Hiking game: Make Up Your Own Language

“Thep forkp inp trailp isp up aheadp.”

Generally, exploring and discovery is enough for kids, but sometimes even they can grow bored with that and become restless. Remember that they naturally have shorter attention spans than adults.

Fortunately, there are lots of tried and true activities you can do on the trail that’ll keep kids from getting bored. Among them is Make Up Your Own Language.

Have someone in the group create a simple rule, such as “Every word must end with the first letter of our last name.” Then everyone tries to follow that rule when speaking; for example, if the first letter of your family’s last name is “P,” add a “P” to the end of every word you say. “The fork in trail is up ahead” would then become “Thep forkp inp trailp isp up aheadp.” Younger children will love the silly sounding sentences. For older children, once everyone has followed a rule, add another one to your new language, such as “The second word of a sentence must be the first word.” So, you would now say, “Forkp thep inp trailp isp up aheadp.” Soon it’ll be a challenge to not only follow the rules but to figure out what everyone is saying!

Materials: None

Ages: 5 and up

Learn about more than a hundred other hiking diversions for kids in Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities.