INTRODUCTION
We all realize that fresh air and being outside have many health benefits for children. Besides getting lots of fresh air, interacting with nature, and feeling ‘free,’ it also supports children’s mental, emotional, and social development.
Many families struggle to take advantage of this valuable interaction with the natural environment and have fun without damaging it. Some families do not even have access to the garden. Even though public parks and playgrounds are well equipped with resources supporting children’s physical environment, teaching them about nature and respect is different. In this guide, I outline my Outdoor Activities for Kids that are fun, free, sensory, and, most importantly, encourage children to interact with their natural environment confidently and with respect.
In this Guide to Outdoor Activities for Kids, I will show you some simple activities that will have your children entertained as well as educated about our natural world.
Chapter #1 What is Forest School?
Forest schools are centered around nurturing and supporting individual development holistically. Children are encouraged to use their senses to explore and learn through play independently and within their limits. Forest schools mainly promote the development of emotional intelligence, which creates a foundation for children’s further learning when they get older and are exposed to structured activities requiring high levels of concentration.
Forest Schools are designed to give children space to explore and learn in a natural environment away from restrictions and the structure of schools and nurseries. It encourages them to develop personal skills that increase their confidence, self-esteem, and social skills needed for future learning.
Children are encouraged to manage risks by being exposed to a different environment in the form of a Forest, developing their self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-motivation. Using various tools individually and within groups gives them the necessary social skills in negotiation and discussion and supports a natural development of empathy and team spirit.
Through Forest Schools, children learn necessary social and personal skills without even realizing it. They have fun exploring and creating things from our forest’s natural materials, supporting their development of imagination, creativity, and sense of ‘closeness’ to Nature.
Chapter #2 Simple Rules of Health and Safety when Outdoors
Interacting with nature provides countless opportunities for children to assess and manage risks independently. We as adults need to evaluate and plan for possible threats so children explore their surroundings safely.
Children learn to assess and manage complex and challenging situations based on their experiences. They learn from new encounters and improve their current abilities and skills, resulting in higher self-esteem, confidence, and responsibility for their safety. Children are encouraged and exposed to uneven grounds, low-hanging branches, slippery rocks, different kinds of plants (stinging nettles), and the usage of tools that they need to learn to manage and use safely.
Managing risks for children promotes their confidence and safety and encourages them to think about actions and reactions, consequences, and how to prevent accidents.
– Stay together; when you do not see the teacher, the teacher cannot see you
– We leave all the berries, mushrooms, and nuts for forest animals to eat, and we bring our snack
– When we encounter an animal, we stay still with our hands next to our body so as not to startle it
– We look where we step as the surface is uneven and slippery
– We wear appropriate clothing because the weather is sometimes different in the woods; therefore, we wear welly boots, long trousers, and long-sleeved tops
– When walking through bushes and brambles, we mind our faces not to get scratched
– Beware of stinging nettle- it stings
Chapter #3 How to Build a Den with Sticks
Even though this sounds like a very straightforward task, it is also lots of fun for the kids. Gathering sticks and long logs thick enough will keep them busy. There are always plenty of choices for fallen brunches, so they can choose which ones to use.
Once you gather all of them, you can start constructing your den. Find a nicely shaped tree that can be your base for the shelter. Place the logs and long sticks against the tree trunk at an angle, creating a teepee-like frame. You can go all along the tree trunk or just on one side. It’s entirely up to you.
Then you need to find smaller sticks and branches that can act as a ‘roof’ and place them horizontally on the frame individually. These sticks will cover up the holes, but not completely. Now, the best part, bring in handfuls of leaves from the ground around you and spread them through the roof.
And that’s it! You can put blankets inside, even drag a few logs over to use as makeshift tables or chairs, and enjoy the peace!
Chapter #4 How to Build a Simple Swing
This one is straightforward. Once you are in the woods, you ALWAYS need to assess your surroundings for any risks to you and your little ones. Check for branches on the trees that look like they may fall and any uneven surfaces underneath. Once you’ve done that, here’s what you need:
- Long, strong rope
- Tall tree and a stable branch to support your weight (I’m sure the woods are full of these)
- Get your little ones to find a thick branch they can sit on.
Once you have all of the above items, yes, it is pretty straightforward!
You take your rope and throw it over the branch on your chosen tree. Now you have two ends of the string, but one end may be slightly longer. Do not worry! Tie these ropes around the middle of the log/thick branch you found. Look at my video on how to tie a simple knot here. You can use any knot you like as long as it is tight and does not come undone. Make sure that you tie the knot at the correct height so children can hop on and off themselves, but also, they won’t drag their feet on the floor when swinging.
And that is it! Our simple swing is done!! Children can sit on it with the rope between their legs, holding onto a rope. If one end of the rope is still too long after tying it to the log, bring it on top, and you can hold onto it, pulling children toward yourself and swinging them that way.
Chapter #5 How to Learn about Fauna and Flora in a Fun Way
Children love to learn new things, and one of them is to know the names of all the trees, plants, and animals around them. Going into the forest, or being outside in their garden, is one of their most enjoyable experiences; if they can learn a few things, that’s the best part! Children learn through play and learn why nature is so important and how it all intertwines.
Here are a few tips on how to learn about nature in a fun way:
- Scavenger Hunt. There are lots of sheets available online to identify the most common leaves (trees), nuts, small wild animals, flowers, etc.., used for small children to learn about by looking at them on paper and then searching for them in the garden or the forest. All you need is the printed sheet (or you can make your own based on your garden) pencil, and off we go to look for them outside! Once the children find them, they can cross them out from the list or tick them off the list. Whoever finds all the items on the list first is the winner!
- Pocket encyclopedia. Whenever you go outside, pack the miniature pocket version with you, and when you see something of interest, you can look it up there and then. In my experience, children love this as it teaches them that whatever information they want, they can find in books, and it engages them with the books rather than looking it up on youtube.
- Flower books. Many children like to pick flowers, collect leaves, stones, and conkers, and then want to take them home, but in a few days, they dry up, wither, and throw them away. The best way to preserve them is to make them into a little nature book you can create with your child. All you need is a notebook, glue, pens, and pencils. When you go out and pick some flowers or leaves, you can let them dry by putting them between two sheets of paper, sliding them into a book, and weight them down with more books to flatten them out. Leave them for a couple of weeks and check whether they are dehydrated. Once they are, you can use glue or sellotape to attach them to the page of your nature book. Children then can write the names of the flowers themselves.
Chapter #6 Social Games to Build Confidence
Children love playing games! They also love to be creative, build structures, and go wild outdoors. Here are a few games and activities that will support their overall development while being imaginative and accessible at the same time:
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1,2,3 Where are you?
This game was the children’s favorite when I worked in a nursery and took them to forest school in a local forest. It is playing hide-and-seek in the woods without running a risk (however, you still need to keep an eye on them) of losing them. The rules of the game are simple. As an adult, you count to 10, and when you get to 10, you shout 1,2,3. Where are you? It gives children a clue, and they need to shout back 1,2,3, I’m over here! To which you proceed to find them. Now, the critical part. Children have to understand that they HAVE to shout back for you to find them, so discuss the rules before playing the game, and you play it regularly, so anytime you call 1,2,3 Where are you, they automatically respond.
2. Making of muddy faces
All you need for this activity is mud, sticks, leaves, acorns, and whatever else you can find. This game is to create a face using mud, sticks, and other materials, and others need to guess who you tried to portray. I used to make muddy faces on the tree trunks, but you can create them anywhere you like, on the floor, on the logs.
3. Making fairy houses
As in the previous activity, all you need is what the forest already provided for you: mud, sticks, stones, and leaves; the choice is endless! And just like in the previous chapter, where I discussed building a den, you create a small one for the fairies.
4. Making a stickman
As the title might suggest, you’ll need lots of sticks for this activity and some string. Take the long stick and place the shorter one across (about two-thirds from its tip). Now ask your child to hold them together while you get a string and veawe it over, around, and across several times until they hold still. Make a knot. Now you have a body (a T-shape), and you can get creative and make its head (I usually use leaves for that). You can make clothes if you have a spare sock or other fabric. The stickman/stick lady is born!
Chapter #7 What are the Benefits of Being Outdoors?
– Holistic Development – captured within the ethos of Forest Schools – centered around nurturing people in their development, children exploring with entire bodies and all of their senses, stress-free free natural environment. When children are allowed to explore their surroundings in their own time and within their limits, they are more likely to improve:
– Physical development as they learn to transport equipment safely, move freely on uneven ground, negotiate space in a woodland area, food, and hygiene in a forest environment, and develop fine and gross motor skills when using tools and other natural materials such as sticks, appropriate touch, and eye contact and respecting each others’ personal space
– Intellectual development as they learn to understand each others’ boundaries, learn new knowledge and apply this knowledge to further their learning, manage risks of using the tools and negotiating space around them, demonstrate logical thought process while creating and building using natural materials
– Language development as children learn to share ideas, negotiate, question, and discuss the thought process amongst each other, work together and learn new vocabulary from each other, voice their opinions and concerns, express themselves in favorable terms
– Emotional development as children learn the sense of responsibility, a sense of belonging to the group that embeds trust and love for each other and having each others’ back, which gives them a feeling of security and safety and promotes their overall resilience, confidence, and higher self-esteem
– Social development as children learn turn-taking, waiting, and sharing skills, becoming part of the group and its responsibilities, working in partnerships that enrich and promote children’s team spirit, building friendships and overall sense of community
– Spiritual development as children learn about a sense of pride, sense of community, awe, and wonder within natural beauty, respect towards everything living as it is part of us
Chapter #8 My Own Experiences as a Forest School Leader
I have always had a passion for nature and the outdoors. I remember picking mushrooms and herbs with my grandmothers and them teaching me how to dry them and use them according to their healing properties. My grandmother made the best herbal tea, especially when we went together and collected all the herbs from the forest! I learned how to set up a fire and loved the wonderful smoky smell while staring into calming flames.
When I came to the UK, I had an opportunity to broaden my childhood knowledge (I only knew herbs, trees, and plant names in my home language) and enroll in the Forest School program, where I became a forest school leader. This allowed me to pass on my passion and knowledge to children.
When we go to Forest Schools, I plan the activities to support children’s overall holistic development; however, they have the freedom to explore and guide me if they wish to do so. Sometimes we do not follow activities I plan as children find something else to do. Children love exploring fauna and flora within the woods, looking for different species of plants, invertebrates, and trees, and looking them up in books and encyclopedias when we return home (or on the spot). Activities like this promote language development as they learn new vocabulary, names, shapes, textures, and colors. They know to work together and negotiate space for themselves and their friends; they hold the brunches of bushes out of the way for their friends.
These interactions help them spontaneously take risks and develop a sense of responsibility for themselves, their friends, and other living creatures within the woods. Regardless of planned activities, children’s natural sense of play and exploration always takes us to new experiences we can develop and learn from spontaneously.
CONCLUSION
So that’s my Ultimate Guide to Outdoor Activities for Kids.
Now I want to turn it over to you: what did you think about this guide? Or maybe there’s something I missed.
Let me know by leaving a comment below.