What’s in my hiking pack?
Fill your hiking pack with some or all of these items:
Hiking Pack Musts:
Water bottle
Snacks
Safety: First Aid Kit, Whistle, Trail Map, Phone, Poison Plant ID, Phone (During pandemic- mask and hand sanitizer)
Clothing layers (pack dependent upon the weather)
After packing your essentials, we recommend you choose just ONE of these extras to pack for each hike. By choosing only ONE of these extras, you will help your children to focus their attention during the hike. This also allows children to feel like each hike is a new unique adventure!
Here are some extras to choose from to pack for your hike:
Spider web Spray
Fill a small spray bottle with water and make sure it’s tightly secured before putting it in your pack. As you’re hiking, take the spray bottle out and begin spraying water where you think there may be a spider web. When the water spray hits the web, the moisture will stick to the fine web strings and show off the dazzling design.
Children will love seeing the intricate patterns and become more aware of animal habitats.
Litter Pick Up Bag and Gloves
Add a reusable/disposable bag and gloves to your pack in case you encounter litter. Help children become stewards of the environment by being a part of the clean up process! This type of exercise will instill a stewardship ethic that will have long lasting effects.
Seek App By Inaturalist
This amazing App can help you identify wildlife on your hike! By taking a picture, the Seek App will identify the plant, fungus, animal and allow you to access more information about it. You can even earn badges by finding different species on hikes! Before hiking you can set a goal of how many new species you would like to find on this hike, in a week, in an entire month, etc to practice math skills!
Children can learn scientific skills like predicting, identifying, classifying, and researching.
Measuring Stick
Bring along a measuring stick to allow children to predict the size of natural objects and wildlife they encounter on their hike. Children will be fascinated by measuring and comparing the sizes of different items from their hike.
Magnifying Glass
Children love holding their very own magnifying glass as they hike. Children enjoy seeing nature up close. They can see the faces of insects, the veins of leaves, the intricate patterns on pinecones, etc.
A Camera!
If you’re feeling brave, you can share your camera/phone with your child and encourage them to take pictures on the hike. Or you can give your child a camera of their own to use to teach them responsibility (be sure it is durable and affordable if it is meant for hiking!)
By giving children a camera of their own you can see the world through their eyes! Allow children to make a book from all their adventures and caption them with their thoughts. This is a great creative literacy activity, but also a great keepsake!
Sketch Book
Allow for quiet stops for children to sit and observe their surroundings or reflect on their hike. This can be a beautiful sensory experience for children to use all their senses to record their experience. They can make observational drawings, write poetry, write descriptive passages, or count and record items within view.
Compass
Using a compass helps children learn cardinal directions. Children can gain a basic understanding of north, south, east, west. Use a trail map and let your children be the guide with the compass.
*Make it into a game: hide something and let children use a compass to help them locate it.
Field Guides
Choose a field guide of interest to your children-maybe their interest is in scat, tracks, birds, fungi, etc. Let them pick the field guide (be sure it is local to your hiking area) and use it to help identify along your hike.
*Your children could even make their own field guide after/during their hike by drawing and writing or researching and printing.
Binoculars
Allow children to put a pair of binoculars around their neck as they hike and it will feel as though you’ve given them a super power! Children will love to see how far they can see wearing binoculars. They can search for faraway birds with ease. After your child becomes an expert with binoculars, challenge them to find something specific using this cool tool.
