One of our favorite things about our house is our lawn. Having a yard where the kids could play, and where my husband and I could relax, was a must-have when we moved here. Playing together as a family is a wonderful way to bond and spend quality time with the kids, as well as get great exercise and some fresh air.
We’ve got a huge list of games and activities that are perfect for the lawn and wanted to share them with you. Whether you’re planning a day of fun during a cookout or weekend activities to let the kids play outside, there are so many ways to have fun in your yard. Be sure to scroll down for those fun ideas!
But first! You’ll want a lush, gorgeous lawn for the family to relax and play on, right? Here are some awesome fall lawn care tips from the experts to help you get your grass looking its best!
Fall Lawn Care Tips for a Gorgeous Yard
It’s the perfect time of year to seed your lawn. After a hot and dry summer, you may have noticed that your lawn has thinned out considerably. If you have thin or bare areas in your lawn, or just want to create a fuller, lusher lawn, here are some great lawn care tips from the experts:
• Prep the soil in bare areas using a straight rake. The objective is to remove dead organic matter and fluff the top ½ inch of soil
• Consult a local gardener to determine if applying a lawn fertilizer is appropriate in your region. Most cool season grasses respond well to three primary nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. For instance, a product with a ratio of 26-7-14 would work well
• Apply seed. If you have a sunny lawn with irrigation use perennial ryegrass. If you have a sunny lawn without irrigation use tall fescue. If you have a shady lawn use fine fescue. If your lawn is a mix of sun and shade, use a mixture of perennial ryegrass and fine fescue
• Pick grass seed that has tested well in your area. Talk to your state agriculture school or gardener to figure the right seed for your lawn
• No one type of grass is best suited to all situations. Avoid the trap of letting personal preference and the costs of establishment become the overriding factors in selecting a grass. Your choice of a lawn grass should be based on climate, sustainability, intended use and desired appearance
• It is important to purchase quality grass seed. Make sure the seed was tested in the last six months and check that the germination rate is 85 percent or better
• Have your soil tested. A soil analysis is inexpensive and provides important information about nutrient levels and soil type. Liming, fertilizing and seed selection may all depend on the results of a soil analysis
• Fall is also a great time for aerification or core cultivation. I would suggest using hollow tine core cultivation, pulling small core out of the soil. After you are finished you can top dress with soil, compost or even sand at a ¼ inch depth
• In the fall, ¼ to ½ inch per week of water (via rainfall or irrigation) is generally sufficient to meet the turf’s needs.
Did you know that lawns are self-repairing? If you want a gorgeous lawn to play on year after year, you can help your lawn repair itself and regenerate after harsh conditions. Be sure to choose a grass that’s appropriate for your climate conditions and lawn use patterns, and the lawn will be more resilient to stresses such as drought, frost or foot traffic.
It’s the perfect time to start working on your yard, so follow those great expert tips and you’ll be on your way to healthier, beautiful grass!
From cookouts with family and friends to a fun weekend afternoon with the neighborhood kids, these Outdoor Games give you plenty of ways to enjoy your yard!
Outdoor Games
Piñata – there doesn’t have to be a birthday to have fun with piñatas! Fill an inexpensive piñata from a party store with small games, balls and toys for the kids to play with.
Twister – grab your twister game or make your own DIY version with a plastic sheet, circle template, and paint.
Tree Swing – Whether you use a tire, a wooden swing or a more updated version from your local hardware store, nothing says summer like a tree swing.
Bean Bag Toss – kids of all ages love to play bean bag toss! Divide everyone into teams and have different throw lines for kids and parents to keep the game fair.
Ping Pong Table – get that old ping pong table out of the attic and start a tournament on the lawn!
Sponge Water Bombs – Instead of spending time filling up tiny balloons and worrying about the balloon pieces left on the lawn, let the kids play with sponge water “bombs” instead!
Tag Football – play a fun game of tag football on the lawn.
Art stations – set up different art stations throughout the yard for kids to enjoy. You can have easels, picnic blankets with art supplies, sheets hung up on trees for painting, or whatever strikes your artistic fancy.
Obstacle Course – kids love running through obstacle courses so set up a course on your lawn with various home and garden items. Let the kids race each other or challenge the adults to see who can get through those obstacles the fastest! The kids may even want to add activity stations throughout the course, like jump roping, hula hooping or hopping on one foot.
Pool Noodle Games – there are dozens of fun uses for pool noodles from the dollar store. Have some ready for the kids to play with, or set up stations where they can make their own fun DIY noodle projects!
Ping Pong or Water Balloon Spoon Races – Set up relay races where the children have to carry a small ball or water balloon on a spoon. Make the rules a little more difficult for the older children, like starting over if the ball drops to the ground.
Ladder Ball – Use the version from your local store or make your own inexpensive version out of PVC pipe, this should only cost you about $30 to make and is sturdy enough to endure a whole summer of exciting competitions. (via Home Depot)
Croquet – there’s a reason why croquet has been a classic favorite for decades. Set up teams and enjoy an afternoon challenge on the lawn!
Follow the Leader – Have the kids take turns leading the others in a fun “follow the leader” parade. As they wind through the lawn, they can crawl, jump, hop, skip and get silly as they move.
Freeze Dance – Kids love to dance so “Freeze Dance” is a great way to get them moving. When the music turns off, the kids stop dancing and when it comes back on, the kids start dancing again. Change up the dancing and freezing time lengths to keep the kids laughing and having fun.
Trash in the Yard – Divide the yard into two sides with a line of masking tape down the center. Put an equal number of children on each side and have a bag of balls, rolled-up socks, balloons, or even balls of wadded-up old newspaper ready nearby. When you pour out the objects along the middle line, the children run to get the objects and toss them onto the other side. The object is to keep the “trash” out of their “yard” and have fewer items on their side when the game ends.
Toss Balloons – Blow up balloons and challenge the kids to keep them in the air. The kids can all work as a team with one balloon, alone as each tries to keep a single balloon in the air, or all juggle several at a time to stop any balloons from touching the ground.
We’re already planning to do more seeding this fall so the lawn will be even more beautiful in spring. Having a gorgeous lawn to enjoy year-round is important to us, and isn’t difficult to have when we follow expert advice!
Find more great information about how to get a lawn you’ll love at Grass Seed USA!
