Magpies are fascinating birds, — so interesting that we are featuring them in our August Activity Calendar! These black, white, blue and green birds with long tails are known for caching food they collect and for building large nests. They are also one of the few birds that locates food through their sense of smell! For many years, tales have been told of magpies stealing shiny objects, like jewelry and coins to adorn their nests (recent research suggests that these birds are much more interested in food than shiny objects). In this activity, kids take on the perspective of a magpie and search their outdoor space for treasures a magpie would use for food, nesting materials and more!
If you do not yet have your free copy of the August Activity Calendar, get it here.
Enjoy the hunt! You can hunt for one thing at a time or just walk about, noticing items as they appear to you. Follow kids' lead and lean in to the thrill of the hunt. Use a crayon or pencil to check each category as they find it to keep track of their progress.
End whenever it's time: Kids need not complete the sheet in one outing—or ever, really. The process of looking, pretending and exploring their outdoor space is the goal.
Extend: Invite kids to make their own collection of special treasures, just like the magpie in the book. Search your outdoor space for nature treasures with interesting colors, shapes and textures. Then, kids can hide their treasures around their outdoor space and try to remember where they are. Kids can also make a nature treasure box to “cache” their treasures like a magpie.
Why is this activity great for kids?
Scavenger hunts are a super way to add a dose of adventure to your outdoor time. Hunts also sharpen kids’ senses, help kids connect more deeply to the natural world and support their ability to focus.
We think of self control as a child’s ability to focus on something in such a way that maximizes learning. In order to do that, they first need to direct their attention and focus on a single thing. They also need to discern which information around them is most important and deserving of their attention. Thirdly, they need something called “inhibition.” Think of inhibition as the ability to control impulses, block out distractions and continue attending to the same thing. Focus, discerning and inhibition all require rather fancy brain work and are thought to be part of the “executive functions” or the set of cognitive processes involving the prefrontal cortex that help us manage ourselves and the environment to achieve a goal.
Why does it matter?
Our world is full of distractions, more today than ever. Kids who are in any learning situation need the ability to control their impulses, block out noise and attend to the person, objects, events, or discussions that are central to learning. As classroom teachers, we saw that kids who did this ruled the classroom. As outdoor educators and parents, we know the same holds true outside of school.
But don’t take our word for it; the research is impressive. It turns out that these executive function skills are closely tied to success in the classroom, higher level education and life beyond school. Experts like Adele Diamond of the University of British Columbia have shown that, “If you look at what predicts how well children will do later in school, more and more evidence is showing that executive functions—working memory and inhibition—actually predict success better than IQ tests.” Although these skills are difficult for young children and don’t crystallize until adulthood, the more kids practice them, the better at them kids become.
Sensory
Category:
Body Skills
What is Sensory Development?
Although some scientists classify as many as 20 senses, when childhood educators talk about "developing the senses," we typically mean developing the five standard senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. In addition to honing these senses, educators care about sensory integration, which is the ability to take in, sort out, process and make use of information gathered from the world around us via the senses.
Why does it matter?
The better kids are able to tune and integrate their senses, the more they can learn. First, if their senses are sharper, the information kids can gather should be of greater quantity and quality, making their understanding of the world more sophisticated. Further, until the lower levels of the brain can efficiently and accurately sort out information gathered through the senses, the higher levels cannot begin to develop thinking and organization skills kids need to succeed. Senses also have a powerful connection to memory. Children (and adults) often retain new learning when the senses are an active part of the learning.
So, if kids have more sensory experiences, they will learn more, retain better and be better able to think at a higher level. Makes the days they get all wet and dirty in the sandbox seem better, doesn't it?
Age: 0 to 8+
Time: 1 hour+
Materials: printable magpie scavenger hunt sheet, crayon or marker
