Play Animal Detectives

Even if you don’t see animals on your walk, kids can look for clues to show them what critters have been on the path before you got there.

If you are walking in nature, it can be frustrating and disappointing for children (and adults) to not see any animals roaming about the woods. Of course, I should clarify that statement by saying that we might not notice animals as opposed to saying that we might not see animals on our walk.

One, many people don’t count birds and insects as animals. They move too fast, they don’t travel in straight lines, and oftentimes we hear them but we don’t get a good look at them. Two, many animals are active between dusk and dawn when the lighting allows for them to be seen. Noon is when the day is brightest and hottest. However, you can still look for signs of the animals that have recently moved through the area you are walking at the moment.

Although we call them ‘signs’ they are anything but as obvious as the signs that people make. Animal signs can include holes in the ground and in trees, droppings, tracks, nests, chewed twigs, bent twigs, and scratched up areas of ground or leaves. You don’t need to identify the sources of these signs of animal activity but it can be fun to guess. Avoid spending a lot of time analyzing the source of each sign, as children will tire of the activity. For older children who desire some competition, award one point to the first person to notice each sign.

If children really want to learn what animals are moving around in nature, look for a tracking field guide that shows more than footprint patterns.

Photography for Kids – Go Out and Take Pictures

The past three days I’ve given tips and “assignments” that can help kids (really anyone) take better photographs. Reading tips, however, isn’t enough; kids need to explore nature with a camera in hand. The nature can be in their backyard, at a state forest, or at their summer camp. Kids can give themselves a goal – take 25 pictures a day, for example. They could take 25 pictures in ten minutes or over the course of ten hours. If they find an interesting subject they could take additional photographs.

I know a graphic designer who received a camera one Christmas and made it his goal to take 100 pictures each day, thereby teaching himself how to be a photographer. Granted, he had a trained artist’s eye, but still, he did a lot of experimentation as he played with the best angle to photograph ice and learned how the lighting at different times of day affected the forest, the field, water.

The first thing, of course, is that kids need access to a camera. There are enough inexpensive digital cameras that will allow a kid or teen to experiment without the concerns that come with borrowing mom or dad’s camera for a day. Here are some other tips for kids …

- Read the manual. It may be boring but it will tell you about features on the camera that you might overlook.
- Keep the batteries or camera charged. Have an extra set for backup. I’ve known a lot of kids that have had to stop taking pictures because their batteries died ten minutes after they turned on their camera.
- Download photos regularly and clear you memory card. There is nothing worse than losing a photo-taking opportunity because you are scanning through your camera’s memory trying to decide what to delete.
- Set a goal each day. Take pictures at different times of day. Do the “assignments” in composition, lighting, and angles.

Nature Observation Games – A New Way of Seeing

It is easy to get caught up in walking and talking and looking straight ahead in the direction you’re headed. If we hear a noise, we may look up. If the footing is uneven, we may glance down. However, what do we miss by not looking up, down, and side-to-side as we walk? What do we miss by not noticing some of the smaller details along the way?

These two activities will get you and your children looking at those smaller details with a couple of games. ‘Angles’ can be played with any age. With young children, you may need to hold the object at the item you want them to describe. ‘Camera’ is appropriate if you are with one child or you have an even number of children who are at least seven years old and up so they can safely lead a partner wearing a blindfold. As always, you best know the children you are with.

Angles
You can do this activity one of two ways depending on if you want to use something small that you can hold or something large that you can stand next to. With a small object, you can either stop to pass it around or you can pass it among the children you are will as you walk along.

If you find something small, you hold it and describe it. The next person takes the object and describes it in a different way. Recommend that the child turn the object so she can look at it from a different angle. Continue passing the object around, each child describing it in a different way.

Remind children that they can use senses other than sight. How does the object sound if they run their finger down it? What does the item smell like? What is the object’s texture? (The children should avoid using their sense of taste.)

If the object is too large to hold – say a building or a statue, stop to gather around the object. Again, each person describes a different detail that they see, hear, smell, or feel. If the group is large, this may seem too challenging, but look at it as a way for the kids to use their creativity and imagination.

Large or small object, because children can’t repeat something else that someone else has said, they must not only use their observation skills but also pay attention to what the other children in the group have said.

Camera
Look for an area that offers a variety of things for individuals to observe. Since one player will have his eyes closed during much of the game, you may want to select terrain that the children with you will be able to physically manipulate.

One player (the photographer) leads another player (the camera) with her/his eyes closed to an interesting object. The photographer aims the camera and taps the camera’s shoulder or gently tugs on the camera’s ear. The camera opens its shutter (eyes) for 3-to-5 seconds then closes its shutter. After a few exposures, switch positions. Afterward, you could have students draw a picture of the most memorable thing they saw.

Introduce one of these games on a walk and save the other for another time. Both of these activities can easily work into your repertoire of walking games as they require no planning or supplies, just an awareness of the place around you.

Backyard Nature Fun

Whether your child loves collecting rocks or looking at insects, you don't have to travel far to encourage their interest in nature. By looking at the nature in their backyard, kids learn that nature is all around them and that it isn't limited to rainforests and polar bears that they can watch on television.

Below are links to explorations, games, and craft projects that kids can do in their own backyard, some on their own and other activities with at least one other child (or adult).

Play This Magic Square Nature Collection Game
Go Bug Collecting for Outdoor Fun
Make a Stone Cairn
Nature Memory Games
Backyard Games that Get Kids Playing in Nature
Activities for Kids Who Collect Rocks
How to Discover What Worms Need to Survive

Backyard Summer Fun

Although summer brings family vacations and camp experiences for some children, kids may best enjoy the simplicity of spending time in their own backyard. Whether kids are getting together with siblings, neighbors, or friends and relatives who are over the house for a play date or a party, there are an endless number of ways kids can have fun right at home.

Cool Summer Fun with Icy Kids' Activities

Backyard Games for Active Kids

Games Played with Sticks for Indoor and Outdoor Fun

How Kids Can Invent Fun Games to Play Outdoors

How to Make Bubble Blowers

Water Balloon Games

Backyard Camping for Kids and Families

Pick up that Stick!

When walking along with a group of children, you’ll almost never hear me tell children to pick up sticks. Usually, I’m trying to avert having one child accidently hitting another child with a stick so you’ll hear me say one (or ten) times, “Stick down.” Kids always want hiking sticks, which I tell them are fine if they are walking with their family but not in a group of twelve-to-fifteen individuals. I can just envision some kid tripping over someone else’s walking staff. (On occasion, when I know the kids better than those on a two-hour field trip, I have allowed hiking sticks.)

Kids can play a lot of games with small sticks, those as long as the child’s forearm from wrist to elbow. Children can pick up fallen sticks and use them to build log cabin-like structures on a clear patch of ground. Natural sticks also provide a greater challenge for a game of pick-up sticks. Kids will think it’s silly to use real sticks as Lincoln Logs or pick-up sticks.

Children can also “write” their names or words with sticks or try creating other images with an assortment of branches so to get some different colors. Place two sticks opposite one another and encourage children to pretend they are jumping over a stream, as defined by the sticks. Keep moving apart the sticks, as the child continues to challenge himself. Try other Games Played with Sticks for Indoor and Outdoor Fun. Sticks are a free toy that are a bit like the boxes that house presents … they are an open-ended toy that supports a variety of creative play opportunities.

Nature Counting Game – Outdoor Inventories

Doing things in nature doesn’t have to be complicated (camping, kayaking) or require vast knowledge of the outdoors (lenticels?). Just go outside and take a walk with your children. Notice what is out there. Games, like ‘I Spy’ are fun because they get you to pay attention to the things surrounding you in a low-key way.

You don’t have to feel as if you are teaching your kids something each time you go outside. Nor is it necessary for them to spout nature facts. Experiencing the outdoors with your senses is enough for both you and your children to learn something about the world.

The nature counting game is an easy, you-don’t-have-to-plan-anything-in-advance, sort of activity. Simply select something to count while you are on your walk. No, really, it’s more fun than you might think (or maybe I just like counting things!).

You can count chipmunks, yellow flowers, red leaves, white rocks, etc.
The key is to select something that you think you’ll find but not in such a great quantity (field of daffodils) that it would be ridiculous to count. Do this with your kids for five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes. Or, count as you walk from one spot to the next.

If your children are young, work together looking for one type of thing (you don’t really have to count, just look for and notice one thing – but, chances are, you’ll start counting). If your children are older, each person could look for something different; perhaps starting the walk with each person predicting what they think will be the most obvious thing to find that day on that walk.

Your goal isn’t numbers, but an awareness of what you have walked passed along the way.

Go Outside for a Walk with Your Children

As an adult, do you associate the outdoors with chores such as mowing the lawn and gardening; sports (as a spectator and as a participant); or with outdoor recreation such as canoeing/kayaking, mountain biking, or hiking up mountains?

You know your kids should spend more time – more free time – outside, but they do sports and have recess at school, so is that enough? However, look at spending time outdoors not just as a “kid” and not even as a “family” thing, but as something that everyone can enjoy in their own special way. The outdoors doesn’t have to be about chores, sports, and organized activities. Spending time outside can be as simple as taking a walk.

Think of a walk as exercise for your body, mind, and spirit. Your heart will pump a little more, your thoughts may seem a little clearer, and your heart may lift a bit higher as you watch the changes of the seasons. A walk is simple. You can direct your child with a few Hiking Games to Get You Moving Outdoors, or just allow your children to explore as they will. If your children like to meander and look at things, then plan to walk a shorter distance so you can stay within your time expectations.

Where to go? Go beyond your backyard and walk through your neighborhood. Explore wooded areas around schoolyards and recreations fields as long as they aren’t posted as private property (they may be an extension of the school or town’s property). Ask other families if they walk in nature and where they go. Look on your town’s website for walking trails.

Do an Internet search of your state and find out what conservation and recreation organizations have locations in your area. Although many charge an annual membership fee, that can work out cheaper than paying one-time trail fees. Before you join, make certain that there are sites within an hour of your house. Closer than that is better because then it won’t feel like an ordeal to drive the distance to take a short walk and then have to drive home. The closer the locations to your home, the more likely you’ll go walking when your child has a half day at school or plans fall through on Saturday morning and you’re wonder what to do for a few hours.

Be creative in getting yourself and your children outdoors for a walk. I love walking the paths of a local cemetery. I’ve found wooded walking paths around a couple of museums. Make a list; keep a file of trail maps the way you keep a file of pizza places. Know where you can get to in less than twenty minutes; jot down notes about what you and your kids liked and didn’t like at different locations. Put on your sneakers and go outside.

Imagination Connections in Nature

How often do you look up at the clouds and imagine seeing dancing elephants and mice chasing tigers? If you don’t envision representations of reality in the clouds, do your children?

I have always loved looking for and finding pictures and patterns in seemingly random things. I have tried to play my cloud game with other adults while we drive along the highway and I tend to hit a resistance that I’ve never encountered with kids and young teens. After a few suggestions, adults sometimes grudgingly tell me that they can’t see what I’m seeing but then they tell me what they see in the pattern of clouds.

Try this with your kids: Look for figures within the pattern of things around you. I have seen faces in the wood grain of doors. The other day, I saw a stick that had a distinct bear-ness to its stance in spite of its skinny stick-ness. It was like an armature waiting to be fleshed out with clay.

It isn’t necessary for clouds, leaves, sticks, rock formation, shrubs, and all that stuff to look like an exact sculpture of what we imagine. In a world where we are accustomed to uniform manufactured items, a three-legged cloud dog may bother children with its imperfection (“That doesn’t look like a real dog.”) but it opens children, and the adults playing along, to curiosity and creativity.

Creativity is not black-and-white. Creativity is gray and fuzzy. It is a starting point. Even a “finished” creative piece can be a jumping off point for future endeavors. (“Next time, I’ll use pink and green together.” “Next time, I’ll add more onions to the soup.”)

This simple creative activity can help children develop problem-solving skills. They realize that they don’t have to accept something as is and that they can look for other options. Kids can learn that it is fun to look for options instead of to wipe the sweat from their brow with relief that they can find one way of doing something, even if that choice is lackluster. Children can learn to recognize patterns as their brains fill in details.

The simple and silly action of looking for faces and figures in the natural (and manmade) world doesn’t take any time, you can do it while driving (watch the road, though), walking, or doing anything else during which time you pause to look around at your surroundings with the fuzzy view that while things are what they are they can also look like other things.

If you don’t normally look for images within other objects, it may take you a while to develop this habit. As I said, this doesn’t have to be a formal activity, you and the kids can just call out the faces and figures you see when you see them. Forcing things for the sake of a game diminishes inspired observations. When someone takes an inventive view of an object, pause for a few seconds to admire their connection. It isn’t necessary to agree, disagree, or offer another point of view. Creativity isn’t about right or wrong; it is about options.

The Lure of the Indoors

Last week I didn’t go outside as much as I could have. Yes, many of the mornings were dull and rainy but I could have taken a walk later in the day. I was coordinating a dance show and practicing for my performance but I still could have taken a short neighborhood walk. Instead, I spent much of my week glued to my computer watching the leaves on the trees and shrubs in the backyard opening a little bit more with each passing day.

People are always talking about how kids should spend more time outside and less time indoors watching television and playing computer games. However, how many adults who may exhort their children to go outdoors take their own suggestion?

I think we get caught up in thinking how outdoor activities and indoor activities are two separate animals. The outdoors is for gardening, walking, running around, playing sports, working on the car, fishing, etc. Yet, when was the last time you read a chapter from your book while sitting outside? Could kids take their homework outside or even (yes, the horror) bring their handheld electronic game outside?

Being outside doesn’t have to mean that we need to do anything outdoorsy. I have a deck with table and chairs literally on the other side of the wall where I am sitting now at a table typing. Granted, the door is open and the fresh air is coming inside, so why do I feel the need to sit on this side of that wall?

Read a storybook to your children while outside or encourage them to take their book outside and sprawl on a lawn chair instead of their bed. Persuade them to draw and paint; play with their cars or dolls; or give a new existence to a toy that’s become boring by playing with it outside. Yes, some pieces may get left outside and something will get rained on, but this also teaches children respect and responsibility for their belongings.

Challenge yourself and your children to do one thing this week that has no obligation to be done in the out of doors.

Weather or Not to Send Kids Outside

Originally published 4/06/2011 at explorelongtheway.com

Many adults remember playing outdoors as kids no matter what the weather was; in fact, the way they tell it, their parents insisted on it. Drizzle or downpour, sun or snow, kids played outdoors. The ironic thing is that the topic of playing outside as kids comes up when people start commenting on how today’s kids stay indoors because their parents insist on it.

Now, theoretically, some of those outdoor-playing children of the past are the present-day parents with the deer-in-the-headlights look when they hear that their child will be walking through more than an inch of snow or going outside during a light rain.

So, what happened to the outdoor-playing children of the past to turn them into weather-wary parents of the present? In his book Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv cites evidence to the benefits of being outdoors along with data supporting the increasing unlikelihood of finding children enjoying the outdoors. Yet, if children have a place to go outside – whether it is the schoolyard or the backyard – why do many adults use weather to stop them at the door? Current outdoor clothing seems more apt for the weather than what I wore thirty-plus years ago as a kid. Still, as a child, I was entrenched in a variety of weather-appropriate outerwear.

However, I have seen kids come to outdoor field trips without hats, gloves, and no more than a sweatshirt when there was two feet of snow on the ground. During rainy days at summer camp – a nature camp, mind you, numerous children wouldn’t arrive with a raincoat and they would insist that they didn’t even own such a garment.

I’m thinking that some kids don’t have things to wear outdoors so they don’t go outside and their parents don’t buy them outerwear because their kids don’t go outdoors. Will the child who runs from vehicle to building when it is raining ever become an adult who does more than move from one climate-controlled environment to the next? Will watching the nature channel on a rainy day replace laughing at bedraggled squirrels trying to twitch their tails dry and fluffy or pulling earthworms out of puddles and moving them to the drier soil beneath the shrubs. Can you love nature when you don’t even know it?