It’s the final week of the holidays.
Time is a blur. Bedtime’s a myth and routine’s a rumour. Everyone’s barefoot and slightly sunburnt.
But this is not the time to tap out.
This is Round Two of the Outside Kids Summer Survival Series: your last chance to hurl some chaotic magic at the memory bank before the lunchbox grind begins.
Below are 8 gloriously low-stakes missions: climb a tree and eat lunch like a woodland cryptid, build a bug trap with jam and hope, or just lie in the grass and argue about cloud shapes.
Finish strong. Finish weird. Your legend status awaits.
1. Eat Up A Tree
Like a squirrel. But with Babybels
What you’ll need:
A sturdy tree with low, strong branches
A small backpack with easy-to-eat food (wraps, Babybels, grapes - nothing oozy)
A flask of hot chocolate
Optional: a towel or mini blanket for tree-limb luxury
How to do it:
Find a solid climbing tree, nothing too high, ideally with a few horizontal limbs for sitting. Kids should climb using three points of contact at all times (two feet and one hand, or vice versa). Dads, you’re the safety crew: go up behind them and keep close.
Once you’re settled in a safe perch, unpack your snacks and soak in the world from your new canopy canteen like a family of highly evolved squirrels.
Tell a story up there - make one up, or share a memory. Trees have a way of making kids think differently. It might be the view. Or the oxygen to the brain.
Why it’s great:
It’s equal parts adventure and mealtime. Being up a tree shifts perspective, physically and mentally. It gives kids a taste of bravery, lets them move their bodies in new ways, and sparks imagination. Plus, that hot chocolate hits different when you’re six feet off the ground pretending to be a leaf ninja.
2. Build a Stick & Leaf Boat
A tiny act of engineering, imagination and watery hope.
What you’ll need:
A collection of sticks, bark, leaves, feathers, moss, twine or string
A body of water (stream, puddle, pond, or mouldy paddling pool if desperate)
Optional: pocket knife, mini flag, dramatic soundtrack
How to do it:
Start by collecting your materials. Flat bark makes a perfect base, sticks can be lashed together, leaves become sails, and moss adds decorative flair (or “buoyancy,” if you want to sound technical). You can either tie things together with string/twine, or go full nature-purist and wedge, jam and balance until it just works. Once your vessel is seaworthy (or at least vaguely floaty), launch it into a stream and let the race begin.
Why it’s great for kids:
It’s hands-on creativity that ends in action. They get to design, build and test something real. It builds problem-solving, fine motor skills, and a tiny sense of engineering swagger. Also: watching your boat capsize in 0.4 seconds is hilarious.
Dad Hack:
Bring a backup lighter stick-and-bark prototype in your pocket so if theirs sinks immediately, you can “find” a mysteriously better-performing boat downstream. Call it The Spirit of Adventure, and act like it’s magic.
3. Go Cloud Gazing (The Original IMAX)
Teach your kids the ancient art of spotting dragons, whales and very rude vegetables in the sky.
What you’ll need:
A patch of grass, a picnic rug, or the roof of a camper van
A head that’s not glued to a screen
Optional: snacks, sunglasses, wildly overconfident weather forecast
How to do it:
Lie down. Look up. That’s it. But also: really look. Let your eyes relax and your brain wander. What shapes can you see? A snail riding a skateboard? A dragon doing yoga? A farting elephant? (Kids will always say farting elephant. That’s fine.)
Play the “what do you see?” game. Name the creatures, tell a story about their lives, and watch them slowly morph into something new. It’s basically outdoor improv theatre, but with more lying down and fewer jazz hands.
Why it’s great for kids:
It stretches their imaginations in all directions. It slows everything down. No rules, no structure - just the gentle act of noticing and dreaming. Plus, it teaches them that “doing nothing” is sometimes the most powerful kind of doing.
Dad Hack:
Download the free Cloud Spotter app to know your cumulus from your cumulostropulous - the rarest of imaginary weather beasts.
4. Go Wild Camping
Because four walls are overrated, and stars don’t charge rent.
What you’ll need:
A lightweight tent or bivvy bag
Sleeping bag, ,mat, head torch, layers
Snacks. Water. A stove if you’re game
A location (more on that below)
Optional: a solid Dad mate to share the “was that a badger?” moments
How to do it:
Pick a night, pack light, and go sleep somewhere outdoors: a hill, a woodland edge, a beach, a patch of quiet wilderness not too far from home. You don’t need to hike into the Cairngorms. You just need to say yes.
If you’re unsure where to go (or whether it’s allowed), check out CampWild - they’re revolutionising how we access, experience and respectfully share wild spaces in the UK. It’s like Airbnb for nature, but with fewer selfies and more owls.
Bring simple food (instant noodles or cold pizza are both acceptable), watch the stars, tell a few stories, and listen to the night. You’ll probably sleep badly but you’ll definitely feel alive.
Why it’s great for kids:
Because it’s the fastest route to wonder. A single night in nature can shift the mood, crack open conversation, and give kids (and you) the sense that life is one big, delicious adventure. It teaches resilience, simplicity, and how to do a wee behind a tree. Also breakfast cooked outside tastes 3x better than indoors. That’s science.
5. Build a Mud Marble Run
A physics lesson disguised as a boggy fever dream.
What you’ll need:
A patch of muddy ground or a dirt slope
Marbles (or acorns, conkers, round-ish stones)
Sticks, bark, leaves, small rocks…anything to shape your course
Optional: spoons, trowels, toy diggers, and nerves of steel
How to do it:
Scope out your location - a slope is gold, but flat ground will do with a bit of creative earthwork. Dig trenches, pile up mud banks, build little walls with bark or stones, and carve channels that twist and turn like a downhill luge.
Then drop in your marble. Watch it roll. Celebrate wildly when it works. Adjust, rebuild, and upgrade like it’s a Grand Designs episode with more grunting and fewer bathtubs.
Make ramps. Make tunnels. Make splash zones. Race them. Sabotage your kid’s run (quietly). See who can get the longest ride without stopping.
Why it’s great for kids:
This is hands-on STEM disguised as glorious filth. It builds problem-solving, creativity, and actual physics: gravity, momentum, friction but with zero worksheets. Plus, it’s muddy, messy, and completely absorbent. Hours will vanish.
6. A Rubbish Mission
Grab a bag, grab a kid, and go fight the trashpocalypse.
What you’ll need:
Gloves
A rubbish bag or bucket
Litter picker (optional but very fun - the claw kind is elite)
How to do it:
Pick your patch: the park, local woods, a path you walk daily, or that scruffy bit behind the shops. Set a timer (15-30 minutes is the sweet spot), hand out gear, and hit the trash trail. Let the kids lead.
Keep score if you want - most crisp packets, weirdest find, total haul. Then bin it properly, wash hands, and bask in your good citizen glow.
Why it’s great for kids:
It gives them a mission, a sense of impact, and a weird amount of satisfaction. They feel like they’re saving the world and honestly, they kind of are. It also makes them notice their surroundings in a new way (and side-eye litterbugs forever).
7. Go Wild Swimming
Because chlorinated pools don’t have tadpoles.
What you’ll need:
Swimmers (or old undies, we’re not judging)
Towel, warm clothes for afterwards, snacks
A flask of hot chocolate or tea (non-negotiable)
Armbands and goggles optional
Optional: water shoes, dry bag, bravery
How to do it:
Find a safe wild swimming spot (river, lake, waterfall pool) somewhere with calm water, no strong currents, and easy entry/exit. If you’re unsure, start with a trusted location or join a local wild swim group for intel (and moral support).
Keep the first dip short and sweet. Wade in together, count to ten, squeal a bit. If it’s cold, don’t panic, breathe through it. Then float. Splash. Look around. It’s just water, but it feels like magic.
And afterwards? Towel off, sip something warm, and bask in the shared feeling of “we actually did that.”
Why it’s great for kids:
Because it’s an experience you feel, all the way down to your goosebumps. Wild swimming builds confidence, resilience, and a love of nature that can’t be taught indoors. Kids get to feel bold and brave. Dads get to feel slightly ridiculous but very alive. Also: nothing bonds a family like screaming together in a freezing river.
⚠️ Before Diving In:
Check the depth - don’t leap into unknown water
Look for hazards - submerged branches, rocks, or surprise shopping trolleys
Avoid strong currents - especially in rivers or tidal areas
Don’t mix with booze - save the celebratory tinnie for after
Ease in, don’t shock in - especially with kids
Know your exit - always check how you’ll get out before getting in
Remember, you’re not on Alone. You’re on Dad Duty.
8. Set An Insect Trap
Your garden’s secret nightlife, caught in the act.
What you’ll need:
A glass jar, plastic tub, or clear beaker
Some bait (squishy fruit, a spoonful of jam, or sugar water)
A small spade or trowel
One large, flat rock
3-4 small rocks or pebbles
A white tray or plate to tip your finds onto for inspection
A magnifying glass and an unnecessary Latin naming system
How to do it:
Find a shady, quiet patch of ground ideally in a garden, woodland or park where bugs like to roam free. Dig a hole just deep enough to sink your jar so the rim sits level with the ground. Drop in your bait (anything fruity and stinky).
Place the jar in the hole and gently pat the soil back around it. Now build a little shelter over the top using your flat rock propped up with the 3-4 small ones. This stops rain and nosy dogs from ruining your trap.
Leave it overnight then return with wild anticipation and the kind of excitement usually reserved for pancakes.
Carefully lift out your jar and inspect your visitors. Tip them onto a white tray to get a closer look, identify what’s what, sketch them and gently return them to their habitat when you’re done.
Why it’s great for kids:
Because it turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. Kids get to play scientist, get their hands in the dirt, and discover just how weird and wonderful the undergrowth really is. It’s low-tech exploration with high-octane fascination.
READ / WATCH / LISTEN
A mum’s love says: you are safe.
A dad’s love says: you’ve got this. Now pedal.
We’re not stand-ins, we’re specialists. The wrestles, the risks, the “you’ll figure it out”s: they build resilience in ways science is only just catching up with. Show up, back them and let go when it counts.
Check this out, it’s fascinating.