Outdoor toy ideas for 5 yo & 3 yo boys

[jgenie]

I'm looking for outdoor toy ideas for a gift for 5 yr and 3 yr brothers. TIA

[brittone2]

Do you have a sandbox? We have a Naturally Playful sandbox that is 8 years old now, and still doing well. All 3 kids will play in it, the 6 and 8 yo neighbors still play in it, etc. If this is for someone else's children that is probably more than you'd want to spend.
We have one of those little sit on excavators and the kids use it in the sandbox too. We used it with pea gravel at our last house. It was an all metal version of this (this one looks like a plastic bucket but I didn't look that closely) http://www.amazon.com/Big-Dig-Ride-on-working-Crane/dp/B00004WCI0/ref=sr_1_3?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1369092588&sr=1-3&keywords=ride+on+excavator
bubbles
sidewalk chalk
watering cans and small garden tools (kid-sized wheelbarrow, shovel, broom, etc). The montessori catalogs always have things like this, but amazon and other sites carry them too. I've seen them in my local hardware store as well.
scooters
Gertie ball, beach ball
big Tonka trucks
stomp rockets are great at those ages
bug collection kit/magnifying glasses, etc.

[hillview]

watering cans and small garden tools (kid-sized wheelbarrow, shovel, broom, etc). The montessori catalogs always have things like this, but amazon and other sites carry them too. I've seen them in my local hardware store as well.
scooters
Gertie ball, beach ball
big Tonka trucks
stomp rockets are great at those ages
.
:yeahthat:
the BIG tonka trucks are big hits
scooters are also awesome but the 3 year old may be a little young

[georgiegirl]

Plasma cars, shovels, trucks, sidewalk chalk

[BabyBearsMom]

I only have girls, but big successes are:

* Sandbox
* Water table (your older son might be on the old side, but my 5yo nephew plays with it when he is over)
* Bubble machine
* Sidewalk chalk
* Powerwheels car

[egoldber]

I have a big Sterilite plastic bin filled with water toys: buckets, plastic utensils, old plastic cups, watering cans, etc. The kids fill it with water and will play with it for hours. It's popular with kids from 0 to adult. :)

I also bought a FP plastic dollhouse and schoolhouse at a consignment sale for $5 and we keep it in the garage for outside play. Neighbor kids love it (including boys). It wasn't in great shape, but I didn't care because it was for outside. Old Little People stuff would be good to use too.

We have a ton of little plastic dolls that we have collected over the years and the kids use those outside. They were originally for the dollhouse, but the kids use them for all sorts of imaginative play.

My kids also use the magnatiles outside.

Hot Wheels or other cars are popular. Driveway races are great fun if you have any slope at all. :)

Sprinklers are also very popular.

[mommylamb]

I think the things that get the most use in my house are the plasma car and a soccer ball.

[Simon]

The most beloved things here are the pop-up soccer goals. We got these (http://www.amazon.com/PUGG-Footer-Portable-Training-Boxed/dp/B001H31ULM/ref=sr_1_1?s=team-sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1369232368&sr=1-1) from Amazon and they're used daily. Ds1 can set them up by himself but needs help to fold them up again.
Ds2 still loves his pretend lawn mower and the sand table.

We have a collection of PlayHut pieces (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=17288296&CAWELAID=1650118457&cagpspn=pla&pla=plab&camp=PLAPPC-_-PID14644455&KPID=14644455) that get used and guests love them, but they tend to blow over in the wind so it depends on your climate.

Other favorite sports equipment: lacrosse sticks (also used w/the soccer goals), floor hockey sticks, t-ball Tee and bats, little tykes basketball hoop.

We have a mini-pool and water table but they haven't gotten much love. We sold our little tykes cube climber and the playhouse because they didn't get any use at all and they aren't missed.

[Nyfeara]

We have some things that PPs have mentioned as well. My boys LOVE the sandbox. We found nice plans online & just built one. They love playing with those cheap plastic animals in it.

I also wanted to try something I saw online where they use PVC pipes cut into smaller sections to make tunnels & make highways/tunnels out of bricks on end that go thru a mulched area or sandbox area.

http://www.lowes.com/creative-ideas/woodworking-and-crafts/toy-car-tunnel/project

My kids actually really like seesaws too. I'd consider one of those if I found the right deal.