When out on a walk, there is so much natural beauty that you and your child can enjoy together. In
fact, there are so many things to explore and look out for, that it can be hard to cram it all into one
walk. To make the most of your nature walks with your child and to ensure that they’re as fun and
enriching as possible, it can be useful to plan some activities beforehand, or have a checklist of the
things that you want to see and find whilst on your outdoor adventure.
You can use this time outside as an opportunity to enhance their learning from school or nursery. At
the nursery chain Kiddi Caru, for example, children are able to learn about their natural environment
and develop a respect for it in forest school, where they can let their creativity run wild outdoors.
You can continue to build on the things that they learn at nursery on your own nature walks with
your child. And to help you to make your time outdoors together a fun and educational experience,
here are three things that you could include on your nature walk checklist.
Insect Scavenger Hunt
Walks don’t just have to be a case of putting one foot in front of the other to reach a destination, so
to keep your child engaged and to make walks that little bit special, why not attempt an insect
scavenger hunt? There are plenty of online printable checklists that you can print off ahead of your
walk to take along with you. You’ll have to keep your eyes peeled for those creepy crawlies, looking
in the many nooks and crannies in trees and underneath rocks, logs or bark.
Each time you find a different species of insect your child can tick it off their list. To motivate them a
little further, you could make it a competition, which can be exciting if you’re walking in a group. You
could see who can check off the most insects on their checklist, making this educational activity
enriching and entertaining for all involved.
Tree spotting
As we mentioned earlier, there are so many things to see on a nature walk that it can be easy to
overlook the beauty that’s right before your eyes. If you’re lucky enough to have a woods or forest
nearby then you can go tree spotting, to try to identify as many different species of trees as you can.
On a summer walk in the woods the trees will be in their full splendour, adorned with their unique
leaves. These leaves are like the tree’s fingerprint, and you and your child can use them to help to
identify the species of tree that they’re attached to.
Once again, you could download a printable tree checklist and a leaf identification sheet to help you
to differentiate between the types of trees. Since trees are a vital part of our ecosystem, it’s never
too early to educate your children about their role in nature, so that they learn to respect their
natural surroundings.
Bird Spotting
Bird spotting can become a sensory activity because, if you’re attentive enough, you and your child
can try to identify the different types of birds on your nature walk, not only by looking for them, but
by listening out for their unique birdsong. There are plenty of apps that you can download, which
will contain a variety of different birdsongs and calls, so that you can sit, listen and figure out which
birdsong belongs to which bird. You can then check off the birds that you see and hear on a
checklist, giving your child a sense of accomplishment when they complete their walk.
‘Contributed Post’
