Publication Details:
31 Summer Play Ideas
New for International Day of Play 2026 - 11 June celebrates the Right to Play (UNCRC Article 31).
- Ice excavation - freeze toys in ice then break the ice to free them
- Outdoor music wall - use old kitchen utensils to create a musical masterpiece
- Try outdoor yoga using nature themed poses such as the butterfly pose (flap arms gently) and a star pose (stretch wide to the sky)
- Treasure hunt - follow a map and clues to find the pirate’s hidden treasure
- Observe nature - identify bird songs, count bees visiting flowers, look for shapes in clouds
- Sunny day shadow tracing - line up toys and draw around their shadows
- Water balloon spelling race - stick letters on balloons and create different words
- Parachute slip-and-slide
- Outdoor nature painting - use water, sticks, flowers, and leaves
- Magical shape wands - find a stick and attach a shape at the top, then use it to find matching shapes outdoors such as the sun for a circle
- Practise circus skills - juggling, hula hooping, plank balancing
- Nature scavenger hunts or bingo - search for items such as pinecones, moss, snails, spider webs, a feather
- Race paper boats in water or paper planes in the air
- Create a mini rockpool using a water tray, stones, shells, and seaweed
- Garden beach day with inflatables and an ice cream shop
- Build a tiny fairy house
- Create bubble art
- Create a nature collage or bookmark using pressed flowers
- Walk the plank obstacle course
- Play 2 balls - throw two tennis balls against the wall and try to catch
- Make nature wind chimes
- Ribbon dancing - decorate sticks and attach ribbons
- Blend magic potions using water, petals, and natural materials
- Construct a blanket or cardboard fort indoors or camp outdoors in the garden
- Make and design a kite
- Chalk games - nought and crosses, hopscotch, obstacle course
- Play balloon tennis or balloon volleyball
- Make a paper plate frisbee
- Host a teddy bears’ picnic
- Sports day races - sack race, egg and spoon race, three-legged race, wheelbarrow race
- Make a family or class flag