The magical age of one marks a pivotal moment in a child’s development, where every new sensation, movement, and discovery is a milestone. In the hustle and bustle of modern life, it’s easy to overlook the importance of spending time outdoors with these tiny adventurers. But outdoor activities open up a world of wonders for one-year-olds, fostering sensory exploration, nurturing physical development, and igniting an innate curiosity for the natural world.
In fact, multiple studies have linked outdoor play with healthy child development.
So let’s explore 15 fun-filled and free outdoor activities that 1-year-olds will love. From sensory-rich walks in the woods to joyful water play, each activity will help your little one to develop an adventurous spirit and foster a deep connection with mother nature.
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1. Sensory Garden Visits
Whether your backyard is full of flowers, plants and wildlife or whether you venture outside of the home, spending time in gardens is a wonderful activity for your little one.
Check out your local botanical gardens, parks and outdoor areas and find flowers that feature all the colours of the rainbow.
Smell the beautiful scents, feel the different textures of grass, leaves and trees and run your little one’s fingers through a stream.
Tell them what you can hear – the birds singing, leaves rustling, children playing – and see if they can hear it too.
There are so many joys to be found in nature, and you don’t have to travel far or spend a lot of money to appreciate it!
2. Water Play
Kids love nothing more than playing with water! And there are so many ways to play, whether it’s a beautiful summer day or a crisp winter one.
If it’s a warm day, fill a small pool with water (not too high – remember never to leave a baby alone in water) and let them splash! We love this super simple pool from Amazon. Add jugs and cups and let them pour – babies love transferring water from one cup to another.
If it’s a colder day, grab a mixing bowl or washing up bowl and head outside with jugs and cups. Add flowers, plants or herbs to the mix to make perfume!
Playing with water in this way helps to develop your little one’s motor skills and even introduces them to basic physics! Plus, it’s fun. And learning always should be!
3. Sherlock Nature Walks
Write a list of things you might find in a park or in the woods (an orange leaf, a green leaf, a pine cone, an acorn, a flower, etc.), and get searching!
Take a pen and a little magnifying glass, and see what wonders you can find. Your little one will love searching for ‘treasure’ and you could even take your finds home and pop them in a nature treasure box!
Going on a nature walk lets you and your little one breathe in beautiful fresh air and encourages them to link fitness with fun.
4. Sandbox Play
Sand to kids is like coffee to grown ups. They love nothing more than sand play, and it’s super easy and cheap to do. Play sand this budget-friendly pack from Amazon generally costs a few bucks and you don’t need a fancy sandpit; just a mixing bowl or old washing up bowl will do!
Take it outside in the garden, fill it with sand and gather some plastic toys to bury – dinosaurs, cars, figures and everything in-between! Your 1 year old will love finding the hidden toys. Add a little water to the sand if you want to make sandcastles or shapes. You could even write your little one’s name in the sand to introduce them to letters.
5. Outdoor Storytime
Whether it’s a warm day or a chilly one, reading books outside does wonders for a little one’s development. Not only are they getting fresh air and admiring the world around them, but they’re developing their cognitive and language skills too.
Grab a picnic blanket if it’s a nice day and lounge in the sun (with sunscreen!) whilst reading their favorite stories. If it’s a cold day, wrap you and your little one up warm and take blankets outside to snuggle up in. A couple of cups of warm hot chocolate will make a lovely addition!
If you don’t have many books at home, take a trip to the local library and let your little one pick out some choices to take home.
6. Bubble Chasing
‘Bubbles’ was one of my daughter’s first words. Nothing lights up a child’s eyes quite like it and it’s not an expensive activity. You can get bubble mix from pretty much any toy shop or grocery store, but you can also make bubble mix yourself! Simply add 1.5 cups of water to a half cup of dish soap. Add 2 teaspoons of sugar to the mix, et voila!
Your 1 year old will love chasing and popping the bubbles, whether you stay in your backyard or head to an outdoor space.
7. Picnics
It sounds so obvious, but the simplest ideas are often the best! Your 1-year-old will love helping you put snacks in the picnic basket, ready for outdoor munching. Whether you head to the backyard, to the park or to a beautiful lakeside spot, take some picnic blankets and plates and enjoy spending time outside with your little one.
Read Next: Nature’s Playground: Unveiling the Science Behind Outdoor Play
8. Finger Painting
One of the biggest benefits of doing finger painting outside is the lack of mess indoors! Head into the backyard with some big sheets of paper, cardboard or old cardboard boxes and some toxin-free finger paints, like these budget-friendly finger paints on Amazon. Let your little one’s creativity run wild whilst enjoying the fresh air!
9. Leaf Pile Jumping
Autumn is the perfect time for leaf pile jumping. Head to the park or forest and let your little one jump in the crunchy leaves. You could even choose a few to take home and start a nature scrapbook! Grab a plain scrapbook like this one, and add your nature adventures…
10. Outdoor Musical Play
Like reading, making music is a great activity to take outside! Either bundle up some music-making toys, like xylophones, rainmakers and tamborines, or see what you can find in the great outdoors that will make music: the crunch of leaves, the swish of branches, drumming a twig against a tree trunk – get creative!
Read Next: Green Thumbs, Little Fingers: Gardening with Toddlers
11. Wildlife Watching
Kids are fascinated by animals. Find somewhere local to you where you and your little one can watch and marvel at wildlife, and watch their eyes light up! Whether you look for bees pollinating flowers, birds making their nests or butterflies exploring on a summer’s day, your 1-year-old will love discovering the things you can see in your backyard or park. You could talk about colors you can see on the different animals and insects, and imitate sounds as you go.
12. Running or Crawling Races
Whether your little one is walking or not, you can have so much fun as a family having a walking, running or crawling race! Find a soft patch of grass and giggle as you ‘race’ each other, by crawling if they’re not walking just yet, walking if they’ve just started to use their little legs, or even running if they’re at that stage!
13. Cloud Watching
It’s so easy to overlook simple activities when it comes to enjoying the outdoors. Choose a pretty clear day and take some picnic blankets into the backyard – with drinks and snacks, of course! Lie down and talk to your little one about all the clouds you can see, and if they resemble anything. It’s a great way to encourage your little one to relax and appreciate the beauty of nature.
14. Rock and Stick Collection
If your little one is anything like mine, they’ll love sticks and rocks more than play-doh, glitter and everything in-between. Get an empty storage tub or box and make that your 1-year-old’s special rock and stick box. Whenever you’re on an outdoor adventure, ask your little one to collect their favorite sticks and rocks and keep them in their new box.
Or you could even use them for arts and crafts! Your baby will love finger painting the rocks and sticks, and it’s a good excuse to get back outside again. Art in the backyard is a lot less messy than art indoors!
15. Planting a Flower
Teach your little one from a young age about gardening by letting them plant some seeds. Whether you choose to plant some flowers or veggies in the garden or just in a small pot to keep on the windowsill, they’ll love watching it grow… and getting their hands in some soil! They can even help you water it with their very own watering can, like this one from Amazon.
Conclusion
There are endless possibilities when it comes to engaging 1-year-olds in outdoor activities. Being in the great outdoors doesn’t just encourage an active lifestyle and keep them entertained – it fosters a lifelong love for the outdoors and gives little ones a deep appreciation for nature from a very early age.
Immersing babies and toddlers in the wonders of the natural world sets them up for a lifetime of exploration, learning, and connection to the environment. Whether they’re planting flowers, jumping in crunchy leaves or going on a stick and rock hunt, the benefits of spending time outdoors with your 1-year-old are endless.
So get outside, and get exploring!
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