Fun Family Activities While Exploring Forests
Exploring the forest is a great learning experience for kids and a perfect teaching moment for parents! An ideal way to get out into nature, exploring the forest can be fun for the whole family! There are so many benefits of spending time outdoors with your kids! Make sure you take the opportunity to turn exploring into a teaching moment. The forest can be a magical place for kids to explore and get in touch with the earth. Here are a few ways to create lasting memories with your family while exploring the forest!
Turn Your Hike into a Learning Activity
Before heading out into the forest, research with your little ones the kind of habitat you are heading into. Find out what wildlife and plants are in the area. Talk to your children about the different animals you may see along the way and take the time to teach your children about how to preserve the environment for those animals. You can bring journals along your trip and let your kids write down everything they see along the way!
Have a Scavenger Hunt
Make a scavenger hunt to bring along and search for plants and wildlife in the forest. You can look for things like plants, animals, colors, textures, and much more. Kids will love to get the chance to search for nature and it gives parents a great opportunity to talk about each item kids find!
Plan a Destination Hike
Look in your area and see if there is a hike to a destination like a river or a waterfall. Even a small hike to a destination can be fun and exciting for everyone in the family! Make sure to take pictures to bring home once you reach your destination and let your kids know how proud you are that they made it!
Recreate your Exploration
Once you get home from exploring, take the time to recreate it! Color pictures with your kids of what they saw and let your children tell you about their pictures. Bring a camera and let your children take pictures of what they want to draw so they have a good reference to use. You can even bring some leaves home to use to craft with and make your pictures 3D!
Have a Picnic in the Forest
Pack a lunch basket and blanket on your trip! Let your children pick a nice spot and have a picnic in the forest! You can bring all kinds of fun snacks on your trip like ants on a log (celery with peanut butter and raisins on it), or your kid’s favorite foods. Be careful though, make sure Yogi Bear is not anywhere by to steal your basket!
Visit a Park Ranger
Take the time and plan a visit a Park Ranger Station. Park Rangers have a wealth of knowledge about the forest and can give you tons of great information about the area. You can even plan some questions to ask while you are visiting! Some stations have plants and animals you can look at and see up close.