Nature scavenger hunts are the best way I know to get children excited about nature walks and to keep engaged when exploring nature. That’s how I got my daughter to become a nature explorer and a nature lover. (Because the more you know about something and the more you learn about it, the more you start loving it).

My daughter has always loved nature. But there were times when she was a toddler when she needed convincing to go out (maybe she was playing a very fun game indoors, or any other number of things – I’m sure you’re familiar with toddlers). Mentioning “nature bingo”, however, was like a magic word to her. That was a game she loved, and that was a sure way to get her to go nature exploring with me.

Even now, any time in the winter she doesn’t really feel like putting on her seven layers of clothing, I just have to mention that we’ll do a nature scavenger hunt, and her attitude changes right away. She gets excited and looks forward to going.

The power of a scavenger hunt (or nature bingo) is that it gives kids a focus and a purpose. Rather than walking aimlessly through the forest or park (…boring), playing nature detectives makes any outing suddenly a lot more interesting and worth-while from a kid’s perspective.

Free Winter Scavenger Hunt Download

Here is a Winter Scavenger Hunt you can print for free to take on your outings. This is the exact version included in my publication My Nature Journal (a nature exploration filed and log journal full of fun activities). I’ve decided to share it here for free because I know how much kids enjoy seasonal nature scavenger hunts and bingo-type games. Enjoy!

And why not get a free copy of my Nature Explorer’s Scavenger Hunt Song (download for free here) to go along with you winter scavenger hunt activities? It’s a wonderful ditty that I came up with that we sing on nature scavenger hunts that gets us in the mood to use all our senses to listen, observe and explore. It’s also ideal for using on your homeschool nature wall.

Where to buy a copy of My Nature Journal

You can learn more about My Nature Journal and the fun activities it includes here. Or if you are interested in purchasing it, you can find it on Amazon.

Explore this and other publications further on Honeybee School Press’ Amazon page.