Nature Walk with Your Kids in the Fall

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Fall is a wonderful time-of-year! The colors of leaves changing all around you. Time to pull out those long-sleeved shirts and scarves. The light scent of fireplaces, the sound of crunching leaves underfoot – it’s the perfect season to get outdoors with your kids. This is a great time to show your children God’s amazing hand all around you? What better way to start your Fall Season than with a nature walk? Here’s how I do it with my kids:

It’s Time to take the kids outside on a nature walk!

A nature walk is a fun and simple way to connect with God. This is also a great time to take your kids on a prayer walk with your family too. It’s also a great way to teach your kids about God’s incredible creation, and how we should care for it. And even if your kids don’t want to learn anything spiritual during their nature walk, it will still help them develop environmental stewardship skills that they’ll be able to use throughout their lives!

Remember, this moment right now is all about enjoying the outdoors together. When the kids and I go on a walk we pack our water bottles, grab some trail mix and start walking. Sometimes they bring items such as their bikes, scooters, a notebook, or even their camera.

Parents make sure your kids have dressed appropriately for the weather. Check your weather apps if you must. Don’t have them wearing long-sleeves if it’ll be swampy hot, but don’t have them wearing short-sleeve if it’ll be cold or crisp in the air.

What to Look For or Do on a Nature Walk:

Fall is a great time of year. The leaves are changing color, the air is crisp and cool, and you can still enjoy many outdoor nature activities (<–this book has a lot of ideas) with your family. Depending on the ages of your children will determine what you want to do or look for.

• Nature Walk just for Exercise and Exploration: Nature walks are an excellent way to get kids interested in nature. I began my nature walks for pure exercise but then seeing the beauty all around me on my walks I had my kids join on weekends and on their breaks.
  
  You can start by picking up some nature supplies like binoculars, field guides, a notebook, or even just a camera to capture memories along the way as you explore your local area. These can be done for little kids as well as adults and kids will get a kick out of having the same thing the adults have but in their size.

Remember to just let your child take in their surroundings. If they suddently stop and are lost in thought. They may be reflecting on themselves, something in their lives or just what they are seeing in front of them. Be gentle, ask what they are thinking about, if they don’t want to share that is okay too.

My son stopped on a bridge because he found it peaceful to watch it flow. After a few seconds he closed his eyes and just took in all the sounds that were around. He said it was one of the most peaceful moments.

• Nature Scavenger Hunt Activity: This activity can be done with older children who will love searching for certain items such as acorns or pinecones that are perfect for putting together a craft project (see below). This is also good practice for younger kids who may need help identifying some of these things on their own! You can make a picture scavenger hunt for the younger ones like a picture of a blue jay, a pinecone, a rock, etc.

Plan ahead and print out a Scavenger list.

• Plan ahead, and print out a scavenger list. (Here’s a Fall Scavenger Hunt I created for you.)
• Take the kids on a walk.
• Take a nature journal along with you on the walk. Tell them they can stop at any time to write down what they see or hear that day, or any questions they have while they are looking around. This will also help them to be in the moment.

• Nature I Spy: Take turns playing I Spy. Little kids will love spotting the things and guessing. But this will also make them begin to watch what it all around them as they try investigating what it is someone else has noticed.
• Prayer Walk: This is the perfect opportunity to introduce your kids to a prayer walk. It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant. Before walking you can pray that God shows you who or what you all should pray for during the walk. Have the kids jot down things or immediately pray when they feel inclined. We pray as we walk by houses, cats, nests, etc.
  – Here’s a post I did on taking your kids on a prayer walk through nature.

Don’t forget to bring a bag or bucket to carry items home in.

Collect some Nature to Bring Home

A nature walk can be a great way to talk about the season, the reasons things change, what will happen next and even slide in some eduation. Yes, I love adding something educational along with everything we do.

Every time we’ve ever went on a nature walk, no matter how big or small my kids were someone always found something they wanted to bring home. Nature items are great for craft projects. But make sure you have something to carry all those nature treasures. Here’s a few items you might find:

• Leaves can be used for a variety of craft projects. Leaf people, leaf rubbing, science lessons (how they change color as they decompose.), etc
• Collect acorns, nuts, pinecones, and other seeds that grow in your area. Study the parts of each one before putting them in containers or bags to use in art projects.
• Look at bugs under magnifying glasses (or real microscopes if you have them once you capture them and bring them home). Identify what kind type of bug each one is using a guidebook from your local library or online (try this one) and talk about why we have bugs around us every day.

List of Nature Craft ideas:

Nature art for kids by ArtfulParent.com
25 Beautiful fall nature crafts for kids by Fireflies and Mudpies
Top 10 Fall Nature Crafts by Rhythms of Play
Pine Cone Crafts Kids Make by Crafty Morning
5 Fall Nature Crafts for Kids by Parents.com
42 Best Autumn Leaf Craft Ideas to Help You Fall Into the Season by Country Living
Easy Autumn Nature Crafts Your Active Homeschooler Will Love by I Homeschool Network
30 Easy Fall Leaf Craft Ideas to Bring the Colors of Autumn into Your Home by The Pioneer Woman

Fall is the best time of year to go on a nature walk with your kids. It’s a great way to create lifelong memories and teach them about the world around us. As long as you plan ahead, it doesn’t have to be a hassle at all! So grab your hiking boots and get ready for some fun in the outdoors!