Sensory Awareness - Feeling
This is one of a small set of simple activities, more suited to children aged 3 to 5 years of age, or perhaps a bit older, which has the children developing a 'sensory' understanding of the forest environment.
There are several activities which the children can get involved in, all of which are explained on this page. Some activities are easier than others, but there should be something for even the most 'difficult to please' child !
A Blind-Fold Forest Walk
Blind folded, yes ... but you follow a rope !
This is a great activity to do with children of all ages, and can even be adapted for adults on an outward bound or team-building day.
The concept is simple. Prior to arriving with the group at the woods, a rope line has been set up for the participants to follow by touch. The rope line might be a very simple route through the trees, or it may present more challenges. These might be fallen logs to climb over or crawl under, streams to wade through, or other objects to navigate their way through or around. (See "Extending the Activity" below for more ideas)
The participants place one hand on the rope, and are not allowed to lose contact with the rope. They can either ...
Complete the rope walk as an individual, or
Set off as a team, spaced out, one behind the other, so that the person at the front can relay back instructions and advice for the team members to follow. This makes it a great team-building and communications skills building task.
Once they have completed the task, gather together to discuss the experience. They can discuss how they felt being blind folded, what they felt as they made their way along the route, what textures they came across as they felt their way through the course using their hands, and, perhaps most importantly, they can talk about the feeling of vulnerability many of them will have experienced, and the issue of trust.
Step 2 - Blind fold the participants, and set them off on the route.
Step 3 - Discuss how they felt and what they felt.
Extending the activity
This task lends itself well to extension activities. How you choose to develop this idea will be dependent on the group, the location, and the resources you have to hand.
You could vary the height of the rope
You could suspend things above the rope line so that the participants have to weave their way through swinging objects.
You could bury part of the rope in a muddy section of the route
You could have the rope 'double back on itself, so that the team find themselves crossing each others paths.
Young children doing a blind fold forest walk. (Click image to watch video)
Photo by lil artsy: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-blindfolded-8730085/
There are other blindfold games, though, like guiding your team mate through an obstacle course. (Click image to watch video)
Photo by ANTONI SHKRABA production: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-blindfolded-with-handkerchief-while-playing-8910461/
Outdoor and Woodland Learning, Scotland.
Click the image to open the webpage for OWLS, an organisation dedicated to increasing opportunities for outdoor learning in and around woodlands. There are some terrific resources !
Points to ponder ...
Removing the main way that most of us use to make sense of our surroundings (our sight) makes some people feel extremely vulnerable, so be aware that, for some people, this might just be one activity they simply cannot do. This being the case, it may be that they take on the role of the spotter, so that they are still involved in the activity, but in a non-threatening way.
Clearly this activity could be hazardous, and so care should be taken, when setting up the rope, to ensure that any hazards are not life threatening or likely to lead to serious injury. Trips and falls will happen, and participants should be advised to wear suitable footwear.
Depending on the environment, it may be that they need to wear wellies, full length trousers (to protect against scratches from sticks or nettle stings) or waterproofs.
When risk assessing this activity, keep in mind that the 'obvious' is NOT obvious to someone wearing a blindfold.
Before starting, tell the participants what they are likely to find on the walk, but reassure them that nothing is going to harm them and that there will be a spotter nearby to stop them getting hurt or into difficulty.