Children react very differently when they go out into nature—some cry, others laugh. If they haven’t been raised to see it as a natural part of life, they might actually react like the little girl in the picture here.
But I promise you one thing!
Fresh air in the forest is not dangerous. In fact, it’s one of the most beneficial things for us humans—to go out where we are surrounded by greenery.
And
To top it all off, there’s nothing cozier and more relaxing than sitting and watching "The Great Indian TV" 📺🔥😃
But if you just go out without any kind of activities, it can easily turn into hearing the message "Eeeeeek... when are we going home!? » I’m cold. I don’t want to anymore. Dad... MOM... you’re mean! «
So here’s what you do. Use my list of possible activities to have an awesome day with your kids
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🔥Make a campfire together with the kids. If there’s something kids love, it’s making a fire. Everything from gathering the wood to helping light it. Try, for example, to find different kindling materials. Find WET sticks and show your child that they won’t burn. Talk a little about it. Then find dry leaves, small sticks, birch bark (which burns wonderfully), and experiment. Let the lighting of the fire become a game in itself!
- 🥞Make a good batch of pancake batter and bring it along. Maybe you have a bowl or container with a lid. If not, you can use a large soda bottle that you clean well to pour the batter into. I’ve actually written a blog post about making pancakes over a campfire. You can read it right » HERE « and if you need a proper campfire pan to fry them on, as you’ll see in the blog post, you can buy the one we used » HERE «
- 🥖Staying with the fun campfire kitchen for a moment, you can also make TWIST BREAD. It’s always a hit, but be aware that many kids can lose patience here. It’s best for the slightly older kids.
» Read my super twist bread guide here «
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🐜 Kids love insects. You might not, but that doesn’t have to affect your child. Go out with a couple of jam jars and find insects. Make a few holes in the lid and put some plants inside, the same ones that were with the insects where you found them. Spend some time figuring out what they are. You can even look them up together on your phone. It’s exciting and fun for both parents and kids.
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Make a swing from some strong rope. If you have some good, solid blue rope, you can try tying it around a heavy branch and throw it over another big branch in a tree. You control how risky the project is, but there’s no doubt that making your own swing is a hit!
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⛺️Bring a tent out into nature. Even if it’s just in the garden, that’s fine. Let the kids bring some stuffed animals in their backpack and make the tent really cozy. Doing it at home in the garden might make the project easier to manage. It’s cozy to lie together, read a story, and use headlamps for the project. Even though there’s Corona right now, that shouldn’t stop you from being loving and close with your child.
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⚽️🏃♂️Tag or soccer: We all benefit from burning off some energy. Whether you play tag or make two goals out of some sticks stuck in the ground, it’s all good. Just do it. Work up a sweat!
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🔪Whittle a stick. In these times of Corona everywhere, you might want to be a bit careful so you don’t end up in the emergency room. I’ve heard it’s full of zombies 😅🧟♂️. Most kids handle whittling fine, and usually it only results in small scratches if anything goes wrong. So remember some band-aids. Of course, you shouldn’t be afraid of life, and whittling by the fire is always fun.
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🏕Build a fort together. Everyone without exception thinks building forts is fun. Whether you build them against another tree or make a freestanding structure, that’s up to you. Find inspiration on Google or go out into the forest and see what others have made. I promise you one thing: there’s always a fort or two to check out when you get there. But the one you build today will be better. On Google, you can search for "Build forts," "How to build a shelter," and YouTube can also be a good place to look. However, regarding the latter, the level of what you find can be slightly too advanced for kids.
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🐾Make plaster casts of animal tracks. If you don’t have plaster, maybe you have something else to cast with. Perhaps some tile adhesive, cement, or something else in the shed can be used. Experiment. It’s about getting out and hunting for animal tracks. The cast will be a keepsake of your cozy day together. Also look for droppings. Fox droppings look one way, and those of roe deer, hares, etc., look different. The same goes for their tracks. If you find droppings, there are often tracks nearby.
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🦉Find owl pellets. Owls eat mice and regurgitate the remains. It’s quite fascinating to find. The pellet contains bones and hair remains. Just take a look here on Google. I’ve done the search for you »Click here to see owl pellets«.
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📱Geocaching is a treasure hunt for kids and adults. It’s super fun, and the difficulty levels vary a lot. You need to install an app on a phone, create a user (make a cool family name). Then the app works via GPS and you go out together to solve tasks in nature. See pictures of the phenomenon HERE and read about it HERE on the Nature Agency’s website.
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🌳Climb trees and have stick sword fights. Kids love climbing trees. Set some rules about how high they can climb. When they’re done, they can have sword fights with sticks. Just make sure the sticks aren’t too big.
And the list goes on! 🙏😃
- Make wild garlic pesto. In spring, wild garlic grows on the forest floor. Often it grows in large patches and you won’t miss it when you get close: it smells VERY much like garlic. Wild garlic pesto tastes fantastic, and it’s just one of many possibilities with wild garlic. I’ve found several recipes for you »HERE«
Do you have more suggestions for outdoor activities with kids? I’d love to hear about them here, so I can add more and make the list even longer. Just send your ideas to kontakt@survivalstore.dk
Kind regards, Bjarke