Outdoor fun inspired by books

By Stacie Gaetz

Gone are the days of opening the back door and telling your kids to be free and explore before reminding them to be back before lunch. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t get out into the great outdoors in fun and unique ways with your children! We like to use books as a starting point for new and exciting outdoor activities.

Here is a list of my family’s favorite book-inspired adventures: 

1. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen (ages 2 to 5)

Take your little ones on their own bear hunt. You can choose to do this in your neighborhood or during a hike on a day trip. Just like in the book, you can talk about all the items in nature you encounter like grass or a forest and whether you will go “under it, over it or through it”. Don’t forget to include the fun noises you hear like the splash of the river and the squelch of mud.

2. The Berenstain Bears Blaze a Trail by Stan and Jan Berenstain (ages 3 to 7)

This book is an example of what not to do in the great outdoors, and it can add a bit of fun and misadventure to any outing. Talk about how silly Papa Bear is and the absurd things he might do with the aspects of nature that you encounter along the way. Take some time to teach some valuable lessons by asking your kids why they shouldn’t go near a beehive and why we talk quietly when walking through a gorge with loose rocks.

3. Operation Redwood by S. Terrell French (ages 8 to 12)

This inspiring book lays the foundation for environmental stewardship and shows kids that even they can protect the planet. A boy acts when he finds out about a company’s plan to cut down some of the oldest redwood trees. There may not be any redwoods around Calgary, but this can inspire you to research and identify local trees on walks and hikes. It can also spark your family to look into how you can help preserve ecological elements close to home.

4. No Summit Out of Sight: The True Story of the Youngest Person to Climb the Seven Summits by Jordan Romero (ages 10+)

At the age of 13, American teenager Jordan Romero became the youngest person to climb to the summit of Mount Everest. At 15, he became the youngest person to reach the summits of the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents. In this energizing memoir for young adults, Jordan recounts his experience, which started as a spark of an idea at the age of nine and, many years of training and hard work later, turned into a dream come true. Use this as your inspiration to tackle your family’s climbing goal, whether that is the hill behind your house or a local Rocky Mountain.

Stacie is the associate editor of Calgary’s Child Magazine and mother of a delightful daughter and silly son. Her days are filled with playing in parks, creating crafts and keeping up with the chaos. She thoroughly enjoys supporting, connecting and informing parents through interesting stories like this one.