If you’re looking for some easy and fun things to do outside with your kids this year, here’s a list of some of the best! We’re participating in the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge for the second consecutive year, and this year I thought my kids would also enjoy doing a weekly outdoor challenge related to nature.

So I came up with 70 nature-related activities that shouldn’t require too much prep. Initially I aimed for 52, but a few of the ideas are location or season specific so I expanded to 70 in the hopes that anyone can participate and join in on the fun!

I printed the nature activities onto rainbow-colored construction paper since our kids love bright colors, and then we selected our favorite 52 challenges and cut them out.

Then we folded each slip in half and placed them into a glass vase. The vase is now on display near our nature reference books in our living room, so it’s easily accessible. Ta-da!

Each week we’ll take turns drawing our family’s nature activity. Now, a few of these are time specific, so those we’ll complete when Mother Nature allows. And we’ve discussed how we may have to occasionally re-draw if the suggested activity is out of season.

As much as we try to implement as much unstructured outdoor play for our kids as we can, sometimes we all need a little prompt to get us going. And as much as I love, love, love Pinterest for inspiration — you can check out my boards here — I tend to get overwhelmed with so MANY ideas and then drop the ball on doing any of them. So, I’m hoping our weekly nature activity challenge helps me out, too!

All right, without further ado, here’s the list:

A Year’s Worth of Simple Ideas to Get Your Family Outdoors

• Watch for a shooting star.

• Find and decorate a walking stick.

• Observe a butterfly.

• Observe a bee.

• Visit a creek.

• Find a four-leaf clover.

• Test your soil.

• Create a solar oven and bake something.

• Make a boat using twigs and leaves.

• Count the number of birds you see.

• Draw a map of your favorite outdoor space.

• Create leaf art.

• Make rock art.

• Make a rainbow.

• Climb a tree.

• Create mud paint.

• Play ‘Poohsticks’.

• Make a wind chime.

• Make a suncatcher.

• Make a nature weaving frame.

• Pound flowers to create a fun art print.

• Paint wildflower shadows.

• Make nature paintbrushes.

• Play sink or float with nature finds.

• Make a sundial.

• Make a nature/flower crown.

• Roll down a grassy hill.

• Collect acorns and make ornaments.

• Measure rainfall.

• Observe earthworms.

• Plant a garden.

• Go on a rock hunt.

• Learn how to skip stones.

• Watch the sunset.

• Watch the sunrise.

• Fly a kite.

• Play outside on a windy day.

• Play outside on a rainy day.

• Watch a full moon.

• Make a mud pie.

• Make a sun dye bath.

• Visit a pond and quietly observe.

• Make a sun print.

• Observe an ant colony.

• Go on an insect hunt. (But do not disturb.)

• Search for a spiderweb.

• Make leaf rubbings.

• Collect seeds.

• Prepare a special treat for the birds.

• Create a mud sculpture.

• Make tree bark rubbings.

• Collect and press flowers.

• Build a birdhouse.

• Go on a leaf hunt.

• Go stargazing.

• Measure a tree to estimate its age.

• Search for animal tracks.

• Germinate a seed and then plant it.

• Start a nature collection.

• Make a terrarium.

• Build a bee house.

• Make a frozen suncatcher.

• Go birdwatching.

• Go on a mushroom hunt. (But do not touch.)

• Collect and paint pinecones.

• Visit a farm.

• Build a snowman.

• Feed ducks.

• Make snow ice cream.

If you’d like to use these nature activity ideas with your kids, don’t forget to grab your free copy of the paper slips today by visiting the Free & Unfettered Resource Library.