Summer is here, and that means outdoor fun and lots of time spent in the garden. If you’re looking for ways to entertain your kids this summer, these awesome backyard ideas should give you some inspiration to create a play area that fun and frugal summer that memories are made of.
Cool features to add to your backyard this Summer
We have some amazing ideas here for kids of all ages. Let us walk you through the best backyard playgrounds that we could find. Both younger children and older kids will love these playful set ups! If you are interested in garden tools for your backyard click here
Lets take a closer look at these outdoor play equipment ideas.
With these ideas, you can have so much fun in your own backyard without even leaving your own garden.
Do you want to make your own rock wall, monkey bars or a trapeze bar?
There are so many simple ways you can turn your outside space into a playground for backyard discovery and physical activity.
This idea from Kids Activities Blog is a great way for kids to work on their motor skills, practising balance and coordination – not to mention it’s a whole lot of fun!
You can set this at a lower height, close to the ground for young children and a little higher for older ones.
Make mini water blobs for your kids
This is so much fun for kids on a hot day, and works well even in small yards.
These are a great option for a relaxing backyard chill out zone.
Your old unwanted materials can go a long way – you’d be surprised at the different materials that you can use to create a fun play structure for your child!
This balance sea saw made from old tires is great for building core strength
Make your own swing set by using tires for the swing seats. This is a classic and one of the most popular choices for creating backyard swing sets for the kids.
If your budget will not stretch to an expensive wooden swing set, give this a try!
Or how about a swing from a skate board?
This version is so unique and cool. So much more awesome than a basic swing – right?
Set up an outdoor magnetic board
This is a fun way to bring learning into the outdoors, especially when paired with magnet letters or numbers.
Tree stumps are great for open ended play, it’s an easy way to create some stepping stones and these coloured ones are especially cool, for fun every step of the way
Or how about this rainbow hopscotch set. Also perfect for jumping and counting.
Your child will have fun helping to make this recycled outdoor music station. This is a great addition for a sensory element to your garden play area.
Let them get messy with a mud pie station
Mud kitchens have become really popular in the past few years and you can easily create your own version for pretend play. Getting outside in nature and expressing creativity is so good for kids mental health!
Or study creepy crawlies with a minibeast hotel
This is a great way to learn and discover and explore, and get in touch with nature.
Make your own recycled water wall
Use plastic bottles to create a recycled water wall, for tipping and pouring water fun.
This set offers lots of science learning opportunities and is amazing fun on a hot summer day!
Or sand wall
A sand wall is a fun alternative on the same theme, and is great addition to a sand pit play area, allowing the play to extend up vertically on the wall making the most of a smaller space.
Use PVC tubes to create tunnels for toy cars and trucks
This idea will definitely be a hit with vehicle loving kids! You can create this with a compact design if you’re short on space.
Make a giant kerplunk game
This one is lots of fun for the whole family for outdoor garden parties or family game nights
Kids can get creative and paint these themeselves – twice the fun of crafting and then playing.
Or set up a train track outdoors
Make your own train track in the plant pot will spark so much curiosity and fun for imaginary play.
Bringing a favourite toy to a new area or new part of the house can ignite a whole bunch of new ideas making it feel fresh and new for the kids again.
There are so many beautiful and cute varieties to set up a fairy garden outside with the kids. The making and the playing are both just as fun.
An outdoor chalkboard is ideal for summer creativity. They are perfect for painting on with water, as well as chalk
And finally, don’t forget the fun that can be had with a few loose parts!
We hope you enjoyed out guide to some of the best playgrounds and backyard play sets that you can create in your own home.
If you are looking to buy a wooden play set for the backyard, check out this one from Wickey that we reviewed this summer.
Create your own backyard fun factory right there in your own yard – add in a few extras like a picnic table or a basket ball hoop and you have summer sorted.
With these ideas, your own backyard is a great place to spend time and enjoy the summer.
Please go ahead and share these ideas with friends and family, on social media or pin to your Pinterest boards!
More Summer Fun Ideas
Rainbow Sun Catcher Shadow Art
Spring Nature Scavenger Hunt Printable
Exploring Sunography: Making Sun Prints
Perler Bead Popsicles Craft (Free Printable Templates)
Wet and Wonderful Summer Ideas for Kids | Powerful Mothering
Summer Flower Sensory Bin for Kids | Adventure in a Box
Summer nature art & craft ideas | Messy Little Monster
Summer acts of kindness for kids | Mum in the Mad House
Fantastic Summer Picnic Play Ideas | One Time Through
Low Stress Summer Fun for Kids | Mama Smiles
Summer STEM Activities for Kids | Kitchen Counter Chronicles
Top tips for creating a Summer fairy garden | The Gingerbread House
100 Budget Friendly Summer Activities | Something 2 Offer
How to Make Awesome Summer Juices for Kids | Witty Hoots
Ultimate Guide to Summer Sidewalk Chalk | Cutting Tiny Bites
Ideas for Summer drawings | Hodge Podge Craft
Summer Alphabet Relay Obstacle Course – Mom Inspired Life
27 Simple Summer Science Experiments for Kids | Edventures with Kids
Summer Evenings – Family Fun Ideas with young kids | Rainy Day Mum
Summer Fun Activities For Toddlers | Adventures of Adam
35 Beach & Ocean Themed Sensory Play Ideas | Golden Reflections Blog
10 Summer Snacks for Kids to Make – Fun-A-Day!
Watermelon Healthy Summer Treats for Families | Little Bins for Little Hands
Summer Alphabet Activities– Growing Book by Book
Fun with Zoo Animals for Kids – My Bright Firefly
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
A great collection of ideas!
Wow, ingenious ideas you got there. I always love seeing creative ideas such as those of putting scrap tires into use. Fact has it that there are over 300 million tires that are just laying around us and if only we put them into such uses, is when we will be building a better eco-friendly world. Thanks for sharing the ideas.
Tracy
Wow!! great ideas!! and i love creative minds 🙂 Creative toy for children to develop their fine motor skills, and give them a sense of accomplishment upon completion of creative thinking activities are required to play with these toys.
I think the things you covered through the post are quiet impressive, good job and great efforts. I found it very interesting and enjoyed reading all of it…keep it up, lovely job..
There are so many great ideas here. I especially love the tire seesaw and skateboard swing…such great reuses ideas for backyard fun!
That music stations seems interesting. I might give it a try.
Thanks for sharing this, Anna–love the ideas:-) Bookmarked the site for future use.
Glad to have found the site.
Oliver
Thanks for sharing these amazingly creative ideas, I’ll definitely give them a try. I’ve been looking for something to get the kids out of the house, and this looks both fun and useful.
I’ve a broken skateboard without wheel, will make a skateboard sewing for my son this weekend.
Thanks for sharing!
Great ideas! It’s always good to have a list of fun activities for the kids to do that aren’t expensive. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I’m looking forward to trying out some of these ideas next summer. Now that the days are getting shorter and winter is approaching, do you have any ideas for wintertime fun in the backyard?
Kids are naturally drawn to playing outside and there are numerous benefits of outdoor play: it allows them to explore their environment, develop muscle strength and coordination, and gain self-confidence. Playing actively outdoors also increases flexibility, fine and gross motor skills, and is related to the development of a wide variety of physical skills, including those involved in sports.
Oh I already see my child standing next to the sand wall. Great ideas. Thanks a lot 🙂
Thanks
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Thank you for providing these brilliant ideas; I’ll surely try them out. I’ve been looking for a way to get the kids out of the home, and this appears to be both entertaining and practical.
The backyard can be decorated in different ways. It is an ideal place for children. All the play material you have written about has been amazing. I like the Outdoor magnetic board, rainbow hopscotch set.
Thank you for sharing these amazing ideas! I was looking for some ideas for my backyard garden and I will definitely implement these. I recently came across Backyard Alpha and they have some really unique ideas for backyard designs.
https://www.backyardalpha.com/backyard-pond/