What is it with 3 and 1/2 year-olds and treasures? Is this a thing? Maybe its just our little guy, but lately all he can talk about is treasures, from finding treasures to receiving them as a reward. The good news? Anything can be a treasure. So as long as we call it such, anything can have the potential of being special to him. The bad news? Since everything has the potential to be a treasure, we can spend a lot of time waiting around for a lollygagging preschooler investigating every nook and cranny along our way.
Sometimes it all works out though, like during our visit to the arboretum this past weekend. As soon as Bergen was “released” from the jogging stroller to walk on his own, he requested the use of one of the bags we’d brought along for the dog’s (ahem) deposits. I credited him for his smart thinking! He declared that he was going to search for treasures, and then for the next mile or so, he picked up anything that happened to catch his eye. Rocks, sticks, leaves, blades of grass…they all went in the bag.
If you’re looking for a way to focus walks and hikes with your young children, you might just think about bringing a bag along for collecting! It’s easy, doesn’t require a whole lot of pre-planning, and Bergen was more than willing to toss the treasures back when our walk was complete.
While Bergen was focused on finding treasures, I had the chance to admire early spring in the arboretum. Yes, while the east coast is suffering through snow, ice, and bitter cold, we are experiencing abundant sunshine, flowers in bloom, warmer temperatures, and even (it seems to me) more active wildlife.
Have any more tips on holding kids’ interest while walking and hiking? We’d love more ideas!
You can also check out our other tips for hiking with a preschooler.
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that place is very beautiful
It is! We feel very lucky that it’s practically in our backyard. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by the blog today!
I am so impressed! How do you take such lovely pictures while hiking with two little ones?! Do you use your phone or a proper camera? I am always wishing for a nice point-and-shoot camera, but am reticent to buy one because it’s one more thing to carry. So I always have to ask when I read a blog that has consistently beautiful pictures. 🙂
Thanks so much! I use both my iphone and larger point and shoot, but nearly all the photos on the blog are from my point and shoot. It is one more thing to carry, but the picture quality (and control) is so much better, that I find it worth the hassle of carrying. My new camera has a strap making it easy to hang from my neck. With Bergen being such a lolly-gagger at times, it gives me something to do! 😉
Thanks for all the great info! I am definitely leaning towards a proper camera. 🙂
My 5yo climbs over EVERY snow mound. Every one. But I discovered that if we were playing our story game (sort of interactive role playing fantasy world story game) she walked! Instead of crawling hands and knees through a foot of snow. 🙂 We probably started playing when she was about 3.5 — and we only play on walks!
I’m loving your site!
~Lee
http://pocketmousepublishing.com
How fun & such a great suggestion! My 3year old is well into pretending and your comment makes me realize that we could be pretending to be all sorts of things while moving along on our walk or hike. Thanks so much for stopping by the blog!