OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
 Jump rope:
o http://www.jumprope.com/
o Check out the Jump Rope Rhymes at
http://www.gameskidsplay.net/Jump_Rope_ryhmes/index.htm
o Jump rope for Heart:
http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/sites/jumpropeforheart/aboutus/pages/default.as
px/
o Jump Rope Activities at http://www.escapadedirect.com/juroac.html
 Puddle Jumping: Yep, just like it sounds. Kids love to jump puddles when it is raining outside.
Next time, instead of heading inside because it’s raining, put and a bathing suit and pair of rain
boots and go stomp a few puddles with your kids.
 Movies on the Lawn: When the weather is nice, have your own drive-in movie. Bring the
television and DVD player outside, a blanket, and maybe even some snacks, and watch a movie
outside Amp up the fun by inviting neighbors and friends.
 Target Squirting: With water gun in hand, practice squirting by setting up some plastic cups and
taking aim. Get creative and make a point system, by writing the points on the plastic cup, base
on how far away or how hard it is to hit your targets.
 Car Wash: Kids love playing in water during the heat of the summer. A bucket of water, some
soap, and some sponges or old t-shirts is all it will cost.
 Water Balloons: You can usually find packs of these at your local dollar store. It’s a fun, easy
summer-time activity we sometimes forget about.
 Hike, Bike, or Walk in one of your local parks.
o Battleship Texas State Historic Site, 3523 HWY 134, LaPorte, TX 77571; 281-479-2431
o Brazoa Bend State Park, 21901 FM 762, Needville, TX 77461; 979-553-5102
o Galveston Island State Park, 14901 FM 3005, Galveston, TX 77554; 409-737-1222
o Lake Houston Wilderness Park, 901 Bagby, Houston, TX 77002
o San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Stie, 3523 Battleground Road, LaPorte, TX 77571;
281-479-2431
o Sheldon Lake State Park & Environmental Learning Center, 15315 Beaumont HWY @
Park Road138, Houston, TX 77049; 281-456-2800
 Mural Painting: Tape paper or poster board together, or hang and old sheet, and gather a bunch
of fingerpaints. As a family, you can paint a mural together in the back-yard.
 Blow Bubbles: You can generally find bubbles at your local dollar store. If you get tired of
blowing bubbles, make bubble art. Just add a few drops of food coloring to the bubbles and
then blow some bubbles and let them pop onto white paper.
 Sand Art: You can either buy colored sand, or make your own by adding food coloring in ziplock
bags (just pour it out on a flat surface to dry before you use it). Save old containers, like small
jam jars or baby food jars, to use for your sand art projects. Or, use glue and paper to make art
cards.
 Make a sandbox in a kiddy pool; you can use dirt dug up in your yard or purchase bags of sand
from a local home/garden store.
 Side-walk chalk: You can probably find side-walk chalk at your local dollar store. Draw pictures,
murals, or games like hop-scotch.
 Collect cans and bottles: This activity not only encourages your kids to be environmentally and
community friendly, they can also make a little extra money if you find a place to turn them in.
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Scavenger Hunt: The possibilities are endless. Whether it be in your home, back-yard,
neighborhood, or city, there are endless clues to be made and objects to be found.
Backyard Camping: Set up a tent using sheets. It doesn’t have to be fancy to be fun!
Yard Sales: Take the money from collecting bottles and washing cars and go to some yard sales.
You never know what you may find!
Fishing: Even if you don’t have fishing poles, you can probably borrow some. Or, try to make
some out of some sticks.
Rock gardens: Kids love collecting rocks. So, help them collect rocks and then make a rock
garden or decorate your rocks.
Check out some area farms:
o Froberg Vegetable & Fruit Farm, 11875 CR 190, Alvin, TX 77511; 281-585-3531
o Fruits & Such Orchard, 6309 Avenue U (at Boweman), Dickinson, TX 77539; 832-4436733
o Blackberries of Houston, 19531 Cypress Church Rd, Cypress, TX 77433; 281-373-5357
o Chmielewski’s Blueberry Farm, 23810 Bauer Hockley Rd, Hockley, TX 77447; 281-3040554
o Matt Family Orchard and Nursery, 21110 Bauer-Hockley Rd, Tomball, TX; 281-351-7676
o Neal’s Berry Farm and Farmer’s Market, 24527 Gosling Rd, Spring, TX 77389; 281-5160055
o E&B Orchards, 28268 Clarke Bottom, Hempstead, TX; 979-826-6303
o Texas Orchards Inc, 42823 Old Houston HWY, Waller, TX 77484; 936-931-2220
o Home Sweet Farm, 7800 FM 2502, Brenham, TX 77833; 979-25-9922
Make a slip-n-slid: All you need is a tarp and some water!
Stargazing: Take a blanket and look at the stars. You can either take a stargazing guide with you
– bring a flashlight – or you could just find your own picture’s in the sky.
Cloud Pictures: Remember lying back and finding pictures in the clouds? Teach your kids to use
their imagination the same way.
Picnic
Go swimming or visit a water park.
Visit Hermann Park: for a list of things to do in the Hermann Park area
http://www.hermannpark.org/where_to_go.htm
Visit the zoo: http://www.houstonzoo.org/
Geocaching: It’s a high-tech treasure hunt; older kids, teenagers, and adults alike can enjoy this
activity together. www.geocaching.com
Plant a vegetable or flower garden
Fly a kite: Buy a cheap kite, or find a book at the library and learn how to make your own.
Host a pot-luck/bring-a-dish block party.
Play horseshoes, washers, croquet, lawn darts, bocce
o http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Washer-Game
Bug races: That’s right, bug races. Set a time-limit and see how many bugs you can find. Add a
sketch pad to the mix and you have artwork you can save and scrapbook later.
Find buried treasure.
Teach your kids to play some of your favorite childhood games:
http://grandparents.about.com/od/projectsactivities/tp/OutdoorGames.htm
o Swing the Stature
o Sneaky Sprinkler
o Horse Basketball
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o Red Light, Green Light
o Hide-and-Seek
o Flashlight Tag
o Red Rover
o Kickball
o Four Square Ball
o Hopscotch
o Capture the Flag
Free Things to do in your area; your city website is often a good place to start:
o http://www.baytown.org/default.htm
o http://www.laportetx.gov/
o http://www.ci.pasadena.tx.us/
o http://www.ci.dickinson.tx.us/
o www.ci.la-marque.tx.us
o www.texas-city-tx.org/
o www.cityofwebster.com
o www.galveston.com/
o www.alvin-tx.gov/
o www.ci.pearland.tx.us/
o www.ci.friendswood.tx.us/
o www.angleton.tx.us/
o www.lakejackson-tx.gov/
o www.cityofbaycity.org/
o www.freeport.tx.us/
o http://www.surfsidebeachtx.org/
o http://travelingmom.com/texas/9-free-things-to-do-in-houston.html
o http://www.visithoustontexas.com/visitors/houston_for_two_dollars_or_less/category.
list.php
Leisure Learning Unlimited offers many, many fun classes throughout the year. Some classes
are free, some cost money. http://www.llu.com/
INDOOR ACTIVITIES
 Crafts
o http://familyfun.go.com/
o http://www.allcrafts.net/kids.htm
o http://www.kaboose.com/
o http://www.dltk-kids.com/
o http://www.scissorcraft.com/
o http://blog.freekidcrafts.com/
 Indoor Camping
 Make a Puzzle
 Papermache
 Sock Puppets
 Dance
 Cook with your kids
o http://www.childrensrecipes.com/
o http://www.cookingwithkids.com/
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o http://www.spatulatta.com/
o http://www.cookingwithkids.org/
o http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/kidscooking.htm
Have a picnic
Scrapbook: kids school work
Talent Show
Dream Book
Tye Dye
Rearrange rooms
Bowling: set up empty soda cans or plastic bottles
Sleepover
Boardgames or card games
Read and/or act out your favorite book, or write a play of your own. Start a book club.
Write and Illustrate a book or make your own boardgame
Visit a museum
o Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Free First Sundays, 12:15-7pm, 1001 Bissonnet Street,
Houoston, TX 77005; 713-639-7300
o Houston Museum of Natural Science: http://www.hmns.org/ ; 713-639-4600
o Burke Baker Planetarium: http://travelingmom.com/texas/9-free-things-to-do-inhouston.html
o The Children’s Museum; 1500 Binze, 713-522-1138, http://www.cmhouston.org/
o Holocaust Museum Hoston, 5401 Caroline St., 713-943-8000, http://www.hmh.org/
o Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, 1834 Southmore,
http://www.buffalosoldiermuseum.com/
o Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, 4848 Main St., 713-529-4848,
http://www.crafthouston.org/default.asp?ID=1
o John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science, 713-521-1515,
http://www.mhms.org/
o The Menil Collection, 1515 Sul Ross Street, 713-525-9400, http://www.ricegallery.org/
o Rice University Art Gallery, 6100 Main Street, 713-348-6069,
http://www.ricegallery.org/
Volunteering: http://www.volunteermatch.org/
Treasure Hunt
Make music
Play store
Create a chore chart
Origami
Cartoon flipbooks
Visit your local library
Draw a map of your house/apartment or neighborhood
Visit local pet stores
Learn to knit, crochet, bead, quilt, or sew. Save old t-shirts or outfits that your kids love, but
don’t necessarily need to wear anymore, and make a memory quilt they can keep for years.
Paper Airplane races.
Play charades.