outdoor games for 1 Year olds

One-year-olds are a lot of fun! yes, they put everything in their mouth but they are so eager to learn about the world around them. This is why using nature and the outdoors is the best learning tool you can do at this age.

Here are a few ideas you can do outdoors with your toddler

Explore Textures

Nature offers lots of different textures to walk on. Take off their shoes and then walk and explore barefoot. These uneven textures offer great sensory exploration using their feet which are more sensible than their hands giving them a new way to discover the world.

how to play with a 6 months old
Baby with a nice blue cap crawling on the green grass in the garden

Outdoor Water Play

Outdoor is a sensory activity you can do both inside and outside. Head over to your local lake, creek, or slash pad and allow your toddler to explore this sensory activity.

Outdoor Painting

Painting on a desk and painting on a big surface have different effects on both sensory exploration and creativity. Open up a cardboard box and sprinkle some washable tempera paint over it to create a fun art activity with your toddler. Don’t add too much paint, it can get slippery

Mixing water Play – Science

Create a mixing water station by adding food coloring or watercolor paint to different buckets of water. Stick with primary colors so that when the water gets mixed new secondary colors like (orange, green, purple) can form.

Nature Walk

And lastly, never underestimate a nature walk. Slowing down and seeing the world through your child’s eyes. Allowing your child to to climb, explore, walk, and run are gross motor skill development activities you can help the master while fostering independence, and self trust all through play.

Nature and the outdoors is a great classroom for aiding your child in developing early childhood skills like fine motor and gross motor skills, – critical for their early childhood year development.

Whether you are homeschooling a toddler or spending time in the afternoons and weekends, add more outdoor play to your schedule- the benefits are huge!