Hiking Adventure In Nature

Being in nature is on top of my list for coming back to balance, back to myself, back to peace and happiness…

Kids and teens sometimes complain about long walks in nature and maybe some of them prefer to stay in front of a screen. But even against their will (mwahahahahaha), exploring the natural world in-person is irreplaceable and those are memories that will stay with them forever.

It is our duty to instil respect and love for nature in the next generations. Making hiking in nature fun for kids involves engaging their curiosity, sense of adventure, and appreciation for the natural world. Here are some tips to make hiking enjoyable for kids:

1. Choose kid-friendly trails: Select trails that are suitable for children's abilities and interests. Shorter and easier routes with interesting features like waterfalls, streams, or wildlife sightings can keep them engaged. As those become easier, challenge them with more adventures hikes, gradually!

2. Set a goal or theme: Make the hike exciting by setting a goal, such as reaching a specific viewpoint, finding a hidden treasure, or spotting certain plants or animals. This adds a sense of accomplishment and adventure.

3. Bring friends or family: Hiking with friends or family members of similar age can make the experience more enjoyable for kids. They can play games, share discoveries, and motivate each other. It’s always better TOGETHER!

4. Pack fun snacks and drinks: Bring along some healthy and tasty snacks like fruits, granola bars, or trail mix. Having a picnic during the hike can be an enjoyable break and everything taste better in nature :-)

5. Nature scavenger hunt: Create a scavenger hunt list with items to find along the trail, such as specific leaves, rocks, or animal tracks. Use this as a way to keep kids curious and observant during the hike.

6.  Nature journals: Give kids small notebooks and coloured pencils to create nature journals. They can sketch and write about the things they observe, helping them develop a deeper connection with nature.

7. . Identify flora and fauna: Bring a field guide or use a nature app to identify plants, birds, and insects along the way. Kids can have fun trying to spot and name different species.

8. Take frequent breaks: Allow plenty of time for exploration and play. Let them climb on rocks, splash in puddles, or investigate interesting spots off the trail.

9. Incorporate games: Play nature-themed games like "I Spy," "20 Questions," or "Nature Bingo" to keep things exciting and interactive.

10.  Teach Leave No Trace principles: Educate kids about respecting nature and leaving no trace of their visit. Encourage them to pick up any trash they find along the way.

11.  Storytelling and imagination: Share stories about the environment, and local legends, or create fictional tales that capture their imagination and make the hike more captivating.

Remember, the key is to let kids enjoy the experience at their own pace and to nurture their sense of wonder about the natural world. By making hiking an enjoyable and interactive activity, you can help foster a lifelong love for nature in children and create environmental activists that will make the world a better place!

This yoga class is a great start for wakening the love of hiking and being in nature in children. Start here and continue to the outdoors if you can…

To Bring: Yoga cards (secretly hide them under the mats before the class), newspaper, a nut or something nut-like, leaves

 

Through The Valy

I walk through the valley, never alone,

My heart beating in sync with nature’s own.

The rugged peaks and steep cliffs I see,

Are just reminders that I’m truly free.

I marvel at the colours of the sky,

As the clouds above me, they dance and fly.

I hear the faintest rustle of leaves,

As a gentle wind brings with it a subtle breeze.

Through the thicket, I find hidden trails,

And I follow them, without any fails.

The wilderness, it whispers a tale,

And I listen closely, my spirit inhale.

With every step I take, I feel more alive,

A strange feeling that’s hard to describe.

The mountains, they echo with my every sigh,

And in that moment, I feel like I can fly.

Read the poem to the children and follow with these questions for a short discussion:

Where is your favourite place in nature?

Do you like the park, the beach, the mountains, waterfalls, the desert?

Did you know that we are nature?

What do you feel when you are in nature?

Do you like hiking in nature?

What’s your favourite part about that?

5 Minutes

 

Hiking… Stop! Back to back 1 2 3

In this game, you need to make sure that the number of children (excluding the leader) is odd. If it’s even, add yourself to the game. 

Put some fun music on and have everyone walk around the room. The leader commands everyone to “walk on a windy trail”, “roll down a hill”, “crawl under a fallen tree”, “cross a creek by jumping from one rock to another” etc... 

When the leader says “Stop! Back to back 1 2 3!” everyone needs to pair up and sit back to back with their partner before the leader reaches “3”. 

The one person that does not find a partner in time becomes the next leader and are required to be creative with their nature descriptions and actions to match.

It’s a great warm-up!

5 Minutes

 

Walking Yoga Animals

In nature, we are bound to find many animals… And it is a good continuation of the previous game now bringing more yoga poses into it.

Almost any yoga pose can move in a funny way and usually it makes a good exercise. 

You can walk, fly or swim as different animals…. For example, walk tall as a giraffe, keeping your legs straight, stamp like an elephant while swinging your trunk from side to side, jump around in the Monkey or Frog Pose, crawl slowly in the Turtle Pose, hop in the Kangaroo Pose, waddle forward in the Duck Pose, walk sideways like a crab, lunge leg after leg in the Roadrunner Pose, fly like a bird in Warrior 3, scuttle around like a squirrel etc…

5 Minutes

 

Rock, Tree, Bridge, Snake, Dog, Frog

The name of the game is the poses it consists of and you can, of course, change it and add to it if you would like.

Always have one less pose than there is a person in each group. This version has 6 poses so it is for 7 children in each group. If I have 14 kids though I would put them in groups of 2 and have 2 rocks, 2 trees etc. If I have 21 kids, I will put them in groups of 3 etc. Adjust the number of groups and the number of poses to fit your class.

The first child or group of children start in Child Pose, the second child or group of children jump over the rock and stand in Tree Pose, the third jump over the rock, hugs the tree and comes into Flower Pose etc.

The last person or group goes through the whole path but ends up as the first pose (Rock pose), and then the very first person or group gets up and goes through the whole path again… they were rocks before, but now they are trees! 

THIS IS AWESOME! It has lots of poses and the children stay in them for a long time!

• Rock (jump over)

• Tree (hug)

• Snake (charm the snakes with a magical flute that they need to follow with their noses)

• Flower (smell)

• Bridge (crawl under)

• Dog (pet)

• Frog (kiss)

10 Minutes

 

Hiding Yoga Cards

Before the class, secretly hide one card under each mat in the circle before the students come into the room… It is a secret!

Now have everyone sit on the mats, and guide the players one at a time to look under their mat and discover what pose is hiding there: “In the forests and mountains and beaches and deserts we are hiking in all kinds of animals are hiding under leaves and rocks, behind bushes, in tree hollows and on top of trees too… What animals do you have hiding today under your yoga mat on our nature hike?”

Once each card is revealed, everyone can perform the pose together. Continue until all the cards are revealed.

After all the cards are revealed, play the Yoga Path game (see next).

5-10 Minutes

 

The Yoga Path

Place each card now facing up on each mat. Each participant does the pose that’s on their mat, and when instructed (or you can ring the medicine bowl) moves down the yoga path to the next space in line and does the pose that’s on the next mat.

Continue moving one mat forward until everyone has done all the poses and gets back to their space. 

5-10 Minutes

 

Yoga Cards Music Freeze

Spread as many yoga cards as you want around the room, facing down.

Turn the music on and move freely to the sounds. Whenever you stop the music, each player goes to the card closest to her, turns it over and does the pose.

When the music starts again, each kid turns his card face down and continues to move around the room until the music stops again.

5 Minutes

 

Nature Superheroes

Leave No Trace: On our way hike we notice garbage in the street so we stop to pick it up (throw down pieces of newspaper)! Next, we will put it in the recycling (take a piece of newspaper and move it to a recycling bin or a bag that you bring in a way that the children can follow and do the movements). Yay! Nature superheroes (clap)! 

Helping Animals: We notice that turtles are trying to cross the road, but they might get run over by cars! We stop traffic with signs and carry the turtles across the street (invite children to do the actions). Next, do Turtle Pose. Yay! nature superheroes (clap)! 

Helping Fish: We notice the salmon jumping in the river. Oh no! There is a dam in the river. How will the salmon get back to their spawning ground? Build a salmon ladder (invite children to do the actions). The salmon can swim through now! Do the Fish Pose. Yay! Nature superheroes (clap)! 

Fire Safety: We have arrived at the beach! We notice an unattended campfire. Oh no! This could start a forest fire. Quickly we grab buckets of water and put it out. (do a fire log pose and the kids grab buckets and put out the fire as you crumple into a heap). Yay! nature superheroes (clap)! 

Plant Trees: As we walk in the bush, we can see a patch of forest that was logged. We all start digging and we plant new trees and now all do Tree Pose. Yay! Nature superheroes (clap)! 

Flowers For Bees: Because of chemicals and changes to weather conditions there are fewer flowers in the meadow and the bees, without whom there will be no pollination and no life in nature, don’t have enough to eat… Scatter seeds (Child Pose) and slowly grow into Flower Poses and have bees buzzing around them too. Yay! Nature superheroes (clap)! 

Clean The Plastic From The Ocean: We go for a swim at the beach but find that there are lots of plastic bottles and plastic begs floating around. This could really harm sea turtles (do the pose) and other animals that might mistake the bags for jellyfish which is their food. Collect all the begs and see how happy the sea turtles are now with real jellyfish (do the pose) swimming around now). Yay! Nature superheroes (clap)! 

What other things can we do to help nature?

5-10 Minutes

 

Squirrels & A Nut

One child is chosen to be "it" and is given a nut to hold. The other children form a circle, sitting on the floor. They extend one hand and close their eyes. 

"It" tiptoes around the inside of the circle and puts the nut into one of the outstretched hands. The one who receives it jumps up and chases after the other until he catches "it" (the children can open their eyes as the chase begins). 

Once caught, he/she then becomes "it", everyone closes their eyes again and the games proceeds as before. 

5 Minutes

 

Breathing Hiking Hand

Put up one hand, palm facing out and fingers spread apart. Place the index finger of your other hand at the base of your thumb… Your finger is going to go on a hike in nature up and down the hills of your other hand!

Breathe in while you move your finger up one side of your thumb up the montain. Move your finger down the other side of your thumb down the mountain and breathe out. Do the same thing with the remaining four fingers, and take deep breaths in and out as you move your finger. 

After you’ve reached the second side of your pinky finger, you’ll have done 5 complete deep breaths. Start walking back up and down the mountains with your finger and your breath to complete another 5 breaths.

Or keep repeating…

5 Minutes

Observe a Leaf for Five Minutes

This exercise calls for nothing but a leaf and your attention.

Pick up a leaf, hold it in your hand, and give it your full attention for five minutes.

Notice the colours, the shape, the texture, and the patterns. This will bring you into the present and align your thoughts with your current experience.

1 or 2 minutes is also ok for the younger kids, but try to do it for as long as you can.

Share experiences if you have an extra moment.

5 Minutes

Guided Imagery Forest Script

It’s time to completely relax, so lie down and take some deep long breaths…

Close your eyes and imagine that you are standing at the edge of a field. You see a tree line where a forest begins only a few meters away. Just on the other side of the tree line, you see a trail, so you walk out of the field towards the path and enter the woods.

The light in the forest cascades down through the leaves in a soft spray of light. The layers of the forest have various textures. The lower undergrowth is soft and green. There are ferns, moss, and small growths reaching towards the light.

The upper canopy of the trees covers you like a stained glass roof overhead. The light green leaves against the light blue and white sky create a soft, glowing, ambient light. The light is gentle and soothing.

The path you are walking upon winds down a slight hill and curves. It's well-trodden, and you continue to follow it. The path is a combination of soil, roots, and small plants, and it is easy to walk upon.

Once you round the corner, you see a stream. You continue toward it, admiring the large trees and the different types of bark on each tree trunk. Some trees have rough bark, and some have smooth bark; some have light bark, and others dark.

As you near the stream, you can hear the rippling water sounds getting louder in a constant rhythm. You see the rocks just under the surface of the water; the water swirls around some and pours over others.

Listen to the rippling of the stream.

You decide to sit upon a large tree that has fallen over, and you slip your shoes off and dip your bare feet in the stream. The water is very cold, but it instantly soothes your feet. As you adjust to the cold, you notice that the water is swirling around and over your feet. As the water massages your feet, you can hear birds chirping.

There are several different birds sounding. You can also hear the breeze fluttering through the leaves of the trees. You close your eyes and enjoy the sounds.

After you rest for a while, enjoying your surroundings, you decide that you are ready to leave. You grab your shoes, put each one on, and step to the dry bank of the stream. You see the path that brought you here and you start back up the hill and around the bend.

As you walk back, many of the trees seem familiar. You see the bright entrance to your path up ahead. As you approach the entrance, you stop and linger. You turn around and look down the path, taking note of what you are seeing and hearing. You can visit this special place any time you'd like in your mind.

Finally, you exit the forest and find yourself in a bright field. You open your eyes and return to your awareness… How good does it feel to be in nature?

Welcome back.

5 Minutes