Welcome Fall – It’s Time to Go Outside and Play!

The Importance of Outdoor Play

Playing and experiencing the outdoors helps brain development in children. Research shows that playing outdoors reduces anxiety/stress and helps children develop self-regulation skills, problem solving skills, language skills, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, social skills, and provides a multi-sensory experience to help children develop sensory processing skills.

Outdoor Play Activity Ideas for Infants

Have tummy time outside and introduce their hands and feet to grass, leaves, dirt, sand, and water.
Swing and let the child experience different sounds, sights and the gentle breeze on their face.
Take the child for a walk in the stroller around the neighborhood or park and let them experience outdoor noises, different weather patterns (warm/cool, sun/rain, wind), and different scents.

Outdoor Play Activity Ideas for Children

Build a fort outside with climb through tunnels using cardboard boxes.
Create a garden or make a sensory bin garden
Sidewalk chalk to create beautiful masterpieces or hop-scotch
Wash the car, bikes, or toys
Gather old kitchen containers and create an outdoor kitchen and make mud pies
Nature walk and gather pretty things for a table centerpiece or outdoor sensory jar
Collect pinecones for making peanut butter bird feeders
Go on a “listening” walk and identify all the wonderful outdoor sounds
Play parachute games using an old sheet
Play with empty containers in a sandbox or water table
Push and pull activities (wagon, play lawn mower, rake leaves, sweep, push dolls or sibling in a stroller)
Go for a wagon or bike ride
Kick or throw a ball around
Ribbon dance
Fly a kite
Eat outside
Blow Bubbles
Jump rope

Adapted Outdoor Play Ideas for Children with Special Needs

Plan and pack for success. Along with your everyday outing items (medication, wet wipes, change of clothes etc.) it may be beneficial to pack a timer, a visual schedule, weighted lap sock, lap pad or weighted blanket, a sheet or blanket to sit on to decrease tactile hypersensitivity or to provide a visual boundary
Start by playing in the backyard or grandparents or friends backyard
Play in quieter areas secluded parks with trees that muffle out the sound of traffic
Provide a visual boundary of where to play with cones, ropes, chalk lines, or blanket
Set up an obstacle course
Bring along motivators (favorite toy cars, trains, Legos etc.) and incorporate them into the outdoor activity (hidden toy car scavenger hunt, make a sidewalk chalk train track)
If technology is their motivator, provide them with binoculars or teach them to use cameras or recorders to explore the outdoors
Move the sensory bins outside

Fun Fall Outdoor Sensory Bin Ideas

Garden Sensory Bin

Organic potting soil
Play gardening tools
Small watering can
Silk sunflowers
Small clay pots
Seeds (Pumpkin, Sunflower, Dried Beans, Peas)
Rocks
Toy bugs and critters

Fall Theme Sensory Bin

Dried Corn Kernels
Dried Beans
Rice
Fall items / Gathered outdoor items
Don’t forget various scoops, tongs, muffin tins, bowls and funnels

Fall Colored and Scented Rice Bins

How to Dye Rice: Pour plain white rice into Ziploc bags. Add liquid watercolor paint or food coloring and scent if desired to rice. Seal bags and mix. Once color has sufficiently coated the rice, pour the colored rice onto a paper plate, wax paper, or cookie sheet to dry.

Pinecone Peanut Butter Bird Feeder