Once you’ve completed your first hike, pat yourself on the back. You’ve done a lot of work but have taken the first step into a larger world for both you and your children.To keep kid’s enthusiasm charged, “review” the hike in kid-friendly ways. While you really can’t do this with infants, most toddlers and older kids will enjoy it. One post-hike game/activity you might consider is Nature Names.
Before the hike, give each child a small paper lunch bag or a re-sealable plastic bag. During the hike, have them collect small items found along the trail, such as leaves, grass blades, pine cones or needles, small berries, twigs, and small pieces of bark.
Once home, have children write their names on a piece of cardstock. Children then can arrange and glue their collected items to the cardstock so that their name is spelled out with items from nature.
Materials: Small paper lunch bag or a re-sealable plastic bag, cardstock, wood glue
Ages: 4 and up
Learn about more than a hundred other hiking diversions for kids in Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities.
