Last updated on September 27th, 2021 at 05:08 pm
Exploring nature can be a fantastic way to spend the day with the the whole family. And, whether you prefer mountains high or valleys low, hiking with kids can be especially fun. As exciting as nature can be, we’ve put together a list of 10 things you can also teach your kids on a hike below. Next time you’re out in the wild, show them a thing or two that will stick with them for years to come.
If you want to share a love of nature with your children, teach them in nature’s classroom. Kids can learn valuable lessons to keep them engaged with their surroundings. And, learning basic nature skills, how to prepare, and navigate hiking routes builds confidence and independence.
1. How to Be Prepared
A well-stocked hiking bag is the most essential requirement for any hike. In fact, this is the best and easiest place to start. First, help them write up a checklist of fun things they would like to take on a hike. These items can include toy vehicles, microscopes, kaleidoscopes, or anything that may help them stay engaged and interact with nature.
Remember the Essentials
We find this is a great opportunity to remind your kids to think about their health. In fact, an easy acronym like SHINE is a useful method for a quick rundown.
- Skincare: pack a hat and sunscreen on sunny days, extra layers in winter weather, and always have a raincoat.
- Hunger: bring water, snacks, toiletries to answer nature’s call, plastic bags to clean up.
- Information: this includes knowing your trail in advance, calculating for the weather, making sure you inform people of your whereabouts and destinations in case of emergency, etc.
- Navigation: using the constellations, preparing a printed copy of the hiking trail in advance, or implementing a GPS navigator, etc.
- Entertainment: binoculars, music playlist, cards, games, etc.
RELATED: How Much Can Kids Carry On A Hike
Just as important as packing right, however, is making sure to always prepare with contingency plans. For instance, take Murphy’s Law into account, because things can and will go wrong on a hike if you’re not ready. Always be ready for the worst, like unexpected rain or bringing a first-aid kit in case of slips and falls.
Important Teaching Points
Some other useful considerations for an appropriate safety plan:
- Always inform someone before you leave for a hike
- Invite friends since there’s always more safety in numbers
- Leave as early as possible to make the most of the daylight
- Avoid leaving the beaten path
- Always pack a raincoat in rainier seasons
- Find a walking stick to help with balance on rockier terrain
- Carry bear spray to ward off any aggressive animals
As I also like to say, it’s better to have a Plan B than nothing at all. So, make sure your kids are prepared for anything, living or otherwise, that they might come across on a hike. Finally, teach your children to always double-check their supplies before heading out.
2. How to Read a Map and Trailheads
Navigation is undoubtedly one of the most important skills that a hiker can have in their toolbox. Teaching your children how to read maps early builds independence and could potentially be a life saving skill.
Luckily, you can make this a fun activity by first using examples of other types of maps that feature natural landmarks, like waterfalls and lakes. You’ll also want to practice using maps with legends marking distance and other details. The older your children are, the more complex you can make the maps. For younger children, we find that designing their own map as a craft can engage them an reinforce what they’ve learned.
Then, take all this practice into the field at a hiking trail you know well and ask your children to navigate the group by themselves for a reward. They’ll be more than up for the challenge!
3. Independence and Confidence
Possibly one of the most life-long lessons will be emotional and character building experiences. And, getting your children to feel at one with nature is also an extraordinary way to improve their confidence. For example, scavenger hunts in well-established trails are a creative way to acclimate children to nature and turns exploring into a fun game.
RELATED: 15 Tips to Make Hiking Fun for Kids
Activities like scavenger hunts and other games also help promote problem-solving skills. This is especially helpful during a potential emergency, making them aware and alert in nature.
Moreover, nature is full of exciting things to explore. And when allowed to probe their surroundings an ask questions, children quickly gain an independent spirit. Allowing your children to stand on their own two feet while out in the wild is therefore an excellent step in the right direction.
4. Track Animals
Just as fun as a scavenger hunt, tracking animals brings children close to the ground to inspect nature. Not only is this an excellent way to keep them engaged in the trail, it can be a helpful skill and brings them closer to nature. Besides guessing, the iTrack Wildlife app or field guides can assist you and the kiddos in differentiating between prints.
What better way for our children to learn about the world around them? We find that in addition to tracks, children also respond well to listening to the sounds around them to identify new animals.
However, one of the dangers that everyone must take into account when hiking through nature is potential wildlife lurking among the trees. While most creatures are gentle, some animals, like wasps, bears, or snakes, can be quite dangerous, especially when startled. Here, carrying bear spray or even bug repellent can be handy at warding off nature’s predators, and children should be equally aware of that fact.
5. Edible and Poisonous Plants
Kids are inquisitive by nature and it can only take an instant for them to stumble into a patch of something nasty. Therefore, it’s imperative to teach your children that while nature can be beautiful, it can also be deadly. Thus, while plant life can be fun and educational, precaution is always best used when approaching unfamiliar plant life.
Use Educational Books with Pictures
To better demonstrate this, bring educational books filled with photos of different plants common to your area to help identify species together. We find these to be very helpful tools in the field:
- A Field Guide to Venomous Animals and Poisonous Plants: North America North of Mexico by Roger Caras and Steven Foster
- The Scout’s Guide to Wild Edibles by Mike Krebill
- Foraging with Kids: 52 Wild Edibles to Enjoy With Your Children by Adele Nozedar
Not only can this be a fun learning tool, it’s a cautionary lesson. For instance, the last thing you want is our children confusing edible berries with their paralytic cousins. So, make sure to quiz your kids on their plant knowledge while out on hikes.
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This handy skill will help them fend for themselves by foraging if ever lost without supplies. Moreover, it can also prevent them from harming themselves accidentally by either ingesting or merely touching the wrong plants. Beware of poison ivy, kids!
6. Leave No Trace
Leaving the hiking trail as you found it is another important life lesson. Taking time to explain the importance of respecting the environment and wildlife is an essential step in making a responsible hiker. For instance, remind kids that the litter left behind today could very well injure or harm an innocent animal tomorrow.
From the sanctity of treating wildlife with care, it’s important to educate your children to leave no significant impact off trail as well.
For hikers, Leave No Trace means:
- sticking to the trail
- taking all waste with you and disposing of it properly
- respect wildlife
- leaving natural elements in nature
7. Appreciate Nature
The world is a magical place filled with marvelous wonders to see up close and personal. And, the best part is discovering every one of nature’s hidden secrets after all. Therefore, teach your children to see the world through rose-tinted glasses in these early years!
Because a deep connection to nature is a great bonding and learning experience, dynamic hikes can be enriched by:
- Collecting leaves for a collage
- A scavenger hunt spotting different flowers
- Building a scrapbook of their favorite self-taken nature photos
You can even take learning materials with you while you’re out on the trail, like pencils and paper to draw. That way you can come home and keep learning together. Children are visual and tactical learners so being able to reinforce anything they learn outdoors in the home is a bonus.
8. Nature Safety and Strategy
Getting lost or injured is a hiker’s worst nightmare but the possibility even more frightening for a child. As a parent, the last scenario you want to imagine is your child alone in the woods. For this reason, it’s important to set up plans with them so the whole family feels safe.
Always Designate a Meeting Point
It is important to designate a meeting point in case kids become separated from the group. This should be a point that is easily identifiable, and as you’re all hiking, make sure to point out distinctive landmarks along the way.
RELATED: Best Kids Backpacks for Hiking
You can even turn these observations into a game of I-Spy where the group takes turns pointing out notable features of the landscape while others guess what it is. Use whatever method or technique you think might help jog your child’s memory best so they can guide themselves back to you safe and sound, just as you’d hope.
9. Insects are Beneficial
Just as wildlife should be respected, so should insect life. There are more insects in the world than any other species combined but, just because they crawl, doesn’t mean they have to be creepy! You can teach your children how insects are often good for the environment and help maintain ecosystems all around the world in various ways.
Structuring this lesson in such a way can help your children connect many themes that tie into environmental awareness and responsibility. Just like humans typically eat other animals, those animals or their prey tend to feed on insects. Otherwise, those animals would starve without them, resulting in a massive effect on the animal food chain.
Try having your children draw a circle of life that centers around their favorite insects in your area. Then add every predator that eats those insects regularly for sustenance. Being able to visually see the scope and magnitude of just how much insects benefit the environment may just surprise your children into wanting to know more.
We have found that a handheld magnifying glass, a camera, and an insect identification phone app are ideal tools.
10. Identify the Elements
Out of the four essential elements, earth, water, fire, air, most individuals tend to be pulled more toward one or two based on their personalities. What’s more, you should take the time to explain to your children how these elements come together to control the weather.
Helping your kids understand how these factors affect the environment by causing earthquakes, tornadoes, forest fires, and tsunamis is a fast way for them to understand the power of nature. Yet just as nature can be destructive, it also creates like as water from the sky helps turn acorns into mighty trees.
You can break every element down into its own activity by organizing scavenger hunts for examples of each; i.e. collecting leaves and pine cones to represent earth or collecting drops of rain in place of water. Be creative with your list of tasks so your children get really into the project and then have them combine their findings in one diagram to showcase them. You might be delighted by what they come up with.
Let's Get Hiking!
With all these tips in hand, you’re all set for an exhilarating hike with the little ones. And, you can rest assured knowing that your children have all the skills they need to tackle many of life’s challenges. Nature hikes can be fun, active ways to spend quality time with your children as you bond over your love of nature.
Moreover, imparting all of these useful skills while hiking is bound to shape your children’s lifelong passion for the better.
Image Credit: Donnie Ray Jones |(source)| Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) — reduced file size and image