Great Cub Scout and Girl Scout programs should get kids outside enjoying nature as often as possible. Playing games outside has the additional benefit of helping kids burn off extra energy, which is great if meeting times are directly after school. Successful leaders use games as a fun way to earn rank and badge requirements or build friendships inside the scout unit! After all, if kids don’t enjoy their scout meetings they won’t want to stick with the program.
Hiking for Beginners
Hiking games are a great way to get young scouts outside and introduce them to nature. There’s no need to plan a field trip for these game, the school playground or a back yard will work just fine. Scout groups can even plan an “urban” hike around their neighborhood.
Take a Bug Hike
Play the Micro Hike game. This miniature “hike” is taken at a literal crawl. Equip the scouts with magnifying glasses and or bug catchers, then crawl on the grass for 10 feet. Ask the scouts to inspect the ground for insects, wild flowers or interesting rocks. Bugs can be caught (and released later) but plant life should be left alone for the next person to discover.
Explore Nature Through Touch and Smell
Plan a Blindfold Hike. Before this game, the leader should prep a course for the hike to make sure there are no tripping hazards. Objects are placed around the course (or made part of the course) for a blind folded scout to explore. Small objects could be placed in a shoebox or paper bag so the scouts don’t see them before their turn at the game. Use nature themed objects such as leaves, a flower, rocks or a rubber frog for the kids to explore and identify through touch or smell. Leaders can also include a tree, shrub, or part of the playground equipment in the game.
Tape or tie numbers (written in bright marker on paper) to mark the course. Divide scouts into pairs, then blind fold one. Cub Scout neckerchiefs make great blindfolds if playing with Cubs, otherwise bring bandanas to use as blindfolds. The object of the game is to safely lead the blind folded scout around the course, with the team that guesses the most objects correctly the winner. Speed should not be a factor in this game.
Play Nature Detective
Have a Scavenger Hike. Before this game the leader should explore the area to be hiked – or at least be familiar with it. The hike can be along a sidewalk around the block, in a playground, on a bike trail, or any large outdoor space. The leader then makes a list of ten things the scouts will be able to find along the “trail,” such as flowers, trees, pinecones or rocks. An urban hike could include signs, mailboxes or cars. Scouts should bring a notebook along to record their finds. Older scouts could use a digital camera to take pictures of their finds, which could be shared with the group after the hike.
Leaders should remember to work nature and outdoor fun into as many scout meetings as possible to keep scouting a fun adventure for kids.
Denise Bertacchi - Denise is a full time freelancer and stay at home mom with two boys, ages 2 and 10. She is a stringer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and ...
