Activity: Enjoying the Outdoors

Take the children on a walk or hike to enjoy God’s beautiful creations.

As a group, go on a hike or walk to a beautiful spot outside. While you are walking, point out different natural features, plants, or animals you see. Invite the children to think about how Jesus Christ, under Heavenly Father’s direction, created every tree, flower, leaf, river, hill, and mountain. Invite them to thank Heavenly Father when they pray for the beautiful things they see each day.

Please adapt activities as necessary to ensure all individuals are able to participate, belong, and contribute.

• Before the activity, hide quotes or scriptures about the Creation or about appreciating nature throughout the area. As the children gather for the activity, hand them a clue to the location of the first quote or scripture. The first thing they find should lead the children to the second hidden quote, and so on.
• Play a guessing game while you walk. Ask each child to look around and find an object in nature (for example, a boulder or a stream). Then have one child give clues to the other children to help them guess what the object is. The child who guesses correctly takes the next turn to give clues.
• Have each child use a magnifying glass, or let them look through a magnification app on your phone. Have them look at familiar items such as rocks and leaves. How do these things look different when they are magnified? Have the children share their discoveries with each other.
• Service idea: As the children walk or hike, have them pick up weeds or trash on the trail as a service to others using the area. Provide safety gloves for them, and instruct them not to touch sharp objects.

Encourage children to talk about how what they are learning can help them and others grow closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Discussions can take place before, during, or after the activity and should last just a few minutes. You could ask questions like the following:

• How can we show gratitude for the world Jesus Christ created?
• How can being in nature help you feel closer to Jesus Christ?