Walking with children: Ideas for even more fun
Getting children to take part in physical activity can be very difficult but it is very important to keep your children active. Growing children should take part in a certain amount of physical activity every week to help their bodies to grow and develop. Getting children involved in walking is a great way to get them involved in a type of physical activity that the whole family can enjoy together. What is more, there are a variety of different ways to make walking for pleasure an even more enjoyable activity for your kids.
Map reading
Children can have great fun reading the map and using the compass when they go out on walks with friends and family members. Even when you are not trying to find buried treasure, there are plenty of unique sights to find and explore on any OS map.
Show them what all of the different map symbols mean so that they will be able to understand how to relate the land to the paper that they are holding. Allow them to be in charge of holding the map and keeping track of where you are as you follow your route. Make sure they still know where you are and where you are going when you get to major junctions. They can use ‘navigational handrails’ to figure out where they are on the map based on all of the major geographical features that they are able to see around them.
Orienteering
Orienteering is a fun walking or running based sport which can be done in the great outdoors. It is the perfect choice for children who find a normal walk to be a little bit boring.
Participants are given a map which shows the location of various different checkpoints. There will also be a short description of the location of the checkpoint. Participants use the map to navigate between checkpoints. A small device, known as a dibber, is used to record the visit to the checkpoint. At the end of the route, all of the times are collected and downloaded. Orienteering adds a subtle competitive edge to walking.
Flora and Fauna
If you go out walking in the British countryside, there are plenty of fantastic plants and animals to see. Make a game out of spotting as many different types of flora and fauna as you can. There are plenty of books and apps available to help you to identify the things that you find.
If you do see any animals, make sure that you only watch them from a distance so that you do not scare them. Do not feed any of the animals, because human food may not be suitable for their digestive systems.
Never pick or destroy the flowers and plants that you find. Teaching young children how to interact with wildlife and plants will help them to give them a better understanding of how humans can have a negative impact on the natural world if they do not treat it with respect.
Myths and Folklore
Most areas in the United Kingdom have their own local myths and folklore. These tales tend to have been created centuries ago by people who were trying to explain wonderful and mysterious things that they didn’t understand. Stories include ghosts, ghouls, giants, elves, fairies and other fantastical tales. Children seem to love these sorts of stories, because they are often still trying to make sense of the natural world around them.
Check in the local tourist information office to see whether there are any books or leaflets about the areas that you want to walk in. Share these stories with your children whilst they are on route. Looking out for faeries and exploring haunted hillsides will keep them busy whilst you enjoy the beautiful natural wonders around you.
Making trail mix
Trail mix is great to take on walks with you, because it will help to keep your energy levels up. Most children love trail mix because it is a handful of tasty treats. Your children will be even more excited about walking if they are allowed to help you to make trail mix.
Give them a list of potential ingredients for a trail mix under specific columns, such as nuts, seeds, dried fruits and chocolate. Ask them to choose two ingredients from the first 3 columns and 1 ingredient from the chocolate column. Once you have been out to buy all of the ingredients, they can help you to mix it all together in a ziplock bag so that it is ready to take with you on your walk. Carry the trail mix with you in your rucksack and ration it out to your children to help to keep their energy levels up. Do not let them try any of their trail mix until they are out on the walk, because the anticipation will help to keep their enthusiasm levels high.