Tips and tricks for outdoor adventures

I am really curious – are you one of the parents, struggling with their teenagers? Trying to juggle between family, work and other things? Finding proper or any balance is quite hard, especially nowadays, when kids are much more prone and keen to share their thoughts on their Insta stories, instead of doing that at the family dinner.

I know what you’re going through and I know it’s a struggle.

So, let me give you some of my tips and tricks that work with kids stuck at home. Try them and let me know your thoughts, feedback or ideas that work for you.

Outdoor activities

Lots of these depend on the weather or the season, but during the fall, these are my tips and tricks. I chose to give some examples of these, as outdoor learning improves child development. By heading outside and learning in nature, kids improve their emotional, intellectual, and behavioral development. Outdoor learning helps foster the development of creativity, problem-solving, independence, and confidence. Especially if you are patient and creative enough, you can make any outdoor activity one to remember.

Attend a baseball / football or any other type of game

The other day my uncle told me that his team (12-yo boys) are having a match in a nearby city. As we didn’t have much planned for the weekend, I thought to myself – why not, let’s go, kids. After one hour of driving, laughing, singing and talking in the car, we found ourselves at a tiny stadium, where teenagers were preparing themselves to win the local football cup. As far as I have to girls, aged 13 and 5, at first they were a bit disappointed with the experience. Obviously, they thought we are going to the Wembley Stadium and eventually, we turned out to be in Painswick… almost a disaster, until … I proposed them to be cheerleaders of my uncle’s team. Well, we’ve never had so much fun – singing, dancing, cheering for our team. Yes, they lost, but we all left the field as real winners and some of those winners slept all the way back.

Bike five miles or even more

With a 5-years old girl it could be quite challenging, unless you decide to take one of these useful child bike seats. We have a huge park nearby and being among nature was one of the best things we did recently. I even made some sandwiches, we took some home made juices and as outside was a 65+ degrees F, we had an amazing time. During our improvised lunch, we even gathered some leaves and cones, turning them into a well-made home décor afterwards.

Design a scavenger hunt for friends and family

Maybe one of the best adventures, especially if you have more kids in place. Couple of weeks ago we went at our village home and it has a huge front yard and at least 10 houses nearby. The challenge for our kids was to make pancakes by finding all the products needed in a 0.5 mile range. It was quite fun, I’ve never seen children fight for eggs in my life, but after all this they prepared their breakfast and asked when the next hunt will be. Honestly, I took the idea from my friend’s bachelorette party, making it more suitable for kids. Some of the key necessary “rules” to follow are (but not limited to):

• Find hidden items in the neighborhood or somewhere nearby – we should not lose our kids for a couple of eggs, right?
• Make teams – that’s how we teach them to support each other
• Find specific landmarks or locations – these should be noticeable and recognizable – such as the big red water tank next door
• Follow hidden clues to find a prize – sky is not the limit here. Literally – just bring your creativity ahead
• Go door-to-door to request items from a list – the funniest of them all. That teaches kids to ask, not to be afraid, be proactive and most of all – have fun together

Go for a hike, bring the collector outside

This is a bit of a controversial activity. Meaning – you need to have LOADS of patience and creativity to persuade a kid (no matter of the age) to walk for miles… seriously. I am lucky enough as mine are mainly driven by the food they will receive, but still – the last hike was amazing, but I was in the right place in terms of mindset to stand my ground and find several games for this 4-hours walk. Still, in the end it was quite fulfilling, and the satisfaction level was very high. Just make sure you have something sweet and water in your backpack, because usually they need an energy boost every now and then. All the kids got a special badge from the hut on the top of the mountain, making sure they will remember this experience. Now we are looking forward to next spring, when we’ll be searching for more experiences, mountains and badges. I can’t be that ambitious, but still – why don’t we make a hall of fame some day, right?

Plan a picnic at a local park

Feeling lazy and tired? Going outside with a few homemade sandwiches is a great way to skip biking and enjoy the sun and nature. Grab a frisbee or a small ball, a blanket, your sunglasses, and you’re ready. Amazingly, these kids can make so many friends outside while you are enjoying the last rays of the sun outside. If you are not that tired or lazy, make the picnic a feast – at the end of the day we need to enjoy our free time, right?

And never forget – speak to your children. Often, they are much more eager to share with us their hopes, beliefs or fears when we do something together. Even if you are not in a talkative mood – listen. Actively. The biggest revelations in my life came from listening to what other people, including my children, have to say. Including this article and all these activities.

So, what are your best outdoor adventures? Share them with us and spread the word.