Outdoors with 4 y/o?

ambrvan

Ok, so I'm laid off work for the summer, and I'm really enjoying getting to spend time with the kids, but I'm going crazy! I need to find some thngs to do outside to keep me busy. I've always loved going walking with the dog. And my youngest is the easy one to deal with. Just put him in the stroller and go.

It's my four year old step-daughter that I don't know how to get out with. I want her to get outside and enjoy nature like her father and I do. She loves being outside all the time, but most of the time it just consists of playing on the swingset we have in the backyard. Our street is rather busy and doesn't have any sidewalks. So if I want to walk somewhere safe, we have to drive, and it's an ordeal getting both kids and the dog loaded up into the car.

They just opened up a beautiful trail that follows a greenbelt. I know she would enjoy it. But I just don't know how far she would want to go. We only have a one-seat stroller. And she doesn't have a bike here. I just don't want to load everyone up and get all the way over there just to walk for five minutesd and have to turn around and come home because she won't go any farther.

Any tips on how I can make it fun and interesting for her? Anything I can do to redirect her attention if she starts to get bored? How far should I expect her to be able to go anyway? I definitely don't want to push her too far. I mean, if worse comes to worse, I could carry the baby's pack, and when she gets tired of walking, I'll put baby in the pack on me and put my stepdaughter in the stroller. But I would really REALLY hate to have to do that.

scottienme

I am not sure how far to expect her to be able to go- my nieces are 4 and 5, and both are very high energy- they walked 4 miles around our zoo when they were 2- we took the stroller but they never got in!. I would say around a half mile to a mile would be good to start. As for ideas to keep her engaged, I would suggest playing I-spy as you walk around, singing songs, or talking about school, etc as you walk. My nieces  go on walks with me now and usually talk about school or their plans for a certain day, event etc, maybe something important that is coming up like their birthday, a program at church, pre school graduation, that kind of thing.

Gregermis

bring bubbles!  Also, the zoo is a good idea.  My mom used to take us along a creek and we would look for different things.  Frogs, fish, crawldads, etc...  Make a searching game

ambrvan

I remember my grandad got me into birdwatching when I was little, and I saw plenty of easily identified birds when I walked the trail the other day, so I think I may do that with her. See what kind of birds she can find. Unfortunately, I got yesterday when she came back from her BM's, so we didn't get to go walking today. And it was such a PERFECT day today, too. The weather was gorgeous! I hope I feel beter tomorrow, and it's not raining.

addison_clark

My 2yo walks/runs around our neighborhood easily and it is 1 mile almost exactly.  We play red light/green light, I spy, race or tag, pick dandelions and sing songs along the way.