Walk Around Town

Objective:

Children will take a guided walk - either outside or creatively around the halls or in a gym.

Materials:

Optional: Paper and pencils

Imformation for Leaders:

In this activity, children will go on a supervised walk around the block or to a local park or other point of interest (distance will depend on the age of the group). If walking outside is not an option, be creative and design a "walk around town", as suggested in the "crazy walk" option for young children, below.

Engage children by creating a scavenger hunt or survey of the neighborhood or gym.

You may want to create a check-sheet in advance for children to work on in pairs while they walk, or ask children to name things that they can look for. Ideas are listed below.
Have FUN!

Instructions

Tell the class that they will be going on a walk in the neighborhood (or the halls of the school or gym) to see what they can find.
Instruct children to walk in pairs and work together to find various things on the walk. For safety reasons, the entire group must stay together and with the adults!
Options for lower elementary children:
- Create a scavenger hunt and instruct the children to check each item on the list that they see. Look for: a mailbox, orange flowers, a pine tree, the name of a street or number on a house, a home with a swing set or pool, a store with red letters, a pizza parlor, etc. Customize the list to fit your neighborhood or school!
- Create a "crazy walk" by calling out landmarks or types of roads as you walk around the block, or even around a field or gym! For instance, instruct the children to hop when you call out a "bumpy road", take baby steps past a "school", jog on a "highway", swing arms back and forth when it rains, etc. Call out different movements to make for an interesting walk, and don't forget to drink water when you are thirsty!
- Tell the children to count things such as the number of white houses or stores or flags that they pass. If you are playing inside, count the number of posters in the hallways or the number of doors. How many pairs of children counted correctly?
Options for upper elementary children:
- Create a scavenger hunt that includes specific things like a mailbox, maple tree, park bench, or brown house (record the number of each that they see) as well as open-ended things such as "something blue" or "a word written in red letters".
- Play "I Spy" as you walk along. The leader calls out the first clue (e.g.: "I see something blue") and the first person to identify the blue item calls out a clue for a new item. Note: the leader may need to add another descriptive so it can be identified before the group walks by the selected item.
- Challenge pairs or small groups of children to become silly scavengers - instruct the groups to look for out of the ordinary or difficult to see things and write clues for their friends to find on a subsequent walk.
- Create a map of the neighborhood or school! Instruct children to notice the things they pass by on a walk, then draw a mural with pictures of the various places that they see.
Options for all ages:
- Measure out a walking route to follow at least one day each week.
- Add up the miles and determine where the group might travel to each month.
- Play "beat the clock" and see if the group can walk the route in less time (this may work better for older children who are less likely to stop to look at things!)

Extenstion Activities

This would make a great Family Fun Night activity! Provide a scavenger hunt list to each family and send them on a 30 minute walk (suggest creating teams of 2 or 3 families). Families or teams decide which way to go. Offer a small reward (perhaps a gift certificate to a local produce market) to the first few families or teams who complete the scavenger hunt. Share the results over a healthy snack or supper.