Learning activities for toddlers outside

The weather has been so lovely lately I decided to do a lot of the schooling of my toddler outside in the beautiful fall weather!

Here are some of the outside toddler learning activities we’ve done:

1. Dig and match

I put some uncooked rice in the rice pot, hid the numbers 1-9 in it, and put magnetic numbers 1-9 on a clean cooking tray.

Then she dug away looking for the number match! She loved this game and did it ALL. AFTERNOON. I kid you not.

Digging with a spoon or plastic shovel is also fantastic fine motor skill practice for little ones!

You could use the same idea to review other concepts you are teaching, such as shapes, colors, letters, textures, etc.

Of course you can do it inside, but not only is it fun to learn outside, but it’s also a lot easier to clean up!

2. Jump to the letter

My toddler loved loved loved this game! And it’s so simple and can be used to review anything you’re learning–shapes, letters, numbers, words and colors!

I just drew big circles for her to jump into and wrote the letters I wanted her to review at the time. Then I would shout a letter and she would have to jump to it as fast as she could! Once she is reading words I’ll use the same idea to review her words too!

She wanted to turn it around and have me jump too! So she would say the letter and I would have to jump to it! She really got a kick out of that, ha!

3. Chalk numeral and toy match-up

This learning game uses a familiar idea, but it’s just so much more exciting and uses so many more senses this way! Just write the numbers your child is learning or reviewing and have her match up the correct amount of blocks or toys to it! Fun and easy learning!

4. Throw a toy on the number/letter

You can play this learning game with both numbers and letters. Have your child throw a toy or a rock onto a space with a number or letter, and have her read it aloud to you! Great way to review!

5. Hop to the color/shape

This is the same idea as the jump to the letter game. I had her hop to a certain shape or color. She had a lot of fun doing this learning activity!

6. Pre-writing practice with chalk

Do the same pre-writing exercises you would have your child do in a notebook, but take it outside and use sidewalk chalk!

These fun learning activities for toddlers are great for review, and also provide excellent practice in coordination and gross motor skills and of course fresh air, sunshine, and lots of fun!

Try them! You and your child will love them!