5 activities to do on a nature walk with your kids
With the changing of the seasons it is a perfect time to go on a nature walk with your children through the woods. Here are some ideas for what you can do with your children as you walk and talk.
1. Make a rock path
Collect stones and line them up in order of size – small, bigger and biggest. Talk about textures – rough, soft, cracked, smooth, jagged, sharp. Make spaces to jump over them with two feet! Or use them for a slalom route to hop around.
2. Equip your kids to be hikers
Notice aloud what the ground is like under your feet. What surfaces you can walk on safely. Use descriptive words like “slippery” or “firm” or “bumpy”. Point out your child’s “grippy” shoes which help them stay safe while walking on bumpy or slippery surfaces. As a parent you can help your child learn how to manage risk rather than avoiding it.
3. Let your creative spirit flow
As you walk along and describe your surroundings pick out words that rhyme and put together a poem when you get back home about what you saw, felt and thought.
4. Get in touch with the seasons
Talk about the changes in the weather and the light. How do you physically tell that the season has changed? Show them the leaves of different colours, falling leaves and fallen seeds or conkers and other seasonal nuts.
5. Role play
Act out a story you are reading at home or a family favourite. For example, if you love a story about pirates, create a ship out of sticks and act out the different roles people have on the ship.
Monica Shah Zeeman and the Children First staff team
