Below are a few ideas to help encourage you and your child to explore the great outdoors in a safe and enjoyable environment:
Discover freedom
A big woodland area is full of places for older children to crawl between trees and explore the undergrowth, but what about the little ones? Instead of restricting younger children from exploring whatever they want to, look for an open space to discover the joy of freedom. Try and find somewhere with a few trees to use and practice on, this is a great start to building their skills for later!
Practice, practice, practice
Find a space that you all enjoy and make regular visits there. The children will become confident in what they are going to do and see and so will soon be more capable of taking on new challenges. Encourage them to try something new, or move around the space in different ways; If your child is comfortable to stand on a log, why not ask them to hop on and off it? Or try to jump the distance between two trees? There are endless different ways to move around a forest.
Embrace the weather
The British weather is unpredictable; one day can be cold and dry then mild and wet the next, however don’t let that put you off!
Those crispy, crunchy floors with glistening cobwebs are waiting to be discovered, with faces pink from the chill and lots of laughter as you find icy patches and practice your balancing.
On a damp, wet, mild day splash in muddy puddles and make mud pies. Rain should never be a deterrent. In all-weather, head out and enjoy what the seasons have to offer. What more could a child want but a wonderful puddle to jump in and a stick to poke and prod about with.
In our experience, young children are irresistibly drawn to puddles and sticks. To ask a child to refrain from jumping in a puddle is a little bit like taking them into a sweet shop and saying, “Don’t touch!” A virtually impossible request – the temptation is simply far too great!
The water squelches, the leaves slip and slide and the mud is sticky and ‘sucks’ against the sole of your wellies. What a wonderful sensory play scenario!
Warm, sunny days introduce us to beautiful birdsong and new growth on woodland trees, encouraging the children to explore anew, have fun building outdoors, play with clay & make patterns with sticks etc. The woodland flora is also an explosion of colour, smells and textures to stimulate the senses!
At The Treehouse Club, we’re going to have a ‘tallest Sunflower’ competition, why not join us and send in pictures of your tallest Sunflower!
For more information about The Treehouse Club, or to join us and explore the great outdoors together, please contact us on 01277 656921 or email admin@thetreehouseclub.co.uk.
More details can be found at www.thetreehouseclub.co.uk
