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 Drum Stick.
During the hike, have kids pick up sticks of various lengths. At the next rest stop, have them lay out the sticks from shortest to tallest. Next, have them select at least three different objects in the rest area, such as grass, a tree trunk, and a boulder.
Now comes the fun part: Next have them take each stick, from shortest to tallest, and hit each of the selected objects. Ask them if and how the sound made differs based on the object struck and the stick length.
If you have multiple children on the hike, see if they can create a song by striking the different length sticks against the different objects.
This activity is a great way for children to interact with nature, to learn about music, to be creative, and to learn cooperation and leadership.
Materials: Sticks and other objects found on the trail
Ages: Four and up
Learn about more than a hundred other hiking diversions for kids in Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities.
