Get a FREE Nature Scavenger Hunt
We’re giving you our Nature Scavenger Hunt that we’ve had loads of success with at our outdoor kids sessions. It’s a FREE download which works great whether you’re a teacher or activity leader running an outdoor education session, or you’re a parent who wants to spice up a walk in the woods with their kids.
With some children, a walk in nature can be a hard sell if they prefer to stay indoors, watch videos or play video games. Many children might think twice before grabbing their coat and hat to head out into the woods for a day’s exploring. But could they resist the lure of a treasure hunt?
At Woodland Classroom we run lots of Forest School and outdoor education activities and one thing we’ve discovered is that kids love treasure hunts. So, we came up with a hunt of our own, which we use regularly at our sessions. Now you can use it to entice your kids outdoors during the colder months as they go looking for treasures from nature. You could even come up with a prize if the kids find everything on the list.
A couple of reasons why this particular Nature Scavenger Hunt works so well is that it is not season specific, so all the treasures can be found year round. Also many of the items are open to the child’s own interpretation, so it makes their experience a personal one. This activity also stimulates children’s natural curiosity. It’s the unexpected things that kids discover whilst looking for the items on their list that make each walk special.
You will notice one of the items to find involves a bit of litter-picking. This is our way of having an opportunity to talk with the kids we work with about litter and it’s impact on the land. We would, of course, advise that you check that the chosen litter is safe to be handled before adding it to the basket.
And for any parents thinking twice about heading out on a windy day, remember this; you can’t change the weather but you can change your attitude to it. An old saying goes, “There’s no such thing as the wrong weather, just the wrong clothing.” So, download your Nature Scavenger Hunt, get yourself and the kids wrapped up, grab a basket, a flask of hot chocolate and get exploring.
