Five Language Benefits of Scavenger Hunts Outside

This week has been COLD in Northern Michigan.  It's easy to want to curl up under a warm blanket and play inside as soon as the weather changes.  I mean...why get uncomfortable?

If this is where you're at, I sure hope you'll reconsider.  Nature is a key element in child development and the overall wellness of us as people.  Being outside is like magic.  It spurs imaginative play and creativity with little effort.  It also reduces stress and encourages socio-emotional wellness.

Some of my very favorite memories happened outside and I would bet I'm not alone.  I remember my mom, brother and I playing a game in the snow called "Fox and Squirrel." We ran and played for hours.  It was dark and cold outside, but the laughs were so strong and plentiful that we didn't even notice.

Here we'll look at five benefits of playing outdoors specific to language. BUT, before I get into these keep in mind all the other benefits such as cognitive and motor development!  Also...HAVE FUN!

• Vocabulary
• Describing
• Following Directions
• Recall
• Sequencing

Vocabulary
I cannot stress vocabulary building enough.  Reading and talking with our children is an extremely powerful tool in development.  Here's a little graphic that exhibits the building blocks that start with vocabulary and expression of one's ideas through written language.

VERY basic graphic showing the progression of

general language development.

The sheet below is full of examples of things you and your child(ren) can explore outside.  It's also a great visual tool for building reading awareness as they connect the picture with the word underneath each image.  If they aren't yet reading ready, then use the visuals-only or point to the word below the picture while saying it.

Describing
Building utterances into phrases and then into sentences is really based on a strong vocabulary.  However, describing helps expand vocabulary and also encourage your child to string words together to build phrases and eventually sentences.

While you're outdoors exploring all of the things on your list, try using descriptive words to expand your child's knowledge about what you're seeing or finding.  For example, maybe you see a bird walking on the ground.  A typical response might be, "do you see the bird?" and we leave it at that. Instead, be intentional about using adjectives to describe the bird you see.  This might sound like... 

"Do you see the bird?  

It's a black bird with a red belly and an orange beak.  

That bird is called a robin.  

Robin.  

Robins are black with red bellies and have orange beaks.  

Robins like to eat worms and build nests."  

**Note that your child may not repeat any of the words you give, but she is listening and processing!

You may feel like you're repeating yourself a lot.  If so, you're doing great!

Following Directions
Following directions is something adults can really "trip over" (if you will).  We assume they know what we're talking about after we spew off three or four directives.  This may not actually be the case and there could be several reasons other than, "they just don't listen" that your child is having difficulty following directions.  Outdoor scavenger hunts lend many moments to focus on practicing these skills.  To help build their ability to follow direction, use words such as:

You can incorporate following directions into this by saying, "First find a flower, then find a piece of grass," or "Find a red leaf on the ground."

Tips if they're still learning or having difficulty...

• Have them repeat the direction you give back to them.
• Point to the picture in the appropriate order while verbally giving the direction.
• Simplify the direction given (i.e. "First find a flower, then find a piece of grass," becomes "first flower, then grass."

Recalling
Recalling and sequencing go great together and I've included both pages that complement one another very well as a full activity.  After you've been scavenging, recall some of the items you've found and places you've found them with your child.  If they can't tell you verbally, let them find pictures of what they found (see below).  It's like finishing a circle when we come back to what we've done and recall what we've gleaned.  This gives you an idea of what your child is able to recall and also fill in the gaps and build bridges for learning these skills.

Sequencing
If you're developing sequencing or modeling the order in which events occur, directional words are SO important.  The conversation may start out like, "first we will find the sun, then we will point to the cloud."  Using words such as "first, second, third, last, before, after, etc." are all important concepts for our kiddos to latch onto and understand in order to improve their communication skills.

There is so much to learn beyond the walls of our homes.  It's not always comfortable.  It may be cold, rainy, hot, or snowing, but it can be such a great recharge and learning experience for you and your kids.  So bundle up and get outside friends!