Weekly Nature Walks – We Are Off to Find Treasures!

This started right after Little B started walking, so around the time when she turned 1. Little B and I would go out for a walk outside in a park or in our apartment complex. She would explore by touching whatever she could get her hands on and by licking whenever I was not watching. As time passed by, she started picking up random stuff from our walk. She would collect them in her stroller carrier or her pockets. Initially I asked her not to pick up things from the road or park as they were obviously dirty. However, soon I realized that Little B was not just picking up ‘random stuff,’ she was picking up things that genuinely amazed her. So I allowed her to pick up all the trash she wanted and even let her bring it back home.

And that is how our special weekly walk was conceptualized. We started calling it “Nature Walk,” however now Little B calls it “Treasure Walk” for all the treasures she gets to collect and bring back home.

What is Treasure Walk?

We all know how much children like collecting trash. Doesn’t matter how much they’ve already collected or how much we request them not too, trash or things fallen on the ground are too much of a temptation. My daughter is 4-years-old and she still does it and I have no idea when she will stop.

Most of the times children are collecting just twigs, leaves and stones. Nothing dangerous, still we don’t allow them to pick them up because we are afraid of the germs they bring along.

So we go for a walk and that’s how,

• Before you leave for the walk, set out some rules, like picking up things in hands is allowed but putting it in the mouth is an absolute no.
• Inspire the child for the walk. Tell her/him that this walk is like a great adventure. You both are going to keep your eyes and ears open and find things that are amazing.
• Go for a walk with the child, especially at places that you know that your child loves picking up things from.
• You let her/him run wild and pick up anything of her/his interest. Yes it will be dirty, but let them pick things up. My criterion is to say no only to things with ‘poop’ on them, otherwise everything else is allowed.
• The child brings her/his treasure collection back home and explores it further.
• Let treasure walk be the day when germs are allowed!

Initially the child will pick up a lot of random things, that’s ok. However with time, explain that it is a treasure walk and we should only pick things which are really amazing. Even after this if the child continues to pick up a lot, let her/him.

I request Little B to not pick up things fallen on the ground on non-treasure walk days citing that she will be allowed to pick up whatever she wants on treasure walk days. It took some time, but now she understands the bargain and respects that. She resists her temptation to pick trash on non-walk days and I resist my temptation to say no to her on walk days.

Where to Take This Walk?

Parks, nature trails, neighborhood streets, a friend’s backyard – it could be any place where you feel that your child will get an opportunity to explore her/his surroundings.

What All You Might Need For this Treasure Walk for Kids?

You would need

• A small bag to collect things
• A water bottle in case the child picks something that is really dirty and you would want to wash it first. It might sound ironical, but I understand that many of us mothers are obsessed with cleanliness and washing will give them a little peace of mind.

What To Do With The ‘Treasures’ That The Child Brings Back?

As Little B brings back her ‘treasures’ home, I make her sit with them in the balcony and explore them any way she pleases (except licking them of course). It is sort of like an open play situation. If she has pebbles, she will make music. If she has leaves, she would crumble them and spread it across the balcony. If she has sticks she will poke soil with it and so on. When in constructive mood, she would take a paper and trace the things she has collected, or paint them.

When I have time on my hand, I try to do some activities with her around the things that she has brought back.

Activities Ideas For ‘Treasures’ from Treasure Walk

• Mathematical activities like arranging things according to their size, sorting them according to their color/shape, counting them, making patterns with them
• Science-related activities like observing leaf veins, counting legs of an ant, finding difference between rough and smooth
• Art-related activities like tracing, collage making, scrapbooking
• Any other activity/game you can think about. Once Little B brought a lot of bamboo tree trimmings and we made a Christmas tree kind of thing with it.

Don’t forget to Record Observations

I feel that noting down observations is an extremely important habit to inculcate. Encourage your child to draw her/his observations for the treasure walk in a journal. I understand that for most kids this drawing the observation would just be an abstract art like this

Still, let them do it. Alternatively, you can ask them as to what they would like to draw in their journal and draw that thing for them.

Your child will observe several other things and it might not be possible for you to bring it home, for example a butterfly or a tree. You can click a picture of such treasures and discuss them with your child once you come back home.

Do this weekly Treasure Walk with your kid for just a month and you will notice your child growing more and more interested in nature. It is not just my daughter, but I too end up learning a thing or two from our walks. What better way to connect with your child as well as Mother Nature!