This time of year the warm sunshine during the day feels good on my shoulders and it's one of my favorite times to be outside. Perhaps it's because the sun is setting earlier and earlier each day and I feel like I have to savor every sunny moment outdoors.
Do you like to hike with your family? We do and a favorite game we play outside while hiking is called the NAME FIVE THINGS game. I've included the rules of the game at the end of this post.
Fall is approaching. The days are getting shorter. At night when I walk my dogs I bring along my giant flashlight. In my neighborhood nestled at the base of a mountain, this is the time when the black bears begin stuffing themselves with berries before the snow falls. Walking around my neighborhood after the sun goes down is not recommended unless you bring along a flashlight so you can avoid running into a mama bear and her cubs foraging for food.
The directions for playing the NAME FIVE THINGS game below.
This is a classification and category game. When you take a walk, ask your kids to look for five related things. To make it a bit more challenging, one optional idea is to have each kid make their own unique list of five. For example, you could say, "Name five plant names you see." Or, "Name five animals we might see on our walk." Or "Name five colors of flowers we might see on the walk." If your kids enjoy collecting rocks, ask them to name five colors of rocks, or ask them to name the types of rocks. When my kids were little, they loved to name five bugs they might see. The best part of the game is your kids can ask you the NAME FIVE THINGS questions too.
If you are hiking in an area with less diversity, try asking the kids about the species in their state. You could say, "Name five kinds of trees you might see in this state."
Image: HELLO SEPTEMBER is by me, Chris Olson. Feel free to Pin it on Pinterest with a link back to this post. Thanks!
