Katie Love
My first outdoor memory is seeing the perfect pinecone. It was big and sturdy and had lots of surface area for decorating. I leaned down to pick it up and in the process dropped some of the many that I already had in my arms. I struggled to pick them all up, desperately wanting to bring home as many pinecones as my young arms could hold. I helplessly looked up at my mom and she, tired of this routine, patiently told me I could only take what I could carry.
We were almost home from walking my older sisters to school and had a morning of crafts ahead of us. My mom had a knack for bringing the outdoors in. We pressed leaves and flowers, collected sea glass and heart-shaped rocks in big jars, and my favorite, glued as much glitter as possible on pinecones. These activities instilled a lifelong love of nature.
There are countless outdoor activities young ones can do to inspire a love for nature in the next generation. Here is a list of memories you can create with the little mountaineer in your life before they start school.
30 things to do outdoors before kindergarten
- Splash in puddles
- Jump into a pile of fall leaves
- Make a snow angel
- Feel the bark of a tree
- Go on a picnic
- Find shapes in the clouds
- Grow a plant from a seed
- Explore the tide pools of Discovery Park
- Find something in nature that's every color of the rainbow
- Go snowshoeing
- Practice your best owl call
- Read a book in your backyard
- Pick wild blackberries
- Swim in a lake
- Press flowers
- Balance on a log
- Watch ducks and their ducklings
- Go sledding
- Make a leaf rubbing with crayons
- Walk on crunchy fall leaves
- Paint a pet rock
- Hike on a trail leaving no trace
- Search for mushrooms on the side of a trail
- Watch a sunrise
- Make a wish on a dandelion
- Decorate your house with paper snowflakes
- Go rock climbing
- Follow a bug
- Stop and listen - to the wind, birds, water, and so much more.
- Explore with loved ones
Be A Part of Mini Mountaineers
Do you have a 2- to 5-year-old who would like to check some of these activities off the list? The second season of Mini Mountaineers is just around the corner! Mini Mountaineers is a community of families exploring together to inspire a love for the outdoors in the future stewards of our planet. The Seattle course opens on September 20!
