The days are warming and the sun is staying up in the sky a little longer every day. This might have you thinking about spending more time outside with the family. If you can’t fathom an unstructured outing with the little ones though, never fear! We have a few ideas to help get your little ones engaged outside while exploring nature.

Whether you’re walking around your neighborhood, in a local park, or out on a hike, challenge your small humans to discover their surroundings using their animal senses. 

First up, ask them to listen using their deer ears! Mule deer—the species of deer we see here in Central Oregon—are easily distinguished by their very large ears which span about three-fourths the length of their head. These large ears give them quite the advantage with hearing other animals approaching, whether they be friend or foe. Ask your kiddo to cup their hands around each ear making their own “deer ears.” Then ask them to try and move each hand independently. Does the position of their deer ears allow them to hear different sounds?

Next up, let’s observe the world around us with our owl eyes! Owls have huge eyes compared to the size of their body. This helps them see their surroundings during the day and at night! Owls' large eyes require extra skeletal support to keep them in place in their heads. However, this extra bony support means they cannot move their eyes independently in their heads. Therefore, owls have evolved to twist their head almost all the way around! Invite your kiddo to make circles with their hands and place a hand around each eye, like binoculars. Ask them to stand still and twist their body around to each side. What can they spot in the distance with their owl eyes?

Are you feeling one with nature yet? Then let’s keep exploring with our bear nose! Did you know that bears have one of the best senses of smell in the animal world? While reports differ, it is thought that a black bear can smell food anywhere from 1-2 miles away. These animals have highly evolved receptors in their olfactory nerves that allow them to perceive smells a thousand times better than a human. Now we might not be able to ask our little ones to smell as well as a bear, but we can challenge them to explore the outdoors with their nose. Have your kiddo take their hands and cup them around their nose (while not covering their nose completely.) Have your explorer take a deep breath in with their ‘bear nose’ and smell different items along the trail like leaves, moss, and flowers. What do they notice about the smell of nature with their bear nose?

There are so many creatures that can inspire us to look at the natural world differently. The next time you venture outside with some little ones, see if you can notice the world from a different perspective.

Learn more:

• Creative ways to get your kids outside
• Nature Identification with Kids: Birds
• Guide to the Perfect Picnic

Sources:

• National Wildlife Federation
• National Deer Association
• American Bird Conservancy
• National Park Service - Yosemite