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Take Your Family Outdoors*
Suggested Method:
The Access on Your Doorstep activity could be done on a previous occasion, if desired. You may also wish to carry out some outdoor activities on your trip (see active games for ideas).
Select routes from local guidebooks or through discussion with your local ranger service. Alternatively, you could ask the children to gather information on their family and friends’ favourite routes as a homework task. There is also an opportunity to link with an older group of children learning about the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (see below).
Discuss with the children the sort of equipment they will need to take, safety hazards they may encounter and how they will minimise these hazards. They could list any equipment required on the back of their diaries as a reminder for future trips.
Look at the area on a map if desired. Ask the children to think about their responsibilities on the trip in terms of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. They could note these on the back of their diaries under the 3 key principles: Respect the interests of other people, Care for the environment and Take responsibility for your own actions.
Once they have completed a route, ask the children to fill in their diary and reward them their first sticker. The children can then take their diaries home to complete with their family or friends. Each time they complete a route, they bring the completed diary to you to obtain their sticker (this has to be taken on trust!) A wall chart could be used to monitor progress and, on completion of the diary, a certificate could be awarded at a suitable event.
12 - 14 years liaison:
There is a similar activity in the 12 - 14 years pack called ‘Design a Trail Guide’, which involves the children researching local routes and presenting them for others to use. You may wish to contact your local secondary school or youth group to see if they have done this. If they have not, maybe your request will be an interesting incentive for the group to do so!
*Based on an activity devised by Ruth Foster (Falkland Primary School)