Last Saturday, I took my children to participate in the "Forest Activity Day" organized by the Finnish Allergy Association, a local association in our city, at one of the six forest trails in the city. This forest path is not far from our home. It's a little more than three kilometers, so we'll go by bike. One-hour activities make people feel happy and gain a lot!
The biggest gain is that it is really not difficult to bring children to know nature. Sometimes, just change the angle, slow down, touch with your hands, listen with your ears and feel with your body, and the forest and nature will come into life bit by bit.
About five families, including us, took part in this activity. At first, the tour guide asked everyone to choose what kind of "animal" each family should be. Our family, Alei, chooses to be a tiger. Other families are crows, squirrels, wolves, bears and so on. All the animals form a circle and play two small games first. The first game is Fox's Tail. It's simple. Everyone put their hands behind their backs. The tour guide brushes everyone's palm with a plastic belt. You should catch it as soon as possible. If you catch it, it's your turn to go around the fox's tail.
It seems simple, but it is not always easy to catch it. It depends on the speed of the person holding it and the position of the hand where the belt just touches. Although the game is simple, such a simple game makes the children very happy! My little Alei smiled, and the adults also took special care of the children, deliberately letting every child catch the "fox tail". My little Alei never caught it because he was wearing thick gloves. Finally, the adults specially put his tail in his hand to let him hold it steady so that he could participate in the game together.
The second game is Forest Fire. Some trunks around us are tied with plastic strips. When the tour guide shouted "the forest is on fire, change places immediately!" 」(Puu palaa，pakko vaihtaa！ ), everyone quickly find another tree with straps to stand.
There will be one less tree with braces than those who attend, so there must be someone who has no place to stand and wants to stand in the middle and shout, "The forest is on fire, change places immediately!" " In fact, this game is very similar to our "strong wind blowing", but it is much simpler than strong wind blowing, and observation and comparison are useless. Just run to another tree! Simple game, adults and children are playing very hard. My Alei wants to stand in the middle and shout twice. He is very happy!
Halfway through the game, Alei asked everyone, "Why are all the trees on fire? The little friend's words made people laugh, and the tour guide replied, "Sometimes a forest fire will set many trees on fire. After the two games, although it was cool in autumn, everyone was hot. The next step is to enter the forest and complete some tasks related to forest trees. The guide asked everyone to queue up to enter the forest path according to the size of the animals they chose at the beginning. The first task is "touching". Please look around for "hard things" and "soft things". Alai found stones, trunks, leaves, moss and so on. Touch, feel and know the forest.
The second task is to "listen to the sound and make the direction", so that the child can close his eyes and feel another person walking quietly nearby. Where does the sound come from? Trying to point out the source of sound is also learning to listen.
The third task is to let children learn to smell. "Pick up the leaves, rub them and smell them. Different leaves, flowers, grass and soil have different tastes.
The fourth task is to pick up the cone on the ground and throw it into the bucket to see how far you can throw it. Playing with cones as stones or balls is a game that every child can never tire of playing.
The fifth task is to "hug". "Holding a big tree, holding your friend. So, Alei ran to hug a tree, and I couldn't help running to hug another tree, mom. At this moment, our hearts and trees are so close. Embrace, feel and get close to the life of the tree with your body, and thank it for its supply.
The sixth task is "touch and feel". "Try to touch the surfaces of different trees and feel the differences between them. Our father touched, felt and understood this tree and told us what it was, in which connection and knowledge were unconsciously established.
The seventh task is "stretching". Hands in the air, let your body swing from side to side against the wind like a tree.
As a result, only my parents turned into trees in my family, and Alei just wanted to roll on the ground, lie on the grass in the forest and become a part of the grass.
The eighth task is "listening". Close your eyes, listen and see what you hear. Voice, car, bird?
The ninth task is to jump like a rabbit. There are different ways to jump. You can jump high or far. You can jump in small steps or big steps.
Alei chose to play long jump and threw himself on the ground every time. This is actually intentional, hehe.
Playing, I came across a boletus. I'm a little old, so I won't choose.
The tenth task is to "make faces like monsters."
After all the tasks are completed, everyone will build a shed together. There are many dead branches on the ground. The guide taught the children how to build a simple shed together and let them hide in it to play games. If it rains heavily in the forest, they can also quickly build a shed and wear masks and awnings to avoid the rain.
There are adult fitness equipment in front of the trail. Alei also wants to try, but it's really too heavy. This fitness method is to let you lift your torso. I tried. The trunk is really heavy!
Finally, all the children who participated in the activity got an "activity certificate" and a small gift. Alei got a "mummy bath oil", which was certified by Finnish Allergy Association. Contains no essence, preservatives and sexual objects, and is suitable for sensitive skin and children. In addition, I got a small folding cushion, which is convenient for picnicking.
Because it is an activity organized by the Allergy Association, I naturally remind everyone at the scene that taking children into the forest and nature will be good for the respiratory tract and enhance their immune system.
We rode home against the colorful leaves all autumn, and our hearts were full of harvest.
Before taking part in the activity, I knew there would be some "tasks", but the activity I originally imagined was probably that everyone would walk around the forest at will and let the children "treasure hunt". The result is completely different from what I thought, but it is simpler and more enlightening than what I thought.
I can't help thinking that this is actually a very simple demonstration of "forest education" and "nature education".
Education, you don't have to say a lot of truth, teach a lot of knowledge, forests and nature, as long as you are willing to do it, that is the first step closer.
It would be great if parents knew a lot. It doesn't matter if they don't know that much. They can take their children with them to feel, touch and listen. In this process, beauty will be unconsciously integrated into the experience of life, the senses will be opened little by little, and you will know how to appreciate and observe the surrounding environment and things.
Finland happens to be a place with many forests, so it is easier for children to get close to the forests when they are young. However, it doesn't have to be done in the forest. In fact, if we can stop, touch, see and smell a tree and a flower when walking every day, or close our eyes and listen to what sounds are around us, we will get close to nature with our senses. At least, I'll take it alone next time. All the little "lessons" learned on this day can be used again. No forest will be exactly the same, and a tree on the roadside will change slightly every day. As long as you are willing to observe, listen and feel, every encounter is different.
Thanks to nature, it always provides us with the best sensory learning field and gives us many beautiful scenery and diverse breath. As long as we are willing to get close, it is there.
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