Kids garden activities to keep them entertained during lockdown

Coronavirus and the social distancing rules mean that you’re most likely working from home, the kids are not at school, and you haven’t been able to get out on the family adventures you’re used to. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun as a family!

We’ve talked a lot in the past about getting active with your kids, and although you may be restricted to going outside your house for less than one hour a day for exercise - you can spend as long as you want in your garden - providing it’s only with the people that live in your house. 

Gardening with kids is a great way for all the family to do something outside together, and it can also help children learn.  In fact, the Australian Government recently released guidance which suggested that “children can learn new skills, have fun, play and develop self-confidence by spending time in the garden tending plants and growing their own food. Most children enjoy being outdoors and love digging in the soil, getting dirty, creating things and watching plants grow.”

So, here are some of our favourite ways to get the kids involved in garden activities - and most of them are free!

Activity One: Make a fairy or dinosaur garden

Use an old flower pot, plastic tray or seed tray and let your child fill it with soil to create different hills and mounds. Add some pebbles and stones, or any other decorations they want and finish off with a fairy or a dinosaur!

Activity Two: Shoot water into buckets

Set up different size buckets at different distances within the garden, give your kids a water gun each and set them a challenge to score as many points as they can depending on who gets the most water in each bucket! Doesn’t matter if they get wet, just throw on their booikids robe and they’ll be good to go!

Activity Three: Take their soft toys on an adventure

Grab their favourite toy and go on a tour of the garden. When they’re exhausted from exploring the new territory you can all refuel with a teddy bears picnic!

Activity Four: Sketching nature

Let your child do a sketch of something in the garden that really interests them - whether it be a flower, a bird or a feather. Get them to study it closely, draw it from different angles and try to name all its parts. 

Activity Five: Chalk Pictures

Get your kids to go wild with chalk and create their own art gallery on your patio. It’ll help cheer your neighbours up if they’ve been stuck inside too! It’ll wash off in the rain, and then you can start again!

Activity Six: Sports Day

Recreate your child’s sports day in your own back garden by devising your own races and schedules. Make your own medals and certificates, and line all their teddies up to represent the roaring crowd! If you don’t have space for a running race it doesn’t matter - they can hop, skip or hula hoop instead!

Whatever way you choose to keep your kids entertained in the garden this summer, make sure you have a booikids kids towel robe on hand. Great for popping on if they get wet or chilly, and snuggly enough to keep them warm after they've had a hot bath to wash all that dirt off!