In short, I am busy: We Explore Outdoors: Hiking

This is a hybrid storytime/outdoor program that can be done very simply for a broad range of ages.

Books (*Storytime Reads the rest are on display)

• *Sheep take a hike by Nancy Shaw
• *Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard
• The hike by Alison Farrell
• Walk on the wild side by Nicholas Oldland
• Hike by Pete Oswald
• Hiking day by Anne Rockwell
• Spike and Ike take a hike by Schindler
• Fatima's great outdoors by Ambreen Tariq

Rhymes, songs, and movement

• Going on a bear hunt by Michael Rosen
• The ants go marching

Outdoor activity and craft

• Kids get brown paper lunch bags and go for a "hike" around the library, focusing on the family garden. They are encouraged to pick flowers, leaves, and other natural items to put in their bags. We spend a lot of time examining different things, smelling, and looking for bugs. How far we get around the library depends on the age of the children. Some of them are more adventurous and delve back into the landscaping and bushes, but so far they have not discovered anything inimical.
• When we come back inside, the kids use the materials they gathered to make nature suncatchers, inspired by Artful Parent. 
• Supplies
• Paper plates with the centers cut out (I used a circle die cut)
• Contact paper squares (I've also used leftover pieces of vistafoil from covering books)
• Hole punches, yarn or ribbon, crayons or markers (optional) for the edges.