Exploring Nature with Your Senses: Smell

While wandering through nature, we take in our surroundings using our senses. We smell flowers, touch tree bark, listen to bird calls, see details (like an ant trail on a tree), and even taste some of the natural objects we come across (think berries or edible flowers). And, while investigating nature in this way comes naturally to most children, sometimes we forget to allow children the time and space they need to do it. We are sharing five different ways to explore each of the five senses with your children! So get outside as a family, slow down, and explore nature with your senses together! Exploring Nature Through Hearing Listening to nature can quite literally ease the stresses of daily life. And there are so many sounds in nature; the chirping of birds, the rustling of wind on a blustery day, the scream of cicadas, the rushing of water, and so many more. Any walk outside (yes, even in the city if you stop to listen) will provide you with some distinct nature sounds. So take your children outside and explore nature through hearing together. Photo Credit: Ashley Schneider Five ways to slow down and experience sounds in nature together: Find five sounds. Find a comfy spot, or at least a spot free of sharp rocks and pokey plants, and lie down. Close your eyes and put a fist in the air. Now listen carefully to the nature around you and put a finger up each time you hear a new nature sound. Once all five figures are raised, sit up, wait for everyone else to finish, and then share what you heard.   Listen to bird calls. As you sit for a picnic or hike a favorite trail, listen to the birds around you. If you want, spend time trying to match the bird calls to the bird, or try to count the number of different birds you hear. There is no wrong way to listen to the sounds of birds, even if it is just listening to them and nothing more.   Hear your footsteps. As you walk through nature, listen to the sounds of your footsteps. Do you hear the crackle of dried fall leaves, the snapping of twigs, the splashing of water, or the crunch of snow? There is a different sound for every season or ground cover—and the sounds even change depending on your footwear.   Listen like an animal. Find a quiet place in nature, somewhere you won’t be disturbed. This activity is better for older children but could be fun for younger ones too. Basically, you listen to the sounds of nature but do so as if you were an animal. Pick an animal, either a predator animal (fox, wolf, bear, etc.) or a prey animal (rabbit, squirrel, deer, etc.), and listen to nature from their perspective. Do you hear humans talking, a squirrel chattering in a tree, a coyote howling, or a dog barking? What does that mean for your animal? Are you listening to keep safe or using your ears to help you hunt for your next meal?   What’s that sound? For this activity gather some easily found nature items, like sticks, dried leaves, rocks, sand, water, acorns, pinecones, etc., and place them in a box or somewhere your children cannot see them. Have your children close their eyes (or use a blindfold) and then use the items to make noise and have your children guess what nature item you are using. For example, hit two rocks together, crinkle fall leaves, shake a few acorns in your hands, or rub two pinecones together. Want to learn more about exploring nature with your senses? Check out our other posts on using your sense of smell, taste, touch, and sight!      ABOUT OUTGROWN OutGrown is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to create a world where everyone can enjoy the physical and mental benefits of spending time outside. We are focused on creating opportunities and removing barriers to access so families with babies and young children can take their first steps outside. We believe all families have the right to connect with nature, benefit from spending time outdoors and be inspired to a lifelong love of nature. Since its grassroots inception in 2013, OutGrown is a growing community of 280,000 families and over 300 volunteer Branch Ambassadors. More information on all of our programs can be found at WeAreOutGrown.org    EDITORS NOTE: We hope you enjoyed reading this article from OutGrown. We’re working hard to provide our community with content and resources that inform, inspire, and entertain you. But content is not free. It’s built on the hard work and dedication of writers, editors, and volunteers. We make an investment in developing premium content to make it easier for families with young children to connect with nature and each other. We do not ask this lightly, but if you can, please make a contribution and help us extend our reach.

While wandering through nature, we take in our surroundings using our senses. We smell flowers, touch tree bark, listen to bird calls, see details (like an ant trail on a tree), and even taste some of the natural objects we come across (think berries or edible flowers). And, while investigating nature in this way comes naturally to most children, sometimes we forget to allow children the time and space they need to do it. We are sharing five different ways to explore each of the five senses with children. So get outside as a family, slow down, and explore nature with your senses together! Photo Credit: Michelle Pearl Gee Exploring Nature by Touch Humans inevitably explore the world through touch. Pretty much every single moment of the day is filled with some variation of the touch sense. Though we take almost all of our touch sensations for granted and do not think much about them, one minute outside can feel like this: You touch the doorknob to let yourself outside and immediately feel the warm air and a slight breeze on your skin. You take a step outside and your bare feet feel the warm cement ground. You walk toward your front yard and brush your arm up against a bush. You reach out to touch some flowers right before your feet touch the cooler grass. You take a moment to relish the feeling of the grass before you sit down and feel the soft ground under your body, and maybe a slight itchy feeling on your legs. The sensory experience of touch literally happens all the time, so much so we tend to block out much of what we are feeling. But, if we slow down outside, practice a little mindfulness, and think about each feeling as it touches our body, it can shift any outdoor experiences greatly. Five ways to slow down and experience the sense of touch in nature: Create a touch box. Children love guessing games and creating this simple activity will not only provide a delightful family gaming experience but will also create an opportunity to really explore nature through touch. All you do is gather some simple nature items and put them inside a box. Don’t let your children see what is in the box and have them guess what nature item it is based on touch alone. You can put one item in at a time (good for younger children) or all at once to make it more challenging.   Walk barefoot in nature. The human foot is incredibly sensitive and experiencing a variety of ground cover feels different on our feet and provides different sensory input. When you intentionally think about each sensation your feet are feeling, the whole experience of walking barefoot shifts just a bit.   Find different textures in nature. Create a simple scavenger hunt and set your kids loose to find a variety of textures outside. You can also just have the ideas in your head and have the kids search for one at a time while you meander your favorite trail. Some examples of easy-to-find nature textures are rough, smooth, cold, warm, wet, dry, hard, soft, etc.   Hug a tree. Literally. Not only will it feel really nice to do it, but you will also be able to feel different sensations. Are you able to wrap your hands all the way around? Is the bark rough or smooth?   Count the skin sensations. Sit down for 1 to 5 minutes depending on the ages of your children and their ability to focus and count how many sensations you can feel on your skin. The wind on your skin, the warmth of the sun, the feeling of the ground under your body, the fly that landed on your leg, and so much more. It is hard to focus on only the feeling of touch, but it is amazing how many different things our skin can feel in just one minute. Want to learn more about exploring nature with your senses? Check out our other posts on using your senses of hearing, taste, smell, and sight!   ABOUT OUTGROWN OutGrown is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to create a world where everyone can enjoy the physical and mental benefits of spending time outside. We are focused on creating opportunities and removing barriers to access so families with babies and young children can take their first steps outside. We believe all families have the right to connect with nature, benefit from spending time outdoors and be inspired to a lifelong love of nature. Since its grassroots inception in 2013, OutGrown is a growing community of 280,000 families and over 300 volunteer Branch Ambassadors. More information on all of our programs can be found at WeAreOutGrown.org    EDITORS NOTE: We hope you enjoyed reading this article from OutGrown. We’re working hard to provide our community with content and resources that inform, inspire, and entertain you. But content is not free. It’s built on the hard work and dedication of writers, editors, and volunteers. We make an investment in developing premium content to make it easier for families with young children to connect with nature and each other. We do not ask this lightly, but if you can, please make a contribution and help us extend our reach.