Encourage your child to look around and talk about what they can see.
- Stop and close your eyes, see how many different sounds you can hear.
- Take a bag with you and see if you can find some interesting things to collect from the ground... stones, leaves, bark, pine cones, twigs... maybe you'll find 'Stickman' (Read and explore Stick Man)
- Take some real or home-made binoculars, they will help your child focus on the different things they see.
- Take a small mirror with you. Encourage your child to move the mirror around as they walk. Talk about what they see in it.
- Let your child take some photos with your camera or phone of the things they find interesting. Or you could set them a challenge to take a photo of something blue, the biggest thing they can find, or something that's alive.
- Go on the same walk in different types of weather and at different times of year... notice and talk about what has changed and explore different things: Squelch in mud on a rainy day, examine frosty leaves or spiders webs when it's very cold, on a warm day lie down and watch the clouds.
- Move in different ways as you walk, take tiny steps or giant leaps.
- Tell a story as you walk (Going on a bear hunt).
- Play a game, such as 'I spy', for example, 'I spy something that is brown and shiny'.
Top Tips:
- Talk about what you saw after your walk. This will help your child remember the experience and practice any new words they learned.
- You could encourage your child to tell a friend or family member about what they saw.
- Encourage your child to explore any items they collected, or photos they took, and show them to someone else.
Good to know
Spending time in nature has a positive effect on physical fitness, mental health and sleep!
