Woodland games for children – a teacher’s resource
If you are a teacher planning to take a party of children on an educational trip to a local wood, here are five games they may enjoy playing.
Each has been tried and tested by Woodland Trust environmental educator, Janet Watt, who has many years’ experience of working with children aged 6 to 11 in a woodland setting.
Game 1: Meet a tree
This game aims to help youngsters recognise different types of tree.
First the children are split into pairs. One child in each pair is blindfolded and their sighted partner leads them to a nearby tree. This is best done via a circuitous route so the blindfolded child cannot be sure where they are going. They must then get to know the tree using only their senses of touch and smell.
After a minute they are led back to the starting point, where the blindfold is removed and they are asked to guess which tree they have just visited. Afterwards the teacher can discuss with the children how the bark, branches and shapes of trees all vary.
Game 2: Why we need trees
In this game children are asked to think about how trees affect the environment, in particular the way they absorb carbon dioxide and expel oxygen.
Five or six children are selected as trees and positioned so there is space between them. Their classmates are then asked to pretend to be an animal or bird and stand next to one of the pretend trees. When the teacher blows the whistle the animals and birds must run between the trees. Because living creatures need oxygen to stay alive, the animals and birds need to be close to a tree if they are to survive.
When the whistle blows again, everyone freezes. Those too far from a tree are said to be unable to breathe, and are eliminated. In the next round the process is repeated, but this time one of the trees is removed.
In this way the game continues until just a few winners are left.
Game 3: Acorn challenge
In this activity the children learn how squirrels and jays collect and disperse seeds.
First, the youngsters are divided into teams of four or five and each team is given a pot. They pretend they are jays gathering acorns in the autumn. As soon as the whistle blows one child from each team must go and search for an acorn and bring it back to the team’s pot. They do this in relay, one by one.
After a while the teacher blows the whistle, the acorns are counted and the team with the highest total wins.
In the second part, the children become squirrels in the spring. They now sit in a circle with their acorn filled pots. Once again in relay, each must steal an acorn from a rival team. When the final whistle blows the children in the team with the greatest number of acorns are declared the winners.
Game 4: Birds in the forest
This introduces children to the different bird sounds which can be heard in woodland.
With their hands up and eyes closed, the children stand silently in a circle for a minute listening to the sounds of the forest. Every time they hear a different bird call they raise one finger. When playing this game it is sometimes possible to identify up to six or seven distinct calls.
Small and relatively inexpensive electronic devices are available which reproduce the sound of different birds. If you have one of these, you can extend the exercise to include a greater variety of birds.
Game 5: Matchbox hunt
In this game children are asked to collect six small items in craft matchboxes as they walk through the wood.
Each item they select must match at least one adjective from a list that includes: smooth, rough, prickly, brightly coloured and beautiful. In addition the children must find something which reminds them of themselves. For example, it could be something hard on the outside and soft in the middle.
Before starting this activity children should be warned not to collect anything that moves or anything unnatural.
A memorable experience
These are just some of the games Janet uses during her woodland trips she organises for schools. She believes the activities that work best are those that combine fun with learning. “If there’s a bit of running around,” she says, “and an element of competition, together with some learning points, it makes the experience more memorable for the children.”
Other activities children can enjoy on woodland visits include: collecting seeds, writing poems about their visit, doing bark and leaf rubbings and drawing pictures of wildlife. They can also take part in tree planting.
