Looking for fun, engaging, creative outdoor play with your two-year-old? The garden can be the perfect place for your toddler to start exploring the world. Discover play ideas now that will provide a huge amount of joyful fun.
Children's outdoor play - Why play outdoors?
Playing outdoors has many benefits for both the physical and emotional development of children. Here are some reasons why you should organise children's play outside:
- Movement and physical activity: playing outdoors encourages children to be physically active, which is key to their health and development. Playing outside allows children to run, jump, co-operate in team games and develop a variety of motor skills, balance and co-ordination.
- Physical health: Regular outdoor activity helps to build a healthy musculoskeletal system, strengthen the heart and lungs and improve overall physical fitness. Children who regularly play outside tend to have better immunity, cope better with stress and have more energy.
- Exploring nature: The natural world is full of surprises and interesting discoveries. Playing outside gives children the opportunity to explore the world around them, observing plants, animals, rocks, soil and other elements of nature. It's a great opportunity to learn about the ecosystem, the life cycles of plants and animals and protecting the environment.
- Developing imagination and creativity: The open space and natural elements of the environment encourage the development of imagination and creativity in children. Playing outside allows children to create their own scenarios, invent new games and activities and use a variety of objects and materials for creative experimentation.
- Mental health: playing outdoors has a positive impact on children's mental health. Contact with nature and outdoor movement help to reduce stress, improve mood, increase concentration and improve sleep quality. In addition, playing outside allows children to express their emotions freely and develop social skills through interaction with other children.
- Learning through play: Playing outside also has an educational dimension. Children can learn about shapes, colours, numbers, letters, natural phenomena, physical principles and other topics by using the natural elements of the environment and by using a variety of activities and games.
What games for a two-year-old to play outside? Sensory play
Create a sensory zone where the child can play with different textured materials such as sand, water, earth or grass. If you have children of different ages, a very good solution is to put a modern playground in the gardenwhich has both elements for two-year-olds, such as a sandpit, and toys for bigger children, such as a swing, slide or ladder.
Creative play for 2-year-olds: Motor games
Organising simple movement games, such as walking on a balance beam, jumping over small obstacles (e.g. hoops or blocks), rolling on the grass or running along a specially marked route, can provide children with a lot of fun and at the same time help them to develop their physical fitness and motor skills.
Water play with a two-year-old
Toddlers love playing with water. You can prepare a bowl or pool of water for them to play in with different toys, containers for pouring water or simple cups. You can also offer to let them play with small floating toys. You can also prepare a hula-hoop, mix dishwashing liquid with water in the pool and make a show of releasing huge bubbles.
Cool outdoor games: Construction games
Children as young as 3 years old love to put things together and construct things. So you can provide them with sets of blocks, large puzzles or other safe building materials that they can use in their play.
Does your child have the soul of an artist? Find out about art games
Organising simple art activities outdoors can be great fun for toddlers. Offer them to paint with brushes on large sheets of paper hung with string, draw with chalk on the pavement or paint with water on the pavement or fence.
Perfect fun for 2 years old: Playing with plants
Introduce your child to the different plants growing in the garden by showing them the differences between them, the smells, colours, etc. Toddlers can also help plant plants in pots or in the vegetable garden, which can be a fascinating experience for them. In doing so, the toddler will develop perceptiveness and develop sensitivity.
