Outdoor After-Camp Activity ideas

School is out, the days are long. What to do?

Games, games, games

If your kids don’t ever seem to tire out, running games are it! Play tag, freeze tag, elbow tag, reverse tag and incorporate laser guns to take it the next level. If you are confused about all these tag games, just ask your kids!

Take a cue from Jackson Pollack

Set up an old wooden piece of furniture in the grass along with trays of paint and brushes. Let them go wild painting it however their hearts desire. (Hint: leaves and flowers dipped in paint will make great prints.) They’ll love having their very own creation displayed in their rooms, if you let them bring it in the house, that is!

Practice being Instafamous

Whip out the iPhone for some outdoor home videos. Interview the kids about their day in camp, as if they’re famous kid influencers. Have them talk about their favorite products and let them give tutorials on how to climb a tree or make a fun design with chalk.

Go where the sprinklers are

In every neighborhood there’s always that one park with the super cool sprinkle system. Head to that one! Bring your own bubble machine and a picnic dinner, no one will mind if it’s sandwiches.

Outdoor lab

Just because school’s over doesn’t mean the science has to stop. Do the ole Mentos in coke experiment, lay pieces of ice on different colored surfaces and record which melts it the fastest, make slime—edible, glow in the dark or otherwise.