Nature Walk, as the name suggests itself, is walking through nature while sensing the atmosphere around – smelling the air, listening to sounds and feeling the touches of the rocks, leaves, trees, mud or anything.
Nature walk for kids is as important as it is for grown ups. In fact, nature walk with kids is always a great learning experience for both kids and parents.
Innate curiosity of kids makes them notice every little thing in nature that intrigues them to question it further. Getting into question and answer sessions during nature walks help kids learn more about our ecological system.
Why is Nature Walk Important?
We are a part of nature and are made up of the same stuff. Nature walk helps us reconnect with nature, uplifting our strength mentally, physically and emotionally.
It recharges us to take up our subsequent tasks of life most efficiently. Nature has the power to embrace you, calm you down, make you happy, and boost your energy and immunity.
It works wonders with kids by helping them further in enhancing their motor skills and critical thinking abilities. Nature walk cultivates curiosity and observation skills in kids to another level.
Another amazing thing about Nature Walk with kids is that it helps them appreciate and respect the nature around them. This love and respect for nature, that kids garner over time, in turn helps in bringing up a society of nature protectors.
Quick Tip: Team these nature walk ideas with funny Never Have I Ever Questions to make the walk entertaining and worth remembering.
Nature Walk Ideas for Kids
1. Barefoot Grass Walk
With most of our time spent in schools or offices and our feet always in shoes or any footwear, we have lost direct touch with the Earth.
Walking barefoot on grass is immensely soothing, energizing and has tonnes of benefits. Surprisingly there is a word for this activity and it is called “Grounding”.
As per a research, barefoot walking with constant touch of the Earth makes your body antioxidant rich, improves sleep patterns, reduces pain, strengthens muscles, and lowers stress.
Research also suggests that barefoot walking is healthy for the functioning of body organs. It helps in regulating our autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for maintaining our body temperature, hormone secretion, digestion, and blood pressure.
This is definitely one the most simple and powerful Nature Walk activities to do with kids. Kids get ecstatic in doing such out of the box things and getting a little dirty.
Those little tingling sensations the grass creates on your feet are so powerful in making you healthy and happy, instantly!
Notch up the fun quotient with Knock Knock Jokes for kids to make your nature walk more entertaining!
2. Explore the Leaves
It seems as if every leaf has its own story to say. This Nature Walk idea of exploring a beautiful variety of leaves around us is a great fun learning for kids.
Kids will be amazed to spectate different shapes and sizes of the leaves that are all around them in nature and mindfully intrigued that the differences not only pertain to the dimensions but also colour shades. Just a great way to increase observation skills and focus in kids!
Let the kids climb trees up to a safe height to get closer to the leaves. Climbing trees is a great nature walk activity too. It gives kids a sense of confidence and independence while developing their motor skills.
Touching the leaves and feeling their texture and moisture is another way to interact with nature right from your soul.
Besides, this nature walk activity will also motivate kids to appreciate the beauty, strength and endurance of nature.
Related: Rain cancelled your plans? Worry not! Instead indulge your kids in these Best Indoor Activities for Kids on a Rainy day to bring smile to their faces.
3. Feel the Air
Sit in nature, close your eyes and take a deep breath.
Just feel the air!
Sensing the soft touch of air, passing through your fingers, finding paths through your hair, tapping your ears is extremely mindful and have great calming effects.
Let nature embrace you and your kids and shatter all the anxieties.
Air has a unique smell of freshness in it. It is a blend of everything around in nature. It is really fun to see kids coming out with different answers. Sometimes there is a prominent smell of mud and sometimes it could be flowers or leaves or other things.
This nature walk activity is simply an amazing way of sharpening your child’s senses. Ask your kids to take a deep breath and smell the air.
Question them about what all they could smell or simply indulge them in This or That Questions to lighten the mood and bring on some humour.
4. Listen to the Sounds
This is another complex yet easy nature walk idea to relish your surroundings. Encourage your kids to focus on all the sounds that they could hear around them.
They will notice melodious sound of chirping birds, swaying branches of trees, squeaking squirrels and much more.
It seems as if every element of nature is talking to each other but not humans, until we explore this harmony during our nature walk.
Related: Nature walk provides a wonderful opportunity to indulge in fun Would You Rather Questions for Kids that will get your kids thinking!
5. Watch the Insects
Insects are amongst the most important and ignored part of our ecological system. Every little insect has a role to play in maintaining ecological harmony.
This nature inspired activity for kids is all about observing the insects and its activity. Parents can further help kids in catching an insect and observing it in a bug viewer. Kids get amazed with the intricate anatomy of insects.
Such activities teach kids how every insect, no matter how tiny it is, has a place in its habitat and an important role to play in maintaining the ecological balance.
Related: Check out Fun Facts About Animals for Kids to amaze (and enlighten!) them.
6. Play with Mud
Playing with mud is undeniably the most scintillating idea of Nature Walk to connect with the planet.
It is very important for kids to play with mud as it helps to build strong immunity while exposing them to everyday germs. It is great in developing sensory skills too!
There are so many ways to have fun while playing with mud. Let your kids build mud cakes, castles while exploring the mystery of shapes and patterns.
Kids always love to be in nature and get a little messy. Their fun becomes multifold when parents too become partners in crime with them.
You can even take this as an opportunity to open their hearts by playing fun games like Truth or Dare for Kids. Kids are more likely to open up while they are playing and simply having fun.
7. Sky Gazing
This Nature Walk idea with kids is perfect to discover everything you see up in the sky. It is a wonderful way to explore the beautiful colors of the sky, run and chase of clouds, and the patterns of the flying flock of birds.
This activity can definitely transform into a learning game for kids. Let them spy for shapes in the clouds. It is immensely absorbing to see the creativity of the clouds.
Quick Tip: It is a great idea to peep into their hearts while they are in this calm state. Try these good topics of conversation for kids to get them sharing their thoughts.
Clouds make such a beautiful variety of shapes. Let your kids spot shapes of continents, animals, trees and maybe a fire breathing dragon, a mythical beast or even a cartoon character!
Transform this Nature Walk Activity into a hands-on fun science lesson with our STEM e-journal on Clouds.
8. Bird Watching
Watching the birds play is so much fun! They fly in such a great co-ordination that it seems as if an immensely synchronised performance is going on. And then, there is such a diverse range of birds with their own attributes.
It is a great activity for kids to watch for their differences in terms of their sizes, height of flying, speed of flapping wings and colours. Maybe you can delve further on their eating preferences as well.
Quick Tip: Make these homemade bird feeders and take them on your nature walk to hang them from a tree.
9. Scavenger Hunt
This is the most fun Nature Walk activity to do with kids with a little preparation needed in advance. It is a booster for critical thinking and problem-solving skills in kids.
Nature scavenger hunt can be played anywhere in open space, even in your backyard garden or porch.
All you have to do is set a trail of clues to find things subsequently to reach the final goal. Write a clue on a paper that would help kids find the next clue. So, basically it is a trail of clues to get to the last clue in a sequential order.
Make it more challenging for kids by making the whole activity time bound.
10. I SPY
Easy Nature Walk activity for kids with zero… absolutely zero preparation. Just randomly ask your kids to search for something, that of course you have spotted already, in their surroundings.
Like you can ask them to spot a heart shaped leaf, a butterfly, an insect or any shape in the clouds. And before you can imagine, your nature walk will transform into a fun outdoor brain game for kids.
Related: If your kids love I spy, we bet they will also adore these Guessing Games for Kids.
11. Outdoors STEM Activities
Nature Walk coupled with exciting STEM activities for kids can easily transform a boring, mundane day into a fun learning experience. Explore these engaging outdoor science activities for kids to make some great hands-on learning.
Nature Walk helps you build strong unwavering bond with your kids. It helps the whole family to reconnect and plug the gaps to make lives fun, easy and much more meaningful. It motivates kids to find beauty in every little thing and a deep sense of love for nature.
