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Home » All categories » 8 Fun Outdoor Literacy Activities

8 Fun Outdoor Literacy Activities

June 29, 2020 • 15 Comments

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SIDEWALK CHALK LEARNING IDEAS

We all need a little fresh air.  Not only is being outside good for our health, but it is also all good for our learning.  Yes, you can learn about the alphabet, writing, phonological awareness, and more in the great outdoors with these early literacy activities.

SIDEWALK CHALK LEARNING IDEAS

Inspiration for Spending More Time Outside

Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

15 Minutes Outside- 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kidsby Rebecca P. Cohen is a goldmine of simple ideas to promote outdoor togetherness with children during every season of the year.  In this age of technology, we tend to spend more time indoors and less time outside exploring nature.  Don’t miss out on the great benefits of the outdoors such as sunshine, fresh air, and physical activity.

Cohen offers 365 ideas of activities to do with kids outside.  Though the book’s primary purpose isn’t about developing literacy outdoors, she does offer several suggestions for doing just that.  In January, she encourages you to keep a nature journal or do some star-gazing with a guide-book such as The Kids Book of the Night Sky by Ann Love and Jane Drake.  In April, try gathering sticks and twigs to create your ABCs or words.  As fall rolls around, let your kids do their homework outside or collect some vegetables or herbs from a garden and then follow a recipe to create a dish.

I was inspired to brainstorm some other outdoor activities that could promote literacy.  Try some of Cohen’s ideas or find some inspiration below to enjoy the outdoors with children during every season of the year.

8 Outdoor Literacy Ideas

1. Digital ABC Hunt

Grab a digital camera and hunt for letters in nature.   Develop the pictures (black and white looks best) and create word art such as a child’s first name, a family’s last name, or an inspirational word.  My mom created the art above to spelled our family’s last name.  She framed each letter and then attached a magnet to the back of each frame.

2. Jump Rope Rhymes

Jumping rope is a great physical exercise.  Sing a rhyme while jumping and now you also have a great literacy workout.  The book, Anna Banana Jump-Rope Rhymes by Joanna Cole has over 50 pages of rhymes to chant.  How about this one that predicts the first letter of your future sweetheart?  I remember having great fun with this type of rhyme when I was young.

Strawberry shortcake, cream on top.

Tell me the name of my sweetheart.

A,B,C,D,E,F,G…

3. Act Out a Story

There are so many great adventurous picture books that can be acted out in your backyard, in a park, or on a playground.   We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Helen Oxenbury and We’re Going on a Lion Hunt by David Axtell are two repetitive tales that beg for some action movements outside.   Children can pretend to swish through the grass, splash through the water, squish squash through mud, and tiptoe through a cave all while searching for a bear or lion.  Children can even create their own version of a We’re Going on a __________.

Hello Toes!  Hello Feet! by Ann Whitford Paul is another action story.  Hopping, clumping and clomping, leaping, skipping, jumping, stamping, shuffling, and creeping are just some of the great words children will learn the difference between in this super cute tale.  This book is great for vocabulary development.

4. Paint Your Words

Time to study spelling or sight words again?  Gather a bucket with water and a paintbrush (the big painter kind- not the little watercolor brushes) and head outside.  Children can “paint” words on the sidewalk or if you have a brick surface that works even better.  If it’s really warm outside, your words will disappear like magic.   Of course, sidewalk chalk also works great for this activity.

5. ABC Scavenger Hunt

Go on an alphabet scavenger hunt.  Search the neighborhood for things that begin with each letter of the alphabet.  A-alley, B-bark on a tree, C-cumulus clouds, D– dog, and so on.

abc cover up on an alphabet chart

Use our alphabet chart to guide your walk.—>Get the ABC Printable Chart here.

6. Read and Write Outside

Porch swing reading nook from growingbookbybook.com

When I was a 2nd-grade teacher, my kids loved to take their independent reading books outside, sit on the playground equipment and read.  On the next pleasant day, why not find a cozy spot outside and unwind with a good book.  Maybe you could even do this after a walk to your nearest library for some new reads.  Or, you might even try taking your journal outside and do some writing.

For more outdoor reading spots, check out this just right reading spots. —>See the Reading Spots

Need some reading recommendation ideas?  We have over 150 book lists to help.

7. Create Stationery

Gather some art supplies (cardstock or heavy construction paper, crayons, paint and a clipboard) and head outdoors.  Create stationery (cards and letter writing paper) to send to friends and family.

You could do a crayon rubbing of tree bark or paint a scene of your backyard.  Stay outside or head back indoors to write a letter or card to someone special.

8. Sight Word Hide and Seek

Write sight words or vocabulary words on individual cards.  Hide them throughout the yard or playground.  Now you are ready to seek them out.  Have someone call out a word and then try to find the hidden word.

Get outside and enjoy some learning fun!

More Literacy Resources to Use With the Kids

Techonology for Kids Literacy Resources

Book Activities for Kids

Free Printable Literacy Resources

This post first appeared on GBBB on 2/13/12.

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15 Comments Filed Under: All categories, Reading Ideas Tagged With: outdoors

About Jodie Rodriguez

Jodie Rodriguez is a mom of two young boys and an early childhood/elementary educator with over 20 years of experience. Jodie's passion is helping parents, teachers, librarians and anyone else interested in nurturing and reaching ALL of our youngest growing readers.

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  1. Carolyne says

    October 27, 2012 at 12:15 am

    Ever since fall began, I take my three toddlers outdoors from 11 am- 3. I bring out their buckets of toys, and they play at my feet, while I sit there with them. I bring out blankets so they can build tents. I also bring out a radio, and we listen to Audio books and the Wee Sing music CDs. They love being outside, but only if I am with them. I don’t get anything done, but they are happy, and we have good conversations as they play. Oddly enough, even though I get absolutely nothing done during the day, I feel Like I’ve accomplished more, and I feel more fulfilled.

    Reply
    • Jodie says

      October 27, 2012 at 1:38 pm

      Carolyne, that is wonderful! You are building some great memories with your little ones. Thank you so much for sharing. I love the tent building idea.

      Reply
  2. Phyllis says

    June 28, 2012 at 12:54 pm

    Thanks for linking up to the Year Round Blog Carnival.

    Reply
  3. Melissa Taylor @imaginationsoup says

    May 29, 2012 at 9:58 pm

    We keep 15 Minutes Outside by our backdoor – it’s so great!!

    Reply
  4. Gina says

    May 29, 2012 at 9:57 pm

    Just stopping by from the Outdoor Play link up. 🙂 So glad I came across this! My son and I have been blogging about our challenge to spend 15 minutes outside every day. I loved this book and decided to begin our journey at the start of April. I’ll have to try some of your wonderful literacy ideas throughout our challenge. Thanks for sharing!
    Gina @famiglia&seoul

    Reply
    • Jodie says

      May 31, 2012 at 1:56 pm

      Welcome Gina!

      Reply
  5. sunnymama says

    February 23, 2012 at 8:39 am

    I’ve featured your post here: http://sunnydaytodaymama.blogspot.com/2012/02/all-year-round-week-one-7-spring-ideas.html Thanks again for sharing this wonderful book and ideas with our Spring Carnival. 🙂

    Reply
  6. sunnymama says

    February 15, 2012 at 10:45 pm

    This looks a great book! Thanks so much for sharing with our All Year Round Spring Carnival. 🙂

    Reply
  7. Mama Pea Pod says

    February 15, 2012 at 3:01 pm

    Great suggestions! I especially liked the idea of water painting spelling/vocab words outdoors for older kids — that would certainly make them more interesting! Thanks for linking up to the Outdoor Play Party.

    Reply
  8. Rebekah @ The Golden Gleam says

    February 15, 2012 at 10:42 am

    What great suggestions for playing outside with your kids and bringing literacy into the play!! Love it!! I, especially, love the idea to create stationary using outdoor art.

    Reply
  9. Kerry Aradhya says

    February 14, 2012 at 8:41 pm

    Hi, Jodie. Thanks for linking into the Read & Romp Roundup. I love the ideas in your post. I, too, enjoyed singing rhymes while jumping rope when I was younger, so it’s nice to see that there is a whole book out there on that! And Hello Toes! Hello Feet! looks especially fun to me. I will have to check and see if our library has it. Thanks again for the great ideas!

    Reply
  10. Patricia Tilton says

    February 13, 2012 at 10:11 am

    Sounds like a very good read for parents. But, I really liked the outdoor literacy activity suggestions! You are very creative — can tell you are a teacher. 🙂

    Reply

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