Hiking games that motivate kids and keep them happy and moving are great tools to be able to call on when you’re outdoors. Let’s face it, we’ve all been there: ‘No. I’m not moving’. There’s just no getting away from the fact that kids are difficult sometimes. It literally happened to me in the supermarket last night. Jesse decided he wanted to race around the aisles rather than walk with me. I had the audacity to say he couldn’t as he’d get lost. What happened next was that classic parent-child stand-off.
Like two cowboys in an old western, we stared each other down next to the broccoli, each waiting for the other to blink first. Jesse flinched as if to make a dash for it. I reacted and attempted to grab him. Too quick for my aging limbs, he avoided my advance but, knowing he was beaten, he resorted to that classic technique of public humiliation: the drop and flop. Unable to stand him up as a consequence of his now jelly-like legs, he giggled and giggled and giggled. Little…!!
It’s bad enough on a quick trip to the supermarket. Imagine this happening on an otherwise beautifully planned walk or hike. You see, when you’re outdoors for any length of time with kids, you have to see it through their eyes. They might not be interested in hiking to the top of that hill or summit; they probably don’t care how beautiful you find that lake. Kids need far more engagement than our wearied brains can sometimes provide. So, just how do you minimise the chances of them getting bored outdoors? How can you foster their love for the outdoors by providing them with a brain-busting collection of happy memories? It’s easy: you just need a few tried and tested trail activities.
Close-Ups
One of our favourite hiking games is close-ups. Most of us now carry with us a phone with an inbuilt camera when hiking. The idea behind this game is that the person with the phone walks ahead while the people playing the game (kids – big or small!) turn around to face in the opposite direction. The person with the phone then takes a close-up photo of an interesting, unusual or downright disgusting trail feature. This could be anything from toadstools to rotting vegetation, buttress tree roots to dead insects. Once you’ve taken the picture, return to the kids to show them what you’ve discovered. Then, give them a set amount of time to search the area in front of them. If there’s more than one child, trail goodies, such jelly babies, could be given to the first critter to correctly locate and identify the object.
They found it!
Nature Cards
Other hiking games really foster and encourage outdoor learning. Nature cards are great. Whether you’re using downloadable ones, such as those available from the Woodland Trust, or whether you decide to design and craft your own, these are a great way of keeping little ones enthusiastic whilst outdoors and hiking. Sell it as a scavenger hunt where they either collect examples (fallen pine cones, leaves etc.) or, for items where a leave-no-trace approach is important, photograph them (bird’s nest etc.) in order to complete the hunt. This activity is great as an on-going task as they’re unlikely to locate everything on their first trip to the woods. You could also tailor these to each of the four seasons, so children begin to appreciate how environments, habitats and wildlife change throughout the year.
Geocaching
Some more modern hiking games make use of technology to engage you and your kids. If this sounds more up your street then geocaching may be for you. This 21st century hiking game adaptation of the humble treasure hunt is another great way to motivate kids outdoors. By creating a free account at www.geocaching.com and then using the GPS in either your phone or handheld navigational device, you’ll be on your way to hunting treasure. Ok, so the treasure may be a plethora of small, inconsequential items, but kids (big and small) get really excited at the prospect of uncovering something that someone else has hidden. The idea is to take a small trinket or knick-knack with you. That way, once you’ve found the item left by somebody else, you replace it with your item and leave it for another family to find. Cool, hey!
Build Animal Shelters
The autumn and winter make an ideal time to teach kids about animal habitats and hibernating mammals. By using sticks and leaves that have fallen to the ground, families can make small animal shelters during rest stops. Arranging the sticks into a wigwam, and then creating a nesting or comfort layer with the leaves, is a great way for children to learn about the importance of shelter. Hiking games like this don’t just teach children about outdoor habitats, they wear them out too! If you really want to show off, you can find dead foliage to cover the roof or even build a human shelter.
Tree Huggers
In this game you’ll need to have either some tree identification cards or one of the mobile apps that are freely available online. The game begins when you call out the name of a tree. Each child then has to correctly identify one of the trees in question and run over to it. The last one to touch the tree is out. The winner is the person to touch the correct tree first in the final round.
What is your favourite outdoor game? Let us know in the comments below or via our social media channels and we’ll share the best.
Great post and alot of good ideas I will be trying out! Thankyou
Great stuff, thanks for reading.
I love the close up idea! We have a couple tricks, we sing a lot of silly songs, we “go on a bear hunt” (Squishy has that book memorized) pick a trail “leader” who gets to keep track of the compass and map, and sometimes we just unhike. Unhiking may be the hardest outdoor parenting activity because it means all of your well laid out plans are forfeit. They want, no need, to stop by the creek for an hour and bang a stick on icee bank.
Unhiking is cool but sure is difficult haha. My eldest loves the ‘Bear Hunt’ too and often recreates sections of it. It’s such a good book!
Close-up is so simple but such a great idea! And I’d heard of geocaching from @twotinyhands but had no idea what it was. Sounds amazing – such a lovely idea combining real things and virtual fun!
#FamilyFun
Thanks so much.
I like these ideas. Will have to try them on the grandchildren next time we go out.
Thanks for sharing
#familyfun
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I love the idea of close ups. I am definitely stealing this for our walks – we don’t quite hike up hills but we do ty to go out exploring as best we can. I must say I did wonder how you managed to keep your little ones entertained on your treks – i get it now! Have a lovely Christmas and thanks for joining us at #familyfun
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I like the sound of close ups! These games are great to keep the littles entertained. This is one to bookmark for the future when my little one gets older! Thanks for linking up to #FamilyFun
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Great post and really awesome ideas! I’ll have to keep that in mind when taking my little one for a hike in the woods. Thanks for sharing!
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Geocaching was always a winner for us when trying to encourage kids out in the first place. Once we got out they tended to be fine, but sometimes just getting that far was the problem!
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I can certainly relate to that. The battle to dress them etc sometimes lasts longer than the adventure itself haha.
These are great ideas. We employ many similar tactics when taking our eldest walking as well as visiting places with things to spot (wood carved sculpures or play trails). #countrykids
Thanks so much, it certainly makes outdoor fun easier having some activities to call on. Thanks for reading.
This is great! Geocaching we’ve been doing for a while (it’s quite good fun just as adults too) but I love the sound of the close ups and nature cards! Will definitely save this for later when Elliot is older. #countrykids
Thanks, let me know how you get on.
Great post, the ‘drop and flop’ in the supermarket did make me laugh! The close up game sounds good fun so I’ll have to try this one. My youngest loves collecting treasure to make into crafty things when we get home and they both love nature spotting sheets. #CountryKids
Yes, turning your treasure into craft activities is great. Thanks for reading.
Ooh, I’ll be trying some of those ideas out with my gang! It’s sometimes so difficult keeping 3 children ages 6-12 all happy outdoors.
#countrykids
We’ve only got 2 and know how hard it can be. Thanks for reading.
I miss hiking. We haven’t done this awhile. It’s obvious that you and your kids had so much fun. Love the forest den 🙂 #countrykids
Some great ideas. Building dens is always great fun for everyone to get involved and then you can return at a later date to see if its still there.
Yeah we love den building. Thanks for reading.
Some great ideas. N would love some of these. I love how they’re all so engrossed in what they’re doing. #countrykids
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I love the phone idea, we do trail sheets all the time for our walks on the farm with little ones but I’d never thought to just snap a photo as we go, I might just give this a go, it would be great fun in our fairy gardens. You really are the hiking experts and with fun ideas like this it’s easy to see how you keep the kids engaged.
Thank you for sharing with me on #CountryKids
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Thanks so much. Yes, you’ve always got to have something up your sleeve with kids like ours haha.
Some great ideas that I need to remember on our next trip outdoors. Hugging a tree is always a favourite
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Such a great post, full of great ideas and things I am going to start doing with my kids on our walks. Thanks!
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Thanks so much. Glad you found it useful.
I love the idea. Keeping kids interested in outdoor is the biggest challenge in these days. Your tips and tricks certainly very useful.Thanks