Encourage your children and their friends to get outside for a game of ultimate Frisbee, tag or hopscotch.

 Invest in a lawn bowls or skittles set, it will entice the children to get outside and provide hours of competitive fun.

Take the cricket set or Frisbee down to the local park, or make your own kites and take them for a test run!Why not take a picnic too!Keep some park play equipment (and sunscreen) in the car for those spur of the moment visits.

Make a game of seeing how long you can all keep a balloon or volleyball from touching the ground.

Get your wheels on and give rollerblading a go.

Hold your own backyard mini Olympics complete with home made medals

Invest in a hula hoop and skipping rope for some active fun that you can take anywhere.

Set up a treasure hunt in the back yard.

Get green – help the children make their very own backyard vegetable patch or herb garden

Don’t undervalue the simple things, such as having balls available for the children to play with.

Help the children build a bird feeder or scarecrow for the veggie patch. It.s a great way to get them outdoors.

Go for a bush or nature walk.

 Explore rock pools at the beach, build sandcastles, swim, boogie board, make sand angels,have beach races and a picnic.

Take the children along to garage sales on the weekend and let them pick out some cheap play equipment. They.ll love picking out their own gear and you never know what you.ll find.
 
Build a sandpit in the back yard.

Have the whole family build a boat out of bits and pieces from around the house and garden. Take them down to your local pond
or river and see whose stays afloat the longest.

Head to the beach and play beach tag – divide into two teams , each witha  flag and  the aim is to grab the other team’s flag before being tagged by a member of the opposite team.

Head to the local pool for a swim.

Get a group of families together and organise a camping trip.

Teach your children about the history of your local area by taking  them on a walking tour around the historic sights and telling them how they came to be there.

Try out some water sports this summer- kayaking, snorkelling and water polo are all fun and exciting activities.

Organise a family fishing trip.

Have a playground tour – most neighbourhoods will have parks and playgrounds dotted around, so have a go at each one and
squeeze some walking in in-between.

Find a good grassy hill and have a rolling competition with the children.

Set up a mini-triathlon course for the children. If you don’t have a pool, take a bike and head down to the beach or lake for the
swimming leg. Make it a short one so you can keep an eye on the children.

Teach the children some outdoor skills by setting up a backyard orienteering course or camping overnight in a tent.

Have your family friends come around for a barbeque and bring their children too. When children get together they always find ways to have active fun.

Simple things like a hacky sack can provide children with hours of fun and teach them about the importance of practising skills.

Leave table tennis or totem tennis set up for the children to play with whenever they want.

Organise a family fun day in the backyard – have three-legged races, egg and spoon relays and a pin the tail on the donkey
game. The more the merrier so invite their friends over too.

Special events – zorbing, ten pin bowling,mini-golf, indoor climbing, horse riding.

* adapted from 100 ways to unplug and play