Go on a Spring adventure with a journey stick!

My original aim for this post today was to welcome the return of Spring with you by sharing some Spring tips and tricks, but I then got side tracked and saw the lovely journey stick activity and I really couldn’t resist sharing it with you all- still a Spring post though! This activity is perfect for this time of year!

So, what is a journey stick?

A journey stick is a memento of a nature walk your child/ren has taken part in, it can also be called a story stick or a nature stick. The idea is to collect items along a nature walk such as twigs, leaves, flowers, feathers, bark etc.

The History of a journey stick:

The best thing I found about a journey stick, is that there is history behind it, which in my eyes makes this activity a whole lot cooler! Apparently, journey sticks were once used by Native Americans and Aboriginal Australians, they created journey sticks to track and also tell stories about their travels. They would attach items in order to their sticks and this helped them to recall their journeys and even begin to remember their route by memory. They would paint and carve into the stick so they could build up an image of their journey that also included the weather and any adventures. So, as you can see, journey sticks really are great, and knowing the history behind them, just imagine the discussions you could have with your little people!

How to make a journey stick:

There are a variety of ways to make your journey stick, and the activity can be adapted depending on the age range of those taking part, therefore, I’m going to share with you some links to help you pick the best method for you! Encourage your child to think about the journey ahead too before they choose their stick, get them to think about whether the stick is long enough to cover the whole journey so there is plenty of room for their chosen items.

https://growingfamily.co.uk/craft/journey-stick-kids-nature-crafts/

https://theladybirdsadventures.co.uk/journey-stick/

https://www.childhoodbynature.com/how-to-make-a-journey-stick/

What are the benefits of this activity?

There are many benefits to this awesome activity! Here are some examples:

·  Opportunity to develop language skills through discussions and story telling

·  Opportunity to develop navigational skills, having a visual reminder may he children to remember routes taken

·  Opportunities to be imaginative- using their journey sticks to story tell

·  Develops gross motor skills- due to being out and about in nature

·  Develops fine motor skills- tying objects with string, sticking, cutting and using tape

·  Increases children’s knowledge of nature as they explore their surroundings

·  Allows the opportunity for independence- the journey your child embarks on will be unique to them, therefore not every journey stick will be the same!

·  Provides a chance to be creative- your child may choose a certain theme for their stick, they may choose to use certain colours only, and whatever their produce, it’ll be from their own creative minds!