Get the kids outside and moving with these kid-friendly, DIY beach and lawn games.


Water Balloon Toss

Supplies:

  • Water balloons

Split into pairs and stand 3 feet apart. One person starts with a water balloon. Toss it to your teammate. Once you’ve completed the first toss, move 5 feet apart. Complete the toss. Move 7 feet apart. If you drop the water balloon, start over. If the water balloon breaks, your team is disqualified. The team that tosses their balloon the farthest without breaking it, wins.

Crab Walk

Supplies:

  • Stakes
  • String, tape or a banner (to mark the finish line)

Mark a course around the lawn using the stakes or other markers. The course can go around the entire house, around trees, up hills, etc. Competitors will race across the lawn doing the crab walk to the finish line.

How-to Crab Walk: Sit on the ground with your legs in front of you and your hands by your side with your fingers pointed toward your feet. Lift your body up into the air. In this position, step forward one hand after the other.

Bean Bag Toss

Supplies:

  • 3 hula hoops
  • 3 bean bags per team (make your own using old socks and beans or rice)

Lay the hula hoops in a line on the ground. Stand at least 5 feet away from the first hoop (you and the hoops should be in a vertical line). Toss each of the bean bags into the hoops (one bag per hoop).

Bowling

Supplies:

  • 10 plastic bottles
  • Red and white paint (optional)
  • Paintbrush (optional)
  • Tennis ball

Set up 10 plastic bottles in a triangle (4 in the back row, 3, 2, 1) on a flat surface like a sidewalk or driveway. Optional: paint the bottles white with a red stripe to look like real bowling pins. If it’s windy out, fill the bottles with water, rocks or sand to help stabilize them.

Sand Castle Building

Supplies:

  • Shovels
  • Buckets
  • Rocks, sticks, etc. to decorate

Set a time limit (30 minutes to 1 hour depending on how fancy you want to get). Awards can be given for biggest sandcastle, most creative sandcastle and best-decorated sandcastle.


More Northern Michigan Kids

Photo(s) by Shelby Soberalski