You can help youngsters develop an understanding of the environment and improve their critical-thinking skills by incorporating nature into early learning experiences. The following ideas for hiking activities should get you started. Once you establish a theme, take the children on a hike in a nearby wooded area, in a field, or on a nature trail. Visit the location several times during the year so that children may identify changes within the same setting over time.
Hikes are an excellent opportunity to develop young children's observation skills.
For example, have children compare the shapes, forms, and conditions of trees several times each year. Observing trees with or without bark, leaves, flowers, or fruit each month helps children develop an awareness of the cyclical processes of nature. Mark tree shadows at different times during the year. Keep a record of the time, date, and length of the shadows and help the children compare the records. Hikes can also enhance all kinds of sensory development.