WILD CHILD: Winter play is telling the stories of what came before

Winter is filled with chances to play and explore that aren’t the same in other seasons. Whatever your favourite way to play, winter has something to offer. Today we take a peak at the fun of observing and tracking.

Child crouches to look at snowy animal tracks.

After a fresh snow, tracks quickly appear and peak our curiosity. Who was here? How big were they? Where did they go?

There is something magical about showing a child their boot print and helping them recognize the pattern, then watching them run in search of other boot prints made earlier. It quickly evolves into figuring out the differences between their boot print and other peoples. Shortly followed by recognizing the animal tracks in the area.

Mother and daughter examine animal tracks left in the snow on top of a fallen log.

For children and adults who enjoy puzzles this time of year is the perfect chance to observe and try to figure out the story of what happened before we arrived. Did the deer stop to eat at the bird feeder?

Did a chipmunk scramble onto the log to eat seeds before running away?

You don’t need to be able to identify tracks to have fun. Simply noticing the patterns and talking and wondering together about what you notice is just as fun.

Next time it snows head out and see if you can spot some tracks.

For more on tracks read here.

For fun games to play with tracks read here.

Written by Tandy Morton Wild Child outdoor playgroup facilitator