Day 44: Learning to walk very quietly and a nature riddle
Outdoor activity ideas and inspiration
From mid-March to the end of May 2020, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust (HHLT) posted a simple outdoor activity idea and nature riddle for kids every weekday. Some days we also posted other resources, like downloadable chapters of the Junior Ranger Activity Book.
Created to support parents who found themselves homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic, these activity ideas are a great jumping off point for any outdoor adventure. Click here for a list with links to all 50 activity ideas.
Nature riddle
This animal has nearly 360 degree vision and they are highly attuned to unusual movements. They also have have excellent hearing and can collect sounds from long distances. Their sense of smell is far more developed than our own, and they can detect danger and also communicate with each other through scent. What kind of animal is this? Click here to read more about this fascinating animal.
Deer ears, or learning to walk very quietly
This is a fun game that gives us the chance to practice walking very, very quietly. You can introduce or debrief it by asking why animals in nature might need to move quietly. They could be trying to hide or trying to sneak up on prey. You can play this game with two or more people.
- One person, the deer, turns his/her back to the other person and listens very carefully.
- The second person, perhaps some kind of predator, tries to sneak up on and tag the deer without being heard. You might try putting your feet down very slowly from heel to toe.
- If the deer hears the predator, he/she says so and turns around.
- The game starts over with switched roles.
- This is a great game to repeat again and again, trying to improve your technique each time.
It’s interesting to try to play this game on different surfaces. You may find that one area (a forest with dead leaves, for example) is very hard to walk through quietly, while another surface is easier. After playing for a little while, ask your children which surfaces they think will be hard, and which they think will be easy.
