Nature Obstacle Course

Build self-confidence and motor skills by designing and traversing an outdoor obstacle course featuring materials from nature. Add places where you can jump, throw, balance and bend, and have lots of nature-iffic fun.

The materials are just suggestions. Work with what you have in your environment. We'll give you lots of options to make it fun and challenging wherever you may be.

Materials:

• 5 - 10 small stones that are about the size of a golf ball (work up to heavier stones)
• 3 - 4 sticks about two-feet long

How it Works:

Use one stick to mark the "throw line," and stagger the other sticks different distances from the throw line. Using an underhand motion, throw a stone beyond one of the sticks. Challenge yourself to throw the stone past the stick farthest from the throw line. When it becomes too easy, move the sticks farther away. You can also try heavier stones.

Materials:

(One of the following)

• One long log
• Several short logs
• A long piece of brightly-colored yarn
• Two-by-four plank raised a few inches off the ground

How it Works:

Balance is the name of this game! Balance heel-to-toe as you walk across logs, a plank or a long piece of yarn stretched out in a straight line. If you use yarn, secure each end to keep it in place.

Materials:

• Cones or sticks to mark the course

How it Works:

Did you know many crabs move sideways? To walk like a crab, start by sitting on the ground with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Set your hands on the ground behind you with your fingers pointing behind you or to the side. Push up so your butt is in the air and then move sideways. After you practice your crabby moves, set up a start line and a finish line. You can race or challenge each other to see who can make it the farthest before sitting back down.

Materials:

• 15-20 sticks, each about two feet long

How it Works:

Make a course with the sticks as the obstacles -just like the tree roots or small logs you might encounter during a walk in the woods. For every spot with one stick, you have to hop over it with one foot. For every spot with two sticks, you jump over them with both feet.

Materials:

• About 10 to 20 sturdy stakes or sticks with some at least three-feet tall
• Brightly-colored thin rope or string

How it Works:

Set up several pairs of stakes upright in the ground to create a course. Each stake in a pair should be about four or five feet apart. The pairs of sticks should be at least two feet apart from each other. Connect each pair of sticks with the string or rope. Vary the heights of your string obstacles so that some are high enough to duck or crawl under, while others are low enough to cross using a high step.

Materials:

• Cones or sticks to mark the course
• A few good friends

How it Works:

Mark a start and a finish line. Have four or five friends crouch down on the ground like rocks. (Note: This will work best if the "rocks" are a similar height to the leapers.) Race from start to finish by leaping like a frog over each "rock." To do this, place your hands on the back of the "rock" to help propel yourself over.

Materials:

• Several sturdy rocks that have a flat enough surface for stepping on
• Two tablespoons of imagination

How it Works:

Here we pretend we have a stream to cross. Leap or take big steps from rock to rock without touching the "water."

Alternative:

If no rocks are available, you can use sidewalk chalk to draw rocks and a stream.

Materials:

• Straw bales, sturdy crates or
• boxes that can hold the weight of a child

How it Works:

The goal here is to practice high stepping. You can accomplish this by setting up a course of boxes or bales to step up on and then step down (or jump) as you make your way to the finish line. You can also build a squat pyramid or stairs with the straw bales.

Alternative:

No crates, boxes or bales? No problem! Build a race course with stakes or cones and use a high knee walk to make it from start to finish. With a high knee walk, you hold your hands out at waist level and raise your knees high enough to meet your hands.

We recommend at least three activity stations to make the obstacle course; activities should reflect the capabilities of the average age of participants. As noted above, work with the environment and materials that are around you and easily accessible.