Nature Walk Activities

Imagine being able to get exercise, get some sunshine, and entertain your child. 

The Benefits of spending time outside and getting exercise

The benefits of fresh air, exercise and interaction with the natural world are undeniable. Wether you are playing at a playground, walking around outside, or just reading books in the sun, you are reaping huge rewards when it comes to your Childs health and development.

While there are really an infinite number of activities you can do with your child on a walk, below I lay out 5 easy, low prep, free to very low cost activities you can do. I hope these will help get you started.

While I tout a play based, pressure free preschool experience for my toddler. I myself am the most type A, type Aer that ever was. 🤪 I find that scheduling this walk into my morning right after breakfast is extremely helpful to give me the predictable, structured start to my day I need to feel centered and ready to take on the world. Having a different activity each day keeps it from feeling monotonous for my child. Everyone is happy, and honestly as parents, how often do we get to say that!! 🥳

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5 Nature Walk Activities

 1. Treasure Hunt

  • Take a toy your child likes and hide it a few minute walk from your house or starting point. (If there is a chance of it getting destroyed put it in a box first. You can decorate the box to look like a treasure box)
  • Print out a google map of your area
  • Draw a path on the map that leads to your treasure
  • Help your child use the map to locate the treasure

This is an activity you can repeat many times. Each time, put the toy a little further away. Change up what kinds of toys or items are in the box. Do you have a toddler that loves treats? Fill a box with some of their favorite snacks, they can munch on them as you walk back. As you child gets more confident with their map skills you can pull back on the amount of support you offer in reading the map.

Although we almost always have navigation tools on us these days, map skills are still essential. They help with spacial understanding, navigational skills, and directional awareness.

treasure hunt nature walk ideas for toddlers
I spy nature walk ideas

2. I Spy

  • Pick a category you would like to search for. This can be a color, an animal, a plant. Whatever is plentiful in the area you are walking in. I often use animals because we live on a farm and as we walk it is common to see pigs, cows, chickens, goats, and wildlife galore!
  • Take turns “spying” something in the category without naming it. For example, when we use the animal category I might say “I spy something big and spotted with 4 legs,” to describe a cow.
  • The other person has to guess what it is. Once they guess, it is now their turn to “spy.”

This type of descriptive play brings awareness to the many identifying features that objects can have. Building a complex understanding of how to identify objects will support a Childs development of self identity and of grouping. It also helps with building strong detail orientation.

3. Colors and Shapes In Nature

  • Print off this image, or recreate it at home. Get a bag for your child to collect treasure in, and place the paper in the bag. I also like to include these magnifying glasses to make it extra fun for my toddler.
  • Tell your child you are going on a treasure hunt. They have to find object on your walk that are either the same color, OR the same shape as each box on the paper.
  • Each square is worth one point. If they find an object that is the same color, AND the same shape, its worth two points. You can assign a reward (sticker, 1 episode of Bluey, a fruit juice popsicle, etc.) for ranges of points they achieve.
  • As they find objects they can put them in their treasure bag. When you get home you can discuss each object and which square it is similar to.

This activity helps children identify similar shapes with different sizes. It also helps with color variation and ranges. If you want to expand on this, you can get a color wheel and show all the shades of a color that exist.

nature walk scavenger hunt activity for toddlers
Nature walk photo book activity for toddlers
nature walk journal idea for toddlers

4. Photo Book

  • Tell your child you are going on a walk to create a book. As they walk they can take pictures of anything they find really interesting.
  • I use this child safe camera, because there is no way I am giving my toddler my iPhone that I am still paying off to go on a walk 😂 Set parameters to keep things moving if you think your child will get stuck in one place. For example, you can take 1 picture every 25 steps. This will also add a math element to the activity.
    • If you do not have, and do not want to purchase a child safe camera, tell your child to tell you when they want to take a picture. They can review it as the photo editor and give approval.
  • When you get home have them choose 10 pictures. Print them, cut them out, and glue them to card-stock, paper, construction paper, etc. Cutting and gluing are very important fine motor skills to develop so don’t skip this step in favor of just using the paper they are printed on. Here are some safety scissors if you need them 
  • Have your child tell you about each picture and why they chose it. Write down what they tell you under the picture. 
  • Using a hole punch and some yarn, make the photo pages into a book. Have your child decorate the front cover. They are now have their very first published book!
  • At dinner, or family time, have them show the photo book to a member of the family that was not there and describe the pictures.

This one is much more time consuming than the others, but it hits SO many skills! It is a favorite of mine.

5. Bug Bingo

  • Print out this Bingo card. If these types of bugs do not exist in your area, you can make your own card with bugs that do exist.
  • Have your child search for bugs on your walk and fill out the bingo card as they go. You can choose how they win. Four corners, straight line, and X, blackout etc.
  • Each time they find one of the bugs, they should ask you to confirm and if they are right you can hand them a sticker to put on their card.

Please remind your child to be respectful of nature while doing this activity. They should not kill, capture or scare the things they find. We want to observe and appreciate nature, not destroy it.

You can repeat this activity with so many different things! If you download this PDF I have all of the following cards that can be used in the Central Texas Region:

  • Bug Bingo
  • Bird Bingo
  • Animal Bingo
  • Leaf Bingo
  • People Bingo
nature walk bing activities for toddlers
Download PDF here

Do You Have A Different Activity You Love Doing With You Child While On A Walk?

I would love to hear about it! Drop a comment and let me know what keeps your child enthralled with nature. Or, if you tried on of these activities I would love to hear how it went.