I thought at first though, but still a great time and well worth all the veggies and family time.
What a fantastic list of things to do! I’ve never done a scavenger hunt with my family, what a fantastic idea. I bet my son would go crazy over that! Sounds like I have plans for the weekend 😉
These are all great ideas. The gardening one is one I would love to do.
I love to take my girls on hikes. We live in the mountains so a hike here you are always bound to see something interesting.
I love your gardening area! We have already planted some veggies in our vegetable patch.
These are great ideas! I really struggle with finding things to do that don’t coast a ton of money. It just gets to the point that we stay home.
Love all of these ideas! We take the kids to local Hydrant Parties that the Fire Department puts on. They are a great way to cool down in the Summer and totally free!
My son and I love to go to nearby nature parks and just walk and explore. We always find such interesting things because we’re quiet and observant.
What great ideas! I’m excited about fun spring activities!
What some great ideas, I am looking forward to getting back out in the garden this Spring 🙂 x
All Great Ideas Sound So Soothing & Relaxing Thank You For Sharing!
My family and I love taking walks around our community. It’s so relaxing! I love your pictures and these great tips.
we tried the 10 calorie root beer, it taste so good!
I can’t wait! I have plans to go to Luray Caverns this week and in May I’m going to Safari Park, both in central VA. It’s so good to be able to get out and do things finally. I love winter but it’s dragging on too long.
These do sound like fun activities! I love the idea of a family bike ride. we’ve always considered purchasing bikes for ourselves but I know some places actually let you rent them.
I plan to spend a good deal more time outside this year over last.
Those are great tips. We love planning family days at the park or down town. Either way, it is awesome to get out and just reconnect without electronics.
Oh my gosh I love all these ideas! We don’t spend enough time outside so really love these ideas!
Great ideas! We live in San Diego so we are very lucky to be able to do these things all year round. I bet there are a lot of people, though, who can’t wait for winter to finally end this year so they can get outside!
We enjoy going to the sink hole and hiking or to the park.
These are great ideas! We love to go hiking on the weekends! I think this week I will add a scavenger hunt while we do our weekly walking!!
I love the idea of volunteering as a family and water day! I’m sure my kids would love doing anything as long as we’re all doing it together. 🙂
We do a lot of these activities already. Play dates, picnic, its how we have fun outside! I need to plan a treasure hunt though. I know my daughter would love it.
Such fun ideas! We love going for hikes and water days! those are always fun!
I can’t wait to get outdoors with our kids! We are planning on spending one day a week either at the zoo or the lake. Totally need more outdoor time.
We plant a family garden every year. Finally getting warm enough to begin this year!
Those are terrific ideas! Scavenger hunts can be tons of fun!
just going for a walk outside can be a really nice way to spend time. fishing too!!
I love this post! I’d love to plan a family treasure or scavenger hunt! What a fun (an inexpensive) way to bond with the whole family!
Thanks for these ideas! I love finding low cost, or free things to do with the kids!
These are all fantastic ideas! I go nuts when the kids complain that there is nothing to do that is free. There are so many ways to get outside and entertain yourself! We bought some of the TEN calorie sodas last month and I can’t decide which is my favorite, the Sunkist or the A&W Rootbeer!
I cannot wait for the weather to smarten up so we can get outside again. Great ideas, I especially can’t wait for the picnics, we’ve been stuck inside for far too long!
I have been wanting to do raised garden beds, but so far haven’t. Maybe this will be the year.
Great ideas you have suggested. I like the idea of planting a mini garden.
I love the Ginger Ale TEN! It tastes so good!
We love taking family walks in the warm weather and picking fruit outdoors. A good drink to wash it all down and relax with is also great.
I can’t wait for it to warm up more here in idaho! We’re already going to the park (all bundled up of course) but we love exploring the national and state parks around here. I’m pinning this for when I can’t think of anything to do. Thanks!
I currently do number 1 a lot! My kids know they have to walk or ride the track with me twice before they can go play as well so it gets a little extra ex cerise as well. Love this idea to get some of our daily activity!
All of these ideas sound like fun! It’s finally starting to warm up here in Kentucky, so I’m excited about spending more time outside.
Those are all great ideas. We love going for hikes at our local state park – and we live near the beach, so we will spend our summers on the sand!