12 Cool Ways To Make Your Kids Want To Go Out Walking

Sensory Walk

Sensory walks obviously involve using the senses on your walk. So think about what can you hear, what colors can you see, what textures are there to touch and what can you smell? 
You can design worksheets to do on your walk. So, for example you can write down five different textures to find and feels (something rough, soft, moist, dry and cold). Or five different colors to spot. Write down five sounds you can hear (the birds, the wind, the rain, animals, other people). Eye spy is a good game to play to help use your eyes. But you could also have a go and playing what can I hear? 

Walk in The Rain 

Give kids any excuse to wear some wellies and they'll more often than not be enthusiastic. Kids love jumping and splashing in the puddles and running around in the rain. Dress the appropriately with waterproofs and they can have lots of fun outside without getting too wet and cold. If its summer rain, they can go out and run around in their normal clothes and get changed when they get in. 

In the rain lots of different creatures tend to appear as well (again depending on where you live). The slugs definitely come out near me and 

Night Walk 

It's exciting for kids to go out at night, so go out on a night walk. You can go star gazing as well. Take a flask of hot chocolate to have on your walk too. 

Nature Walk 

Nature walks are fun. Create a sheet with pictures of items to spot and find such as an insect, butterfly or a type of bird. Or another idea is to have a sheet with items to collect, a leaf, an acorn, a blade of grass (whatever will be around on your walk. 

Go in A Group / With Friends

Kids love being with other kids and playing. So go walking with a group with some other kids. Most likely the kids will keep each other occupied and play their own games. 

Play Games

There's lots of games to play while you're out walking with your kids. Ideas include Eye Spy, Follow the Leader, Tag and Go and Find A....

Count Your Steps

Kids love using gadgets and competition. So one idea is to give kids a pedometer and see how many steps they do. You can turn it into a competition to see who has walked the most steps. Or have a target to see who reaches 200 steps first or whatever number is acheivable. 

Barefoot Walk

Barefoot walks can be really fun. Find places to take your shoes off and as long as its safe walk barefoot. You could walk barefoot in leaves, streams, sand, (mud if you're brave), grass, on slabs, along pebbles and wherever else you can think off. 
If you're in the UK, the National Trust has a list of suggested barefoot walks to give you some ideas. 

Go Foraging 

Foraging can be fun. Again in will depend on what you can find where you live. In September I quite often go blackberry picking with my kids on our walks. Other ideas in my area include damsons, elderberries and chestnuts. Whatever you go foraging for make sure you are confident in the identification of what you want to eat. Obviously many foods you can go foraging for can be mistaken for poisonous varities which aren't edible so be very careful especially with kids. 

Take Photos

Letting your kids snap photos and document your walk can be really exciting for them and encourage them to find and photograph interesting things. 

Collect Things

Bring a bucket or bag and collect items along the way. How many different colored leaves you can find? Who can find the most pinecones? Other ideas include collecting shells, pebbles, acorns or grass. 

Food

I quite often use the lure of food to encourage my kids to go walking. In the summer months we will take a picnic and in the winter a flask of hot chocolate and a treat. We will stop half way around for a break and our food. 
If there is a cafe near where we are we might treat our kids to a cake at the cafe too.