Geocaching and More! 3 Ways to Get the Kids Outside to Enjoy Nature

Monday, October 20, 2014

Geocaching and More! 3 Ways to Get the Kids Outside to Enjoy Nature

When we first moved to the mountains, I sort of pictured us living in The Sound of Music. I thought my kids would scamper outside and pick leaves and twigs off the ground while singing a heart-warming tune. The reality is that I have to drag the kids on hikes like a couple of teen-agers (even though they're 4 and 6). They get tired, they get hungry, and they get bored. My husband and I, on the other hand, love to hike and be outside, but we have found a few ways to get them to enjoy nature: 1. Geocaching. Have you ever heard of this? It's basically like a free scavenger hunt, and you can do it anywhere in the world. There are lots of ways to do it, but the best is to download the App from the popular site, www.geocaching.com. Then on your phone, you can "Find Nearby Geocaches" and it will show you all the treasures that have been hidden close to wherever you are. You just use your phone to find the GPS coordinates and you will find a little box with hidden treasures! The kids absolutely loved this. They got to hold the phone and watch as our dot got closer to our treasure (It's very similar to using GPS for driving directions). We eventually found the box (look where my hand is reaching, you can see a little box hidden inside the logs), and inside is a little notebook where you can record that you were there and found it, to really give the kids a sense of accomplishment. Sometimes there are even little toys in them, so be sure to bring a few cheap pencils or bracelets so you can "get one and give one" to the cache community. The best part about this??? It's free!! (Other than the $10 app)

2. Scavenger Hunt. I made up a simple page and printed them out for each kid. I gave them clipboards and pens and they had so much fun searching for all the things on the page. I used Microsoft Word Clip Art and found photos of everything for their hunt.

3. Lastly, our latest obsession is Dino Dan. Dinosaurs are fascinating to them, so one hike we livened things up by pretending we were finding dinosaur teeth, bones, etc. Every time they found one, we would exclaim how exciting it was that they found a T-Rex tooth! We let them bring little bags to collect their treasures and it was even a little educational. I hope you and your family can enjoy some of these fun outdoor adventures too! For more ideas on engaging your children and keeping them busy, please consider buying my book, co-written by an amazing Kindergarten Teacher! The Happy Mommy Handbook: The Ultimate How-to Guide on Keeping Your Toddlers and Preschoolers Busy, Out of Trouble and Motivated to Learn. Want to see all my posts? Put your email address here to become a subscriber!

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3 comments:

UnknownJune 26, 2016 at 9:56 PM
Your post is very helpful, thank you. What can we say about geocaching? What is geocaching? Well, for starters, geocache is a live adventure game played outdoors where anyone can participate – basically it’s a form of a sport game. If you are fond of exploring, you will certainly like geocaching. See more http://survival-mastery.com/skills/camp/what-is-geocaching-and-how-to-geocache.html
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hannah.bedinSeptember 28, 2016 at 12:55 AM
Quickly, GPS frameworks are utilized for a few purposes for the most part as controlling guide. The client just needs to information his last goal and the GPS collector will do whatever remains of the employment. GPS frameworks can likewise be utilized for following purposed as it is seen in the car business. https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/23/what-does-gps-actually-do-other-than-tracking/
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keven johnOctober 19, 2024 at 2:53 AM
I just feel it is a minor issue to get kids out into nature and allow them to be kids. Things as basic as nature strolls, pursuing things, or planting could make it enjoyable. Yeah it is good to let them go out and play in the compound and the neigbourhood. By the way, if anyone struggles with managing multiple tasks at once, assignment writing services can be very useful to keep up with the work in academics!
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Monday, October 20, 2014