Final long weekend of the summer: Free outdoor activities to keep your kids entertained

As we approach the final long weekend of the summer holidays, parents may be racking their brains trying to think of ways to get their kids enjoying the final weeks before school starts. For many parents, the summer break can be expensive, with entertaining expected to set parents back a staggering £200, recent data revealed. Further to this, many parents are prioritising outdoor time now as a report by birdwatching app, Birda, reveals that 44% of UK parents believe their children have less knowledge of the natural world because they have less access to being outside. As many opt for low-cost, environmentally friendly family hobbies to take up with their kids, Birda has curated a list of the best free activities that keep your kids entertained without spending a penny.

Start a Nature Journal
This activity often takes a while to get into but once they do, your kids will be sure to enjoy it. All you need is a notebook, pencils and an envelope to collect natural items from your day. The best part about this activity is that it can be continued at home or at a later date. Items collected can be stuck into the notebooks later on and written about when the weather is bad. A nature journal can span for a few days or a few years and as time goes on, you’ll be sure to notice changes in the environment as the seasons progress.

Download a Birdwatching app
Launched in 2022 and the fastest growing birdwatching app, Birda will help your kids identify and log the birds around themwhile turning the discovery and exploration of birdlife and the outdoors into a game. Birda uses challenges, leaderboards and cool badges to keep motivating your kids to get outside and birdwatch.

In addition to an ever-growing species guide which offers thousands of bird reference, and user generated photos to help identify the nuances of each species, Birda has incredible integration with location data which means that users can find top birdwatching locations anywhere on the globe.

To top it all off, by using Birda, you help conservationists and scientific researchers by sharing your bird sightings. Researchers use anonymous sighting records to better understand migration patterns and the effectiveness of conservation efforts. This helps experts put the proper measures in place to protect and safeguard birds.

Gardening with Kids
Growing vegetables is a great outdoor activity and teaches kids a lot about care and nurture but also teaches patience and reward. By starting a vegetable garden in the early spring, many of the fruits and vegetables will be ready to harvest by summer and your kids can help them along the way. For older kids, you can combine this with a nature diary to document the changes seen in your garden over the months. A great activity which teaches care and precision and results in a wonderful homegrown meal.

Mud Kitchen
An old favorite but perhaps one for the end of the day as it’s almost certainly going to get a bit messy. Kids have an incredible imagination, so why not harness it with a mud kitchen. If you have old pots and pans to use too then that’s even better. Anything’s on the menu! Mud pies, pancakes or soup – just remind your kids not to eat any! These outdoor activities are particularly good for young children as it’s multi sensory. It’s very tactile too and can be used to teach fine motor skills as well as having a lot of fun along the way.

Go on a Color Hunt
This is another great multi sensory activity which is incredibly fun, cheap and gets children exploring their environment more closely. You can use colour match cards (like those found at homeware stores) or simply challenge your child to find an object of a certain color. You’ll be surprised how vibrant the forest floor is when looked at closely. The color match cards can be easier and more subtle when trying to search for a particular color too and children can lay their items on the cards to ensure a close match.

Make a Journey Stick
This is one of the best activities to do when out on a walk. As you wander, collect objects along the way to help you tell your story of what you saw, heard, smelt or touched. These could be feathers, rocks, shells, flowers or anything else. You can attach them to a long stick with string or tape and use that to retell your journey. This activity is another multi sensory one and can be a great way to engage more fully with the natural world.