A good way to stop children getting bored and moany on walks is to give each of them a small matchbox before you start. The aim is to fit as many small but different objects into the matchbox as you can. Seeds, pinhead flowers, insects, tiny stones, rabbit droppings – anything natural will do. At the end, everyone tots up their scores and meanwhile the children haven’t noticed they’ve walked for miles.
Alternatively, take some postcards covered with double-sided sticky tape on your walk. Each person chooses to collect something specific and different – purple flowerheads, seeds, bugs, serrated leaves – sticking them on the card as they go. Another boredom buster is to take a paint colour chart with you and try as a group to find something in nature which matches up to every colour on the chart. You might think those Dulux purples look unnaturally garish but it’s amazing how many bright colours you can find on a summer’s day. |