
Outdoor play provides preschoolers with hours of fun and helps them develop both physically and mentally. So, don’t forget to try these 30 exciting outdoor games suggested by AVAKids!
Best Outdoor Games for Preschoolers
Let’s explore some fun outdoor games for preschoolers from our 0-3 year old care section:
1. Hopscotch
- Equipment: Colored chalk
- How to play: Draw hopscotch squares on the ground with chalk. Number the squares. Guide your child to jump into a specific square. Once they remember the numbers, you can mark higher numbers to expand their knowledge.
- Skills developed: Hopscotch strengthens physical abilities, maintains awareness, improves memory, and introduces basic math concepts.
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2. “Who Can Pull the Wagon Fastest?”
- Equipment: A long, soft rope, a tricycle or small toy car
- How to play: This game is suitable for a group of children. Divide them into two equal teams. Tie one end of the rope to the tricycle and give the other end to each team. Mark a starting line and a finish line. Guide the children to pull the tricycle towards their team as fast as possible. The winning team is the one that reaches the finish line first.
- Skills developed: This game improves gross motor skills, develops muscle dexterity, and builds teamwork.

POLESIE PLS-38173 Fuel Truck Toy
3. Hide and Seek
- Equipment: A safe and beautiful location like a park or backyard
- How to play: One parent and the child hide, while the other seeks. Guide the child to find hiding spots like behind trees or bushes. To make the game more fun, parents can pretend not to find the child.
- Skills developed: This game develops awareness and social skills.
Note: Outdoor play should be done after 4 PM when the sun is not too harsh and harmful to children.
4. Slide Ball
- Equipment: A slide and a plastic ball
- How to play: Divide children into teams of two. Two children stand at the bottom of the slide. A parent rolls the ball down the slide, one child picks it up and gives it to the other. The child who receives the ball returns it to the parent. Continue the game by swapping the children’s positions.
- Skills developed: This game helps build teamwork and basic social skills.
5. Spray Painting
- Equipment: Drawing paper, large paintbrushes, non-toxic paint, a few old children’s washbasins
- How to play: Spread the paper on the floor. Add some non-toxic paint and water to the buckets and stir well. Teach your child to dip the brush into the paint water and use both hands to twirl the brush like whisking eggs to create a fine spray of color on the paper. Repeat with other colors. Parents should do this outside to avoid making a mess indoors.
- Skills developed: This game develops artistic and painting skills.
6. Bubble Popping
- Equipment: Bubbles made from bath soap
- How to play: Mix some soap and water or buy pre-made bubbles. Use a wand or bubble gun to create lots of bubbles. Guide your child to pop the bubbles. To add more fun, parents can organize a competition between children. The child who pops the most bubbles wins.
- Skills developed: This game develops observation skills, object tracking, and rhythmic body movements.
- Note: When letting your child play with soap, be careful to avoid getting soap in their eyes.

Simba Bubble Fun Bubble Unicorn Bubble Blower Toy
7. Sandbox Play
- Equipment: Toys and a sandbox
- How to play: Put all the child’s toys in a sandbox and place it in the yard or backyard. Let the child sit in the sand and play with the toys. Parents can play with their child or let them explore on their own.
- Skills developed: Sandbox play stimulates imagination and creativity while strengthening the bond between parents and children.
Note: Be careful when letting your child play with sand, as it can get into their eyes.
8. Rock Stacking
- Equipment: Small rocks
- How to play: Parents can collect rocks of different sizes while walking in the park with their child. Guide the child to stack the rocks on top of each other without letting them fall. Continue until the child builds a small rock tower.
- Skills developed: This game is fun for children and develops visual judgment and fine motor skills.
Note: Parents should choose smooth rocks to avoid injuring the child.
9. Hula Hoop
- Equipment: Hula hoops for parents and children
- How to play: Show your child how to hula hoop. Parents can organize a competition between themselves and their child to add excitement to the game. Whoever hula hoops the longest wins.
- Skills developed: This game develops agility and muscle dexterity.
10. Group Ball Passing
- Equipment: A rubber ball
- How to play: Line the children up in a single file. The child at the front holds the ball. The child counts to one and passes the ball to the next child. The second child receives the ball, counts to two, and passes it to the third child. Repeat the action until the last child. Parents can increase the counting speed to make the game more exciting.
- Skills developed: This game helps develop counting skills and teamwork.
You might be interested in: 20+ fun teambuilding games for kids.
11. Treasure Hunt
- Equipment: Toys for toddlers and snacks the child enjoys
- How to play: This game is suitable for multiple children. Create teams and assign each team an area in the garden or backyard. Tell the children what items are in each area, such as toys, snacks, etc. Parents can bury some items shallowly to make the activity more exciting. The team that finds all the items in the shortest amount of time wins.
- Skills developed: Treasure hunts increase curiosity, motor skills, and teamwork.
12. Rock Painting
- Equipment: Medium-sized rocks and non-toxic acrylic paint for children
- How to play: This game is very simple. The child’s task is to decorate the rocks with acrylic paint in different colors. This game allows children to freely paint fun shapes on the rocks.
- Skills developed: This game stimulates creativity in art and finger dexterity.

Outdoor games for preschoolers stimulate creativity
13. Frisbee Toss
- Equipment: Plastic frisbees
- How to play: Parents throw the frisbee towards the child and teach them how to catch it. Parents demonstrate for the child to follow. Frisbee throwing requires running, making it easier for the child to catch up with many other physical exercises. It’s also a classic game for the whole family.
- Skills developed: This game develops gross and fine motor skills, muscle strength, and balance.
14. Alphabet Game
- Equipment: A group of toddlers
- How to play: Have the children sit in a circle or semicircle. The first child says the first letter of the alphabet, the next child says the second letter, and so on until they complete the alphabet. To increase the difficulty, parents can ask each child to say the first letter of their name.
- Skills developed: This game helps children memorize the alphabet and develops general cognitive abilities.
15. Leaves and Wind
- Equipment: A spacious area to play
- How to play: Parents act as the wind, and the child acts as a fallen leaf on the ground. When the parent signals a strong wind blowing, the leaf on the ground flies quickly in the direction of the wind. When the wind blows gently, the leaf flies slowly, and when the wind stops, the leaf stops. If the child does it correctly, they are praised; if they make a mistake, they are penalized by hopping on one foot.
- Skills developed: This fun outdoor game trains the child’s reflexes to respond quickly to the parent’s commands.
16. Musical Chairs
- Equipment: Toddler chairs
- How to play: A suitable location for this game is a park or schoolyard. Arrange the chairs in a straight line. Play music and have the children walk around the chairs. When the music stops, the children sit in the nearest chair. The child who doesn’t get a chair is eliminated, and that chair is removed. The winning child is the one sitting on the last chair.
- Skills developed: This music-based outdoor game helps children develop gross motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
17. Sowing Seeds
- Equipment: Shovels, gloves, and a watering can
- How to play: Prepare seeds. Use a shovel to make a few holes in the backyard for sowing seeds. Put the seeds in and cover the holes with soil. Children are free to sow as many seeds as they like. This activity helps children experience the soil, its smell, and the joy of planting.
- Skills developed: This game develops sensory and gross motor skills.
- Note: Have children wear gloves to protect their hands.

POLESIE PLS-2136 Garden Toy Set No. 21
18. Sponge Bull’s Eye
- Equipment: Colored chalk and wet sponges
- How to play: Draw a bull’s-eye chart on the ground with colored chalk. Have the children stand at a distance and throw wet sponges at the bull’s-eye. The child who hits the bull’s-eye gets the maximum points and wins.
- Skills developed: This simple outdoor game engages multiple muscles in the child’s body, improving physical strength and gross motor skills.
19. Box Jumping
- Equipment: 5-6 small cardboard boxes (You can use old shoe boxes, cake boxes, etc.), paint and brushes
- How to play: Guide your child to paint freely on the cardboard boxes. Then, arrange the boxes in a row and place the child’s favorite toy at the end of the row. Ask the child to jump from the starting line over the boxes without touching them. After getting the toy, signal the child to return and jump back to the starting line.
- Skills developed: This fun outdoor game helps children develop skillful and careful movement.
20. Obstacle Course
- Equipment: A ball and household obstacles (large milk cans, plastic cups, etc.)
- How to play: Guide your child to place their ball on the ground, stand before the starting line, bend slightly at the knees, and then use their hands to roll the ball forward in a zigzag pattern, making sure not to touch any obstacles. Finally, placing the ball in the basket completes the game.
- Skills developed: This game develops dexterity and confidence. It also helps children determine direction and ensure flexible hand-eye-foot coordination.
Note: Smooth the edges of the items to prevent injuries.
21. Walking the Line
- Equipment: Colored ribbons, tape
- How to play: Use tape to secure the ribbon to the floor in a straight line, then turn it at a 90-degree angle. Create multiple lines perpendicular and parallel to each other. Then, encourage the child to walk along the ribbon, ensuring that the back foot follows the heel of the front foot.
- Skills developed: This game is beneficial in developing balance while walking.
22. Rainbow Roll
- Equipment: A spacious area to play
- How to play: The parent and child stand facing each other, hold hands, and swing their arms to the rhythm of the rhyme “Rainbow roll, rainbow roll, clear water flowing, there’s thirteen sisters, the two of us, let’s roll the rainbow”. Simultaneously, the parent and child turn and roll their heads through their arms. Then return to the original position and repeat the game.
- Skills developed: This game helps children develop dexterity and memorize the rhyme.
23. Blind Man’s Bluff
- Equipment: A small towel for blindfolding and a circle
- How to play: Parent and child play rock-paper-scissors. The winner becomes the “goat” and the loser is blindfolded and searches for the goat. The goat must make noises so the blindfolded person can locate them. When the goat is caught, the parent and child switch roles.
- Skills developed: This game is helpful in promoting sensory development, stimulating perception, and increasing orientation and judgment skills.
Note: Choose a space with sufficient area for the game to ensure the child’s safety.
24. Toss and Catch
- Equipment: A ball
- How to play: The parent stands or sits opposite the child about 1 meter away and gently throws the ball towards the child for them to catch with both hands. Guide the child to throw it back to the parent. Repeat the same action to continue the game.
- Skills developed: This game ensures full-body movement and also helps brain development.
25. Catching a High Ball
- Equipment: A ball
- How to play: The parent throws the ball high above the child’s reach so the child jumps up and catches the ball with both hands.
- Skills developed: This game helps children develop dexterity and hand-eye-foot coordination.
26. Fruit Finding
- Equipment: 5-10 plastic fruits
- How to play: Place all the fruits in a basket. Have the child walk in a circle around it while singing. When they hear the command “find the fruit” from the parent, the child asks “which fruit?”. The parent then says the name of a fruit, and the child picks up that fruit and raises it.
- Skills developed: This game trains quick reflexes and the ability to memorize and distinguish different types of fruit.
27. Traffic Signals
- Equipment: Cardboard traffic signs
- How to play: The parent commands “car starts,” the child imitates driving a car, saying “beep beep” and running slowly. When the parent raises the red light signal, the child stops. When the parent raises the green light, the child continues running. When the parent raises the yellow light, the child slows down. To make it less boring, the parent can change the vehicle. If the parent says “airplane takes off,” the child spreads their arms out to the sides, tilts their body like an airplane, makes airplane sounds, and runs fast. When the light turns green, the child continues “flying”; when it turns yellow, the child “flies” slowly. When the parent says “airplane lands,” the child stops.
- Skills developed: This fun outdoor game teaches children about traffic rules, increases physical activity, and encourages vocalization.
28. Fox and Rabbit
- Equipment: A large yard
- How to play: Choose one child to be the fox, who sits guarding a corner. The remaining children are rabbits and rabbit holes. Each rabbit has a corresponding rabbit hole. The child acting as the rabbit hole chooses a spot, stands with arms outstretched forward to welcome their friend when chased by the fox. Any rabbit caught by the fox is out. Then, switch roles.
- Skills developed: This exciting outdoor game helps children develop physical activity, language skills, and reflexes.
29. Cat and Mouse
- Equipment: A spacious area for free play
- How to play: Arrange the children in a wide circle and have them raise their hands high to create a “tunnel”. Choose two children, one to be the cat and one to be the mouse. Have the cat and mouse stand about 2 meters apart. On the command “chase,” the mouse quickly runs through the tunnel to hide. The cat must chase the mouse.
- Skills developed: This game develops flexibility, observation skills, and agility.

Cat and Mouse is a popular outdoor game for preschoolers
30. Tug-of-War
- Equipment: A 6-meter long rope
- How to play: Divide the children into two equal teams, arranged in two lines facing each other. Each team chooses the strongest child to stand at the front of the line at the designated mark. All children hold onto the rope. At the parent’s signal, the children pull the rope strongly towards themselves. The first child whose foot steps over the line loses.
- Skills developed: Tug-of-war is a popular game that strengthens muscles and builds teamwork.
These are 30 beneficial outdoor games for preschoolers that contribute to their overall development. Hopefully, with this information, parents and children will have wonderful relaxing moments together.