NATURE ACTIVITY
HIDING GAMES
What do nature activity hiding games have to do with awareness? Well, everything really. We play our games in the woods. This helps the child to spend a lot of quiet time in the natural world and learn to blend in. The more a child can blend in to the woods, the closer he or she will be to nature. An increase in awareness of birds, animals, plants, colors, textures and all other natural things will follow. Plus, they are great fun.
With adult supervision, find a safe place in a wooded area. Be sure that the boundaries are well defined and the area is free of common hazards such as poison ivy. Hide and seek is a great way to start, and everyone knows how to play. Begin with hide and seek and then try a couple of new ones.
TRAIL SIDE HIDE
Walk down a wooded trail with two adults and a group of children. One adult stays behind while the other takes the children a little further up the trail. Then the children hide on both sides of the trail. The rule is that they must hide close enough to the trail so that they can see the adult. The other adult must close his or her eyes while the children are hiding, then walk forward. Without leaving the trail he or she tries to find as many children as possible. This is a fun activity with all age groups, but especially the younger ones.
SCATTER
This nature activity hiding game works with an older group that you are sure will follow directions. Take a walk in the woods on a well marked trail. Without warning, the adult will shout "SCATTER" and begin counting to a low number such as 8 or 10. The children will have an 8 or 10 count to find a hiding place. Then the adult will look for the hiders while staying on the trail.
The object of this game is to find cover and blend in quickly. Running a great distance after the count is over is not allowed. As the game goes on, make the count shorter and shorter. The kids love the challenge.
BACK TO MAIN ACTIVITY PAGE
|
