Walking is the perfect pace for having great conversations with young children.  Since they are closer to the ground, they notice everything.  They will stop and check out each and every crack on the sidewalk, every bug crawling by, as well as investigating each piece of garbage that they can get their hands on.  Noah used to put each of these treasures in his pockets, only to be found later whipping around the washing machine.

Summertime walks can be the destination themselves.  Simply walking around the  block or to the nearby corner store for ice cream can be a field trip rich with opportunity for exploration and discussion.

Have you ever thought of creating a “neighborhood walking treasure hunt”?  Simply draw several things you will definitely see in your neighborhood and leave a space for children to count (or to tally) how many of those items they find.  You can start with really easy-to-find things for a first outing.  Be sure to invest in enough clipboards so the children have something hard to write on, somewhere to attach their writing utensil and a place to keep their paper so it doesn’t blow away.