Outdoor activities: Exciting nature quests
Magical winter pleasures: Explore the class of nature right next door with these outdoor activities!
Winter is coming, and the days are getting shorter. In the forest, there’s a big tree, an oak, that stays very strong, even when it’s cold. This tree is like a school where you can learn a lot about nature. Especially in winter, when everything starts to freeze.
Just like Émile, The Little Gardener, who loves his garden, we can watch and learn from big trees like the oak. They’re very important in the forest.
Come and have fun with us! When we look at the branches of the oak in the winter sky, they show us how to be strong and not give up. And if you look closely, you can discover lots of secrets about the forest. So, are you ready to embark on an outdoor adventure?
Get ready for your adventure: the Nature Classroom is waiting for you!
Get ready for a fun adventure! Today, we’re going to do a lot of looking and discovering. There’s lots to see: trees, leaves, and animals, and each has a story to tell. We’re going to play some fun games with these outdoor activities. With your parents, choose what you’re going to explore. Whether it’s just for a little while or for a whole afternoon, there are so many wonderful things for curious little ones to discover outdoors.
In your ‘Oak Journal’, you’ll be like a detective. Write down what you find and what you think. You can also start a ‘Treasure Box’, where you’ll keep little gifts that nature offers you, like a beautiful stone or a feather.
With the ‘Listen and Tell’ game, have fun listening to the sounds of the forest: birdsong or rustling leaves, then tell a story about what you hear. In ‘I Spy’, you become an adventurer looking for hidden animals, like a shy squirrel or a jumping frog. Each game is designed to help you discover the magic of nature and learn to love it.
The great thing about these games is that you can change them as you like, depending on where you are and how much time you have. You can explore a large forest or a small park with your parents. You can even invent your own adventures in nature, using your imagination.
By playing, you also learn to think, to be creative and patient. Sometimes it’s by paying attention to what you see, hear, smell, touch and taste. Your curiosity will help you understand how everything in nature is connected. So let’s get outside for those outdoor activities and let nature show you lots of fun and interesting things!
Explore and play: 20 outdoor activities await you!
- Observation and discovery:
- Treasure hunt. Look for nature’s treasures like leaves, acorns and twigs near the oak trees and keep them in your “treasure box”.
- A nature detective’s diary. Be like Emile, a patient observer. Take the time to look around you. Write or draw in your journal every little thing you discover, just as Émile does when he’s in his garden. In this way, you’ll learn a lot about nature and become a great detective!
- The sounds of nature. Close your eyes next to an oak tree. What can you hear? Birdsong or rustling leaves? Write it down in your “Oak Journal”.
- I spy with my little eye. Can you see animals like squirrels or birds around oak trees? Play “I spy” and find them! Write down what you’ve seen.
- Oak tree spotting game. Find different oak trees. Are they tall, short, big or small? Write this down in your journal.
- Leaf art. Collect oak leaves and draw them at home in your “Oak Journal”. Keep the leaves in your “Treasure Box”.
- Mini explorers. Use a magnifying glass to see the oak bark. What do you find? Draw it in your “Oak Journal”.
- Cycles of nature:
- Acorn adventure. Go on an acorn hunt. Draw them in your “Oak Journal” and plant a few.
Watch them grow! - Insect safari. Search for insects at the foot of the oak tree. Who finds the most interesting insect? Draw it in your “Oak Journal”.
- Birdwatching. Look at the birds in the oak trees. Who are they that stays here in winter, rather than flying off to warmer climes? Write this down in your “Oak Journal”.
- Acorn adventure. Go on an acorn hunt. Draw them in your “Oak Journal” and plant a few.
- Empathy and care:
- Bird cafe. Make bird feeders and hang them on oak trees. Write which birds are coming in your “Oak Journal”.
- Nature care walk. Let’s go for a walk and be nice to all the little creatures you meet.
- Helping Hands Club. Join a club that cares for nature. Together, let’s do some good for our environment!
- Growth and patience:
- The time travel of trees. Count the rings on the cut trunk of an oak tree. Guess how old the tree is! Do you know why?
- Try hugging the tree. Find an oak tree big enough for your fingers to just touch when you hug it. Did you know that the age of this tree is about the same as your height in centimetres?
- Planting Patience. Plant little plants under an oak tree. Come back from time to time: write in your “Oak Journal” how they’re growing.
- Tree observation diary. Choose an oak tree and visit it often. Note the changes in your diary.
- Future treasure hunt. Bury a time capsule under an oak tree. What do you put inside? Mark the spot in your “Oak Journal” to find it.
- Interconnection:
- Create a nature necklace. Gather found objects around an oak tree to make a necklace.
- Play in the forest. Imagine a story about the life of an oak tree, a bird and a squirrel in the forest. Tell how they live together. With friends or your parents, play the roles of the oak, the bird and the squirrel.
What did you think? What did you think of these outdoor activities?
Our great adventure outside is almost over. You’re taking home a lot more than just memories. Under the big oak trees, you’ve played lots of games, like the “treasure hunt” and the “nature necklace”. During these outdoor activities, you surely learned a lot about being strong, having patience and perseverance, and finding beauty in nature.
Like Emile in his garden, you’ve begun a journey of discovery, understanding and growth. You’ve touched the bark of trees, listened to whispering leaves and seen many little lives that grow even when it’s cold.
What you’ve done isn’t just for fun. It’s the beginning of a great friendship between you and nature. You’ve understood how everything is connected and important, haven’t you? The curiosity and wonder you felt today is what’s going to help you become a protector of our beautiful planet.
We hope you’ll come back again and again to this magical place in nature, where every tree has a story to tell and every child, like you, has something new to learn.
Join the Adventure!
And now, after our adventure with the oaks, we’d love to hear your stories. Did you enjoy these outdoor activities? What did you discover? Did you find a funny acorn? Or did you draw a beautiful oak tree in the sky? Show us your discoveries and drawings! You can share them right here, below, where there’s a place to write.
If you’re still in the mood for adventure, or if you’ve got any great ideas, drop us a line at [email protected]. We love hearing stories about nature!
Et si tu veux voir ce que fait Émile et trouver d’autres jeux sur la nature, va voir notre page Instagram. Clique sur le petit logo Instagram. Suis-nous à Emile de Fleurville and join our group of nature lovers. Many more adventures await you!
