10 Minute Outdoor Games

No Set Up, No Mess, Just Pure Fun!

When you have ten minutes to fill, what outdoor games are easy to set up, not too messy and can be dragged out to fill an hour if need be?

We've got a range of outdoor games to suit all personalities that will keep kids and parents entertained. So if the weather's fine at your place, pull up a chair and enjoy the sunshine while your kids play!

Bubble Mania
Just like balloons, bubbles are an eternal favourite in our household. Use an assortment of bubble makers for different results. We have a couple of large strangely shaped ones that were bought at a craft market which make huge bubbles and also a tiny one which blows out masses of teeny bubbles at a time.

I use them as a way to give my children some 'active time' by getting them to see how many bubbles they can catch, in their hands or even in their mouths! The sensation of the bubbles popping on their faces has them sqealing with delight. I then have a turn at chasing some bubbles too! It's only fair, and gives me a chance to get in some exercise too!

At first your children may not be able to blow bubbles themselves but by watching you they will learn how to control their breath so they eventually master this skill.

**TIP- When making your own bubble solution add a teaspoon of glycerine or cooking oil to your water and detergent mix as it makes the bubbles stronger.

Sand Play
A sand pit provides a goldmine of outdoor experiences for a young child because of the ever changing qualities of sand. It can be moulded when damp, poured when dry, and runny and slushy when wet. By simply providing your kids with some moulds, a seive and various sized containers, they will be able to experiment with the differing forms that sand can take.

Young children often start by eating sand, don't be too concerned, they will soon learn that the taste isn't so great and that there are much more interesting things to be done with it.
A sandpit is a play centre that your children will return to again and again. It allows them to be freely creative and also imitate adults by 'digging with a tractor', 'potting some plants', etc. A sandpit will get good use right up until the age of 6 for many children.

**TIP- When choosing a sandpit for your kids make sure it has a sturdy cover. This keeps out pets who will use it as a litter if given the chance. It also stops the sandpit from getting flooded if you have heavy rain.

Chalk Activities
Chalk is great for outdoors play as it works whether it is wet or dry and is easy to remove from surfaces. Chalk is really cheap to buy and the only other equipment you need is a chalkboard. The chalkboard can be bought or you can make your own by painting a wall or piece of wood with blackboard paint. Many commercially bought easels have chalk board on one side and painting suface on the other.
When using chalk your kids can also draw on the footpath or even brick walls of your house. Make sure your kids know that they can only do this with chalk- not textas and pens!

Skittles and Throwing Games
There are many variations of skittles which is a simple and fun outdoors game that can be set up and packed up quickly and gives your kids good ball practice.

Home made skittles are really easy to make, you just need to save your used drink bottles for a couple of weeks. Wash 6-12 of them and fill them halfway with sand or fine stones. Great practice for their ball, and counting skills (to see who's the winner!).

On a hot day the game can be played with water in the bottles and a wet sponge as the 'ball'. Make sure the wet sponge gets dipped into a bucket of water after each turn. This way everyone will be dripping wet by the end!

A variation on this game is to draw a circle with chalk and put the skittles inside the circle. The aim of the game is to see how many skittles can be knocked out of the circle.

Another throwing game uses a large box, from a tv or similar with different shaped holes cut into it. Place a brick in the bottom of the box so it doesn't fall over and your kids can practice their aim by throwing small beanbags or balls into different holes. A variation on this game can be done with chalk on a brick wall. Can also draw them a target like in archery so that they get different scores depending on how close they get to a bullseye.

Ball Games
Throwing and catching games are great for young children as the balls can be made smaller as the child's skill increases. You can start with toddlers using a beach ball or similar. Once they reach 3 or 4 years old you can try gripper balls (a 'mit' with a ball that sticks to it), soft bouncing balls or footballs. It is not until children reach 5 or 6 when they are more confident with their ball handling skills that they generally become interested in more involved ball games.

**TIP- One outdoor ball game that is great for a wide range of ages (even pregnant women!) is Boule/Bowls/Bocce. All have their own nuances but basically involve a jack at one end and players who attempt to roll their own balls as close to the jack as possible. Sets can be bought with larger balls for adults or small balls that are ideal for children.