Many of us enjoy walking and hiking but how much thought do we give to…
Nothing beats a nature walk but sometimes kids need some gentle persuasion to go into the great outdoors! Here’s our pick of activities to keep them entertained on your walk – guaranteed to stop them asking “are we there yet?”.
Before your walk
Plan the walk together
Keeping kids interested starts before the walk even begins! Ask them where they’d like to go – would they prefer a forest, the coast, fields or even a mountain? Then get out a large-scale paper map of the area, open it out on the floor or a table at home and plan your route together. They can use a pencil to mark your trail, where you’ll start, finish, any landmarks they want to stop at, which areas to avoid (such as very steep terrain) and where to stop for snacks and lunch. Discuss how long you’d like the walk to be, choosing a distance suitable for every member of the group. Help your kids read the weather forecast too, so you know what conditions you may find.
Be playful with packing
Help kids pack their own bag to take on your walk, making sure it’s light enough for them to carry. Work together to come up with the essentials they’ll need – from water to snacks and weather-appropriate clothes. Don’t forget to pack some playful items too. They may want to take a favourite (lightweight) toy, binoculars for bird spotting or crayons and a notepad to capture all the natural wonders they’ll see.
Make the perfect picnic
Plan for an alfresco picnic lunch on your walk, surrounded by nature. Get kids involved with choosing what you’ll take for a picnic and helping make it too. Check out these child-friendly picnic recipes.
On your walk
Encourage new navigators
On your walk, keep helping kids read the paper map, to teach them valuable skills and encourage independence. OS has Beginner Guides for map reading skills to get them started, including a helpful guide on how to use a compass – another useful skill to learn.
Set up a scavenger hunt
Organise a nature-themed scavenger hunt as part of your walk. Print out sheets with tick boxes for younger ones to mark off each item – from feathers to flowers, animal tracks to trees. You could give out prizes to reward the winner(s) too.
Spot amazing animals
Ask kids which animals they’d like to see, then plan your walk in an area you might spot them. Although wherever you go, there’ll be animals to discover! They could bring binoculars for bird watching or insect viewers for collecting bugs en route.
Find a rainbow of colours
If boredom hits, ask children to spot things in all the colours of the rainbow as you walk along. You can work your way through each colour, e.g., a red flower, an orange leaf, a yellow sun. It’s a great activity to help them notice the natural world around them.
Collect treasure to take home
If there’s one activity kids love, it’s collecting treasure. Get them to see what they can find to bring home with them, as a memory of your walk or to turn into something creative. Think flowers to press, leaves to create rubbings and rocks to paint.
Stop for a story
Pause your walk for a story if you’re walking with younger kids. Ask everyone to collect natural props and think up a story that includes them. Why not get everyone to contribute to the story too?
Get snap happy
Put kids in charge of photography, to capture the day. You could let them use your phone, digital camera or even an old school disposable camera. Give them prompts for what to photograph (e.g., their favourite tree, a group shot at the end of the walk, any animals they spot) or let them get creative!
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