Motivating Kids to Hike (and love it!)
Motivating Kids to Hike (and love it!)
Scavenger Hunts: Scavenger Hunts can be super simple or more complicated. If you’re on the go, make it easy. Try counting things, like how many people do you see? How many other animals? How many birds? How many fallen trees? You can do sensory searches. Find something soft. Find something rough. Find something quiet. Find something loud. Let your imagination go wild! This can be changed in 1000 different ways to keep your kids entertained.
We’ve used scavenger hunts with kids as young as 2 and with groups of teenagers as well. It’s great for kids of all ages. Actually, adults will enjoy a good scavenger hunt too! If you search Pinterest or your idea app of choice, it’s easy to find suggestions for what to put on your scavenger hunt or make your own. At the younger ages, you often search for colors. You can buy these little circle stickers at the dollar store and when he spotted something red; we would add a sticker to the square for red things. In this style of scavenger hunt, you just keep adding the stickers and at the end see what color won. You can also often a prize as an extra incentive for a completed search. Example, find all the items and get an ice cream cone on the way home or a piece of candy. Cash is king for older kids, even dollars or for 5 year olds a quarter. You could do incentives that engage family time as well such as, whoever finds the most items gets to pick the game we play after dinner. If you have time to prepare for a scavenger hunt you can look into what sorts of plants you might encounter on a trail and make a scavenger hunt for those plants especially in spring with wildflowers.
Links: https://www.weareteachers.com/scavenger-hunts/ and for tweens https://www.verywellfamily.com/have-a-nature-scavenger-hunt-3287877
Adults! Free date night idea check out let's roam: https://www.letsroam.com/
- Ice Sun Catchers: Gather all of your supplies and lay your fruit, seeds and cuttings in the bottom of the pie pan in any arrangement that you love. In the next step everything is going to get a bit scrambled! Fill your pie pan about an inch or so with water. You want to almost completely cover all of your little bits of fruit and greenery, but not ALL the way. Cut a length of string or twine or ribbon and put it in the water. You want it to really be “in there” if you know what I mean. Lay it about half way done the pie plate and you might even want to put something on top of it. Last step, Freeze! No, not you, freeze the sun catcher!
- We found this idea here: https://lifestyleforreallife.com/2018/01/01/winter-craft-ice-sun-catcher/
Sketchbooks: Buy or make your own.
Depending on the age of your children, sketchbook might has a short lifespan. Instead of buying new ones you can make your own. This way, you can make one for every hike if you want and not break the bank! After that just choose what you’re going to sketch: animals, animal habitats such as nests or burrows or tracks. Sometimes we’ve even used his instant camera to take pictures of what we find and paste them in. We’ve done leaf rubbing (When you put a leaf under a piece of paper and then rub the side of a crayon or an oil pastel gently on the area over the leaf. As you do this, you'll see the colored areas start to take the shape of the leaf), and leaf sketches. We’ve drawn bugs and butterflies. Whatever fires your or you child’s imagination is fair game!
Quick directions: You will need brown paper lunch bags or construction paper, scissors, blank paper, and staples. You can choose the size for the hands of your child, small hands - make a small book! Stack the paper on top of the cover, fold the whole thing in half, and put a couple of staples into the seam. Easy peasy! About 4 or 5 pieces of blank paper give you 16 or 20 pages in a book what cut and folded for small hands, which is plenty for our hikes. Here are links to make notebooks: https://thecrazycraftlady.com/paper-bag-notebooks/, http://www.jessicarodarte.com/2009/04/paper-bag-album-tutorial.html, or https://www.bresourceful.ca/blog/2020/april/handmade-notebooks
Catch my shadow: Catch my shadow is a handy game for late afternoons when the kids are getting tired and losing interest in the hike. Walk ahead of your kids so that your shadow falls a couple of meters in front of them. Then challenge your kid to catch your shadow. The trick is to set a pace that is slightly faster than theirs but not too tiring. Remember that this activity won’t work on shady trails.
Name it: Think you’re a nature expert? If you know it, name it. How to play: While hiking, try to name as many plants, grass types, trees, flowers, bugs, birds, and wildlife species as you can. You earn two points for every correct identification and lose one point for every incorrect identification. Whoever has the most points at the end of the hike is the winner.
NOTE: To avoid identification disputes it might help to bring along a reference books or download the free app SEEK.
Nature Guides: Buy or make your own.
For this activity, you can use either store bought sketchbooks (dollar store) or homemade sketchbooks. You can make a nature guide in a lot of ways and focus it on the age of your child or their interest. One version can be to collect fallen leaves and other treasures and tape them into the book with identifying features of the plant or animal. We do try to be careful that we’re not causing harm to the area by collecting a few leaves. Some areas are particularly sensitive and not suitable for this activity, but the areas we do this are usually heavily trafficked park trails that I honestly believe won’t miss a few fallen leaves. Make sure you are practicing LNT (Leave No Trace) and not disturbing the environment around you.
You can use PictureThis or Seek (apps) to identify the plant or an internet search to find out more about it. When you are done with a nature guide you can use it to take on future hikes or favorite trails so you can use it to show you the plants they know how to identify. Bring a pen, you can always make addition notes and go back later and add more information at home. This is especially fun to do in the spring during wildflower season! It is a lot of fun learning all the silly names for wildflowers: Cut leaf toothwort, Tall Hairy Grooveburr, Love in a Puff, Doll’s Eyes, Poor Joe, or Cat’s Ear. They’re so much fun!
Treats (by the mile): Bribing is okay moms! What motivates your kids? This is an easy go-to when you don’t have the time or motivation to make a whole book or a scavenger hunt or anything else. On the quick/easy scale, this one is a winner! Whatever you do, it has to be something they really value, something special. No tricks. That’s my opinion, for what it’s worth.
If you have a kid that is particularly motivated by small treats such as Peanut butter cups? Sour patch kids? Snack packs? M&Ms? Fruit snacks?
Treats (at the end): Straight bribes! You say, “Finish this hike with no complaints and we’ll stop for ice cream on the way home.” Or, “If we have a fun hike with no whining, you can pick what we have for dinner.” Whatever works for your family: book, puzzle, food, or whatever they’ll value that isn’t going to break the bank.
Theme hikes: We’ll pick a theme for the hike, and watch for things that fit the theme.
Mushrooms are a favorite, because what you find can change so much even between visits. Another theme is evidence of animals theme hikes. Evidence could look like leaves that have been chewed, or nests, or burrows, or tracks or scat, worm trails, spider webs, or any kind of evidence that an animal has been there. In addition, types of moss you can take pictures and compare them or a wildflower theme to try and find so many different types. Finally, bird theme hikes - spotting as many different kinds of birds as we can.
If you want some spunky themes you can try: “weird trees." You look for trees that are different or cool. For comedy, try a “trees with butts” theme hike. This involves trying to find trees with bumps or shapes that look like a butt. We’ve done theme hikes where we try to spot things shaped like a heart. Other ideas include: “hidden places” theme hike, spotting little nooks and crannies like the hollow of a log or a hole under a rock (just to see it, not to disturb it). The options are only limited by your imagination, and I predict you will be surprised by how you will see a trail you might think you know really well in a new light.
Story Baton: You start a story at the beginning of the hike, “Once upon a time…” and you tell a little bit of the story, a minute or so.
Whatever feels right to you. Then you pass the baton (usually a stick we find laying around). “...and then the boy turned around the corner and saw the most amazing thing!” (pass the baton) Then the next person picks up the story. “It was a giant, fire breathing dragon!” And they tell a little bit of a story, give whatever details are in their imagination, and then they pass the baton.
Protip: You can give you kid extra turns if you’re huffing up a long hill. There’s no shame in not having the air for story telling!
You Navigate: Be prepared with a map of your own, compass, or GPS app.
Don’t get lost in the woods and blame me! I do this on trails I know well or when I have a very reliable map. Different ways to do this activity include: The adult navigates to the furthest point away from our trailhead and the kids navigate back. Another way includes giving the kids the map and letting them navigate entirely (with supervision, of course). It's so great to see their pride when they figure out how to get around. Now that everyone has a GPS on a mobile phone, map reading is a challenge for adults as well as children.
To practice navigation skills, head to an unmarked trail, switch off GPS, and practice using a map and compass instead. It’s extra rewarding when you can find your way without electronic guidance! You can either learn basic map and compass reading skills at home or make sure that at least one person in the group knows how to use a map and compass.
Picnic: Pack a picnic with yummy food and drink and carry it out to someplace amazing to enjoy wild spaces. For my younger kid, letting them see the yummy stuff going into the backpack is a good motivation on the trail. “When we get halfway around” or “when we get there” we can eat all those yummy things!
Trash collection: Although it’s not technically a backcountry game, outdoors lovers should take pride in cleaning up the countryside. Next time you go hiking with a group, bring some compostable trash bags and washable gloves so you can pick up trash on the way. Like photography, this hiking activity for adults and kids will slow down fast hikers and help you to keep a group at the same pace. I recommend giving this one a try! If nothing else, you’ll be making the world a little cleaner.
Nature Art: This is something you can do on breaks for fun. Making art from things we find laying around. Faces from twigs and leaves, that sort of thing.
We don’t stack rocks, and we’re trying not to destroy any creature’s home or hurt any plants, but we’ve made lots of cool art projects with what’s laying around. Stacking things by size, or arranging them by color, or making big circles. My son made a giant cheetah out of fallen leaves one day. Whatever we make, we usually snap a photo and leave it to return to nature when we’re done.
Binoculars: Make them ahead of time with string and two rolls of toilet paper for little ones or you can buy cheap sets or nice sets depending on the age of your child.
I Spy: I Spy is a classic kid’s game that’s fun to play while walking. How to play: One person says ‘I spy with my little eye something beginning with (first letter of the word)’ or ‘I spy with my little eye something (color). Everyone else should try to guess what something is. Whoever guesses right begins the next round.
When I went shopping, I bought… This is a simple memory game that will keep your kids’ minds focused. How to play: The first person says ‘When I went shopping, I bought… (any item). The next person repeats what the first person says but adds a second item. The third person repeats what the second person said but adds a third item and so on.
E.g. Person 1: When I went shopping I bought an apple. Person 2: When I went shopping I bought an apple and a backpack. Person 3: When I went shopping I bought an apple, a backpack, and roller-skates… The game ends when players can no longer repeat the list of items.
Adventure Books: Use this more as a reflection journal. You can use a blank notebook or if you google a hiking reflection journal there are many you can purchase online as well.
After each adventure or hike you gather together either outside the trail or at home or in the car if it was a drive away. You write or draw about what your favorite part of your adventure was. Keep a pack of crayons and their notebooks in your car or backpack and this could be a good way to just talk and keep up with your kids.
Hiking journals: Similar to an adventure journal, but specific to hiking. You can track how many miles, the parks or trails, and make a system for if you liked it or not. You can make little notes if there was a cool bridge or cave to see.
We bought the journal “52 Hikes in 2021” for that year and my son was super motivated to hike at least once a week so we could fill out the entry and be on our way to making our goal of 52 hikes for the year. We promised ourselves a special weekend trip if we accomplished our goal and that helped to keep us motivated, as well. We added to the fun by trying to do one silly/funny/cool picture on each hike, then printing them at home and pasting them in. It turned into a fun motivation and also a pretty cool keepsake from the year.
Hiking Challenges: Lots of places have more official hiking challenges. My kiddo is super competitive, so these really motivate him. The Cincinnati Nature Center, for example, had a challenge to hike every trail they had, and if you completed it and you got a t-shirt. Look into challenges at the local parks or clubs near you, or even online challenges. Cincinnati Hikes has monthly challenges, and also a year-long challenge on the number of hikes completed. If you’re willing to pay, the virtual challenge options are basically limitless. Our family participates in the 52 Hike Challenge, but they also have other challenges you can participate on their website: https://www.52hikechallenge.com/
Training for specific adventures: We’ll set a challenge for ourselves.
In August, we’re going to climb to the top of that particular mountain then we’ll train for it. The only time I’ve gotten him to willingly do progressively longer and harder hikes is just to set a big goal in front of him. If your child is competitive like mine, this might be a good motivator!
Check out #1000hoursoutside for outside challenges and ideas
Make a map: Bring a piece of paper and a marker and let your kid make a map of their own. If you can use this to let them navigate (or give the illusion that you are) this is extra fun.
If you are going somewhere they have been before you can have them make a map before you head out and then they can use it to follow the trail. (We do this at the zoo quite often.)
Identify the Tracks: Kids love trying to identify animal tracks, here is a resource for assisting in popular animals in North America. Children will use this printable packet book to learn about the animal tracks of different forest animals, and then use the card set to match the animal tracks to the animal. There is a printable book and card set in full color with real photos of the animals. I also made a blackline set for those who need to save ink.
Animal Tracks book: We do hikes particularly looking for animal tracks and sketch what we find and try to identify the animal that made the tracks.
If you want to level up, you can also look at the lay of the land and try to guess why the animal was there and where it might be headed. This is fun to do after it’s rained and the ground is a little softer. Or if you know you’ll be hiking near a lake or river or other body of water that’s likely to be visited by a bigger variety of animals. We did this once while hiking in a wildlife refuge and it was so much fun!
Treasure hunt: It takes a bit of preparation, but all kids love treasure hunts.
The thought of a hidden treat will keep them motivated throughout the entire hike. If you’re hiking in your local park or forest, you might be able to go early, or the day before to lay a trail of clues. Or, you can enlist the help of teenage or adult members of the group; get your teenage kids or spouse to run or cycle ahead and fix the clues for the younger kids. Alternatively, you can sign up to a treasure hunt organised within a country park or nature reserve.
Geocache: Virtual Meets Real Life Treasure Hunting
Download the app or online and create an account - to view a map of geocaches near you. Start your adventure. You can search by park or area and go find a geocache. Use the app to navigate to a geocache nearby. Don’t forget to bring a pen! You can go back online or in the app to share your experiences. Once you find the geocache, sign and date the logbook. Place the geocache back where you found it and log your experience online.
I’m thinking of an… animal! The Captain thinks of an animal and announces, “Ok! I’m thinking of an animal!” Then everyone else throws out yes or no questions. (Does it live on land? Does it have wings?) Sometimes we play that whoever guesses correctly gets to be Captain next. Sometimes we take turns being Captain regardless of how the guessing goes.
This is a game we play as we walk on the trail to keep the kids engaged. For my family, we have more fun with it if we don’t try to make it competitive or too structured. Feel free to adjust to your tastes. There’s no right or wrong way!
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