This week we went on a sound hunt. We went out for a family walk and were on the lookout (or the hearout? 😜) for different sounds.
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One of our all time favourite books is We're Going on a Bear Hunt, where the children wade through grass, splash through a river and squelch through mud in search of a bear.
Here's a brilliant video of the author narrating the book: Michael Rosen performs We're Going on a Bear Hunt.
First we put on our wellies and wet weather gear so we could enjoy going through squelchy mud and splashy puddles without getting soggy.
We found a nice deep puddle that went splish, splash, splish, splash.
And then we found some lovely long grass that went swish, swish, swish.
Some thick oozy mud went squelch, squelch, squelch.
This is such a simple and easy way to get more from your walks.
It's also a great opportunity to introduce new language - is the sound quiet? loud? soft or hard?
Older ones love coming up with their own words to describe the sounds (onomatopoeia) - they don't even have to be real words, it's all part of the fun!
One of the great things about a sound hunt is it changes with the seasons. Last month we found some ice that went crackle-crunch, crackle-crunch.
And in the autumn we found leaves that go rustle, rustle, rustle.
It doesn't just have to be the sounds under your feet that you listen for in your sound hunt - you might find the tweet tweet of birds, the roar of aeroplanes, the whoosh of wind or the buzz of bees.
If you are going for a walk through a town rather than in the countryside, you could listen out for the tip tap of feet on pavements, the vroom of cars or the beep beep of pedestrian crossings.
Sound hunts are a brilliant way to teach your child to be quiet and to really listen - an important skill for practising mindfulness, developing awareness of surroundings and improving observation skills.
But most importantly it's a great way to have fun on a walk together!
What sounds do you enjoy on your walks together?
Books about sound
The listening walk by Paul Showers
The Usborne Woodland sounds noisy book
Sounds all around by Susan Hughes
This Sound Detectives game is perfect for playing at home when you get back from your walk. We love Orchard Toys games (we have a dozen or more) as they are fun and educational - perfect for pre-schoolers.
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