I have one toddler climbing on the couch and the other is dragging a roll of toilet paper around the house. I am running out of patience. We need to get out of the house, but where?

Have you been there?

The children’s museum is fun, but you went there on Monday.

The library is great, but you are going there tomorrow for storytime.

If you go to the park you will probably spend the whole time trying to talk them out of sitting on a swing the whole time.

Where can you go? What can you do? The answer is more simple than you might think.

Read Also: 12 Children’s Book Inspired Walk Ideas

When my twins were toddlers they were the extraordinarily busy kind. They loved to paint but there are only so many times in one day that I am willing to bath my paint covered child. The only way that would sit still was if I read to them. I loved to share books, but eventually my voice would start to go hoarse and we needed another option.

We lived in a small town with very few options for little kids. What did we do?

We went for walks. Lots of walks. Neighborhood walks. Walks around downtown. Walks in the State Park near our house. Over and over again. Every time they would find something new. Something interesting. Something to explore. They learned so much just by going for a walk.

Some of our walks were more themed or related to what we were learning and these were often our most fun. Below are 12 of our most favorite theme walks, one for every month.

12 Walk Ideas for Toddlers

1. Flashlight Walk : Fall. or Winter.

2. Listening Walk : Anytime of year.

3. Bird Watching Walk : Spring. Summer. or Fall.

4. Counting Walk : Spring. Summer. Fall.

5. Car Colors Walk : any time of year

6. Fire Hydrant Walk : Spring. Summer. Fall

7. Flower Color Walk : Spring or Summer

8. Rainy Day Walk : Spring or Summer

9. Puddle Walk : Spring. Summer. or Fall.

10. Looking for Signs of Fall : Fall

11. Thankful Walk : Fall – or any time

12. Winter Lights Walk : Winter.

For more walk ideas and other adventures for toddlers, check out my book Little Walks Big Adventures!