There’s nothing like a woodland walk for teaching your child about the wonders of nature. If you’ve got some accessible woodland near you, then please use it! If you’re not lucky enough to have any woodland nearby, then you may still be able to search for some of these things in a large local park. If you’re able to make the trip to somewhere a little ‘wilder’ though, you’re much more likely to stumble upon some interesting wildlife.
For the uninitiated, a woodland walk adventure checklist is a means of engaging children in their surroundings. Some kids can get bored if they’re walking without any purpose. They lack the stresses of adult life that make a woodland walk so calming for us parents! Most children though, are sure to enjoy themselves out in the woods, but a checklist really elevates the fun to another level for them.
The basic idea is that you hand them a list of the things you hope to see on your walk before you set off. This gives them a real sense of satisfaction as they’re able to tick off items as they go.
The trick to a good checklist is to have plenty of items that they’re almost guaranteed to spot at some stage (eg. a tree trunk), interspersed with some items that are relatively rare to spot, such as a squirrel. You may not spot one on your walk, but if you do, the kids will definitely want to check it off a list! Some kids love the idea of building up a score as they go along. If you think yours might, I’ve added some suggestive scores below (making the lowest worth 10 each is a surefire way of culminating an impressive-sounding score!).
With that in mind, here’s a list of some of the things you can include, grouped in terms of how likely it is to spot them.
Easy-to-find items (10 points each)
Be careful to think about routes and what items you include. If you’re able to space these out, then that’s perfect. These items should form the bulk of your checklist, but try not to have too many spotted straight away, lest your walk become a lop-sided experience.
- Tree trunk (cut-down tree)
- Bird
- Dog
- Farmer’s field
- Nettles
- Oak leaf
- Hedge
- Pine cone
- Dandelion
- Daisy
- Gate
- Public footpath sign
- Arrow sign
Moderately tricky items (100 points)
Be sure to have a fair few of these on your list too. These are usually a little more specific. So for ‘bird’ in section one, you could instead have ‘starling’ if your child knows how to identify them. Tailor your list to your child for the best results.
- Ladybird
- Bee
- Wasp
- Spider
- Daffodil
- Molehill
- Wheat
- Hole in tree
- Anything that looks like it might be an animal’s den
- Sycamore seed
- Horse chestnut seed/conkers
Tricky-to-spot items (1000 points)
You may well spot these on your outing, but they can’t be guaranteed. Reward your little adventurer’s keen eye by giving them some crazy points for these.
- Squirrel
- Robin
- Owl
- Fox
- Deer
- Cow
- Sheep
- Chicken
- Frog
So there you have it. Pick a few from each section, and tailor your list to your walk if it’s a trail that you know well.
If you don’t have any woodland near you, why not have a day at the park instead?