Human Tracks
“Leaving your Mark’
A great way to help children understand tracks is by helping them explore their own tracks first!
Explore Human Tracks
Let children get messy and explore their own tracks using their hands, bare-feet, and shoes!
Ways for exploration:
Substances to cover your feet, hands, & shoes with-to use for stamping:
Paint
Ink (like a stamp pad)
Mud
Water
Materials to stamp your messy tracks onto:
Paper (big paper is fun for a large group)
Sidewalk/ Concrete/ Driveway
Mud outside
Washable surfaces like floor or table
‘Guess Whose Track’ Game
Gathering Game: Have everyone take turns showing off the bottom of their boot so everyone else can see the unique boot design. Then have everyone stand in a circle with a sand/flour/mud-filled space in the middle. Have the players take turns secretly making a print (everyone else should have their eyes closed) and then let the others guess.
After the gathering, learners will begin to see their friends tracks out hiking and be able to identify them. (for example— “That track has a star in it! That must be Riley’s track!”)
‘Follow the Prints’ Game
Enjoy this outdoor game to help children understand tracks and how to best follow them.
How to play:
Be sure to play in a space where you can see the tracks clearly (fresh snow, mud, dirt, sand, etc.)
1 person creates visible tracks and then hides somewhere (meaning their tracks end in this hiding space)
the rest of the people playing will have their eyes closed while the hider is hiding, after the agreed upon time is up, they try to track down the hider using the tracks!
This game might not last very long unless you’re able to reset the track space (like in a sand box) or are in a large enough space where tracks can be fresh in new spots. Otherwise it will be confusing once a lot of tracks are on the ground! (But it can also be a neat challenge to find the freshest and newest tracks amongst the old ones!)
‘Explore More: Scat & Tracks'
Learning Magazine
Check out our newest learning magazine to help your young investigator safely hunt and analyze tracks and scat!
Children can harness their math skills (measuring, geometry, arithmetic, graphing), language arts skills (writing, reading, vocabulary), science skills (animals, contrast, compare), and problem solving skills all while having fun and exploring scat and tracks!
Learn more about our 13 page bundle of hands-on learning in the great outdoors!
