I believe that it is extremely important for children to develop their own desire to explore. While I strongly believe in the Leave No Trace philosophy, I also believe that if you are in the right area it is important to leave the trail and just explore.
When we camp as a family the girls always beg for special time exploring with dad. They love to leave mom back at camp and head out where dad will encourage them to (safely) push themselves and improve their confidence and rock climbing skills.
Together we find new things, discuss the rock formations, work on climbing harder and harder rocks, and usually see more wildlife than if we just stayed at camp or on the trails.
I also usually 'pretend' to be lost at some point and test the girls sense of direction. The thrill and excitement of being lost and having to find our way back to camp is the best part. It is a great time to introduce route finding skills such as looking where the sun is in the sky.
I always have fun on these little exploring sessions but when I hear them tell mom the stories when we get back to camp and then hear them tell the story to their friends when we get home, I know it was a blast for them too. I love that they beg to go explore nature again.
I love that idea about pretending to be lost and letting them find the way back. I'll have to try that one. Thanks for the idea.
ReplyDeletei agree with what Dawn said. :) great idea. I also think LNT is a great philosophy when you ARE off the trail---when kids understand the principles of LNT, it encourages them to practice thoughtful explorations even when they are not on the trail. We did a cool game in Moab off trail--we pretended the crypto was hot lava and we all had to travel on the rocks or we sink to our doom! ahhhh! it was fun. :)
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