Gifts that Spark Nature Explorations: Nature Walk Bag

The great outdoors are so rich with opportunity.  Encouraging our kids to explore and delight in the world around us is a powerful way to set them on the course of life-long learning.  As I remember back to all of the years of hiking with my parents and having copious amounts of time to play and explore, I’m in awe at how something so simple can have such a profound affect on a person’s life.  There is something so restful and yet simultaneously invigorating about learning out in nature. And nature is all around us.  This means our kids will be learning through backyard explorations, walks around the neighborhood and of course trips into the wilderness.

So what better way to foster this in your kids than to put together a nature walk bag, so they have the tools to explore at their fingertips.

So what would you put in this bag?  Well the possibilities are endless.  I’ll give you some ideas here and then use your imagination to personalize it for your child.  You can give them the gift of adventure, scientific discovery and art all wrapped up in one bag!

What You Need for a Nature Walk Bag

Your bag!  You’ll want to decide if you want to do a messenger style bag such as this Olive Green Messenger Bag. The size is perfect for stashing a few important things.  I like a messenger style bag because you have ready access to the contents while you are walking.  The important thing here is that it is dedicated to holding your nature walking materials.

Binoculars – for bird watching or scouting out the valley ahead on a hike.  I love this AdventurePak Binocular Set because it contains a good, kid-sturdy binoculars plus a compass, flashlight and whistle.  Having a whistle with you is always a smart move for kids getting out into nature.  That way if there is an emergency, they can use the whistle to call for help!  If you have older kids or simply want to invest in a better set of binoculars, I’d recommend these Bird Watching Binoculars.  It comes with a case to help protect them.

Magnifying Glass – If you are going to explore, you need a dedicated magnifying glass for your bag.  I’m torn between this great 5-Inch Lens or the idea of getting a folding pocket magnifier.  The benefit of a folding pocket magnifier is that it would be protected from scratches in your bag.  For this reason, even though it is half the size, I’d go with the folding option.

Sketch Book  –  Having a sketch book handy in your bag means your little nature explorer can journal their findings and draw pictures.  We’ve spent many a day out in our desert home sketching or water-coloring what we see.  It is relaxing and promotes our kids learning to pay attention to fine details!  I love this hardbound book set.  It is beautiful and looks so professional.  On the other hand, a spiral-bound journal would be easier to lay flat while they draw.

Colored Pencils – You should stock a regular pencil or two and then pack a set of colored pencils.  As you know, I’m a huge fan of our Lyra Ferby pencils.  I love the triangular shape that promotes proper pencil grasp and the color these babies produce is beautiful.  I will never hold a crayola colored pencil in my hand again.  It pays to buy quality art supplies.  Prismacolor is another top-notch quality colored pencil.  These artist quality colored pencils come in a tin and are much less expensive than the Lyra Ferby pencils.  The tin comes in handy providing storage and protection within your nature bag. Now that my kids are getting older and the triangular grip isn’t as vital, I’m considering trying these out.  My artists sister LOVES them.

Block Crayons – These are optional, but we’ve loved using these Stockmar beeswax block crayons for all kinds of leaf and bark rubbings.  They come in a tin which again makes it easy to store in your bag and they last forever!

Watercolors – My boys (yes, my rough and tumble boys) love to go out and paint nature scenes.  {I wrote about it here!} In the craziness of raising boys, these moments with my water colors have calm moments too.  Again, quality matters.  While I know you can get water color sets for a dollar, paying a little bit more makes a huge difference.  I threw out my cheap water colors and we only use Prang now.  It’s only $2.99 and the brilliant colors produced make it totally worth paying more.

Watercolor Notebook – You need thicker paper when doing watercolors.  We’ve found upgrading to a watercolor paper really helps what we are able to create.  This notebooks is beautiful and it is the perfect size to not only fit in your bag, but for water-coloring in general.  I’ve found my kids usually don’t fill an entire full page with a watercolor design which leads to waste.  These smaller pages are perfect.  The cover depicted actually peels off revealing a solid brown hard cover underneath.

Flower & Leaf Press Our flower/leaf press is just like this one.  I love that there are no knobs poking around.  It is actually compact enough that you “could” take it with you on your walks if you want to press a beautiful flower or leaf along the way.

Zip Lock baggies – super easy to stash in your bag and then you can hold that special pebble, leaf or whatever else you want to inspect more closely later.

Bug Bottle – If you think you might find some cool bugs (and you have room in your bag), you could bring a bug jar.  As a kid, we just used a canning jar with fabric in place instead of the metal lid.  This high-quality plastic bug viewer could be an option if you don’t want to go the canning jar route. It even has a built in magnifying glass.

Leatherman Tool – Ok, this is cool enough to merit being it’s own special stand-alone gift.  And you’d never get my son to consent to keeping this in a nature bag because he insists on clipping it to his belt loop.  This little tool does not have a knife blade.  We bought it for a birthday gift last year and they have been constant partners since then.  The tweezers and pliers come in handy more times than we can count, including an episode where we were extracting a stray cactus spine or two…

Want to pair this with a book?  

Nature Anatomy is our absolute favorite to take out into the field.

Be sure to check out my other top recommendations for nature-inspired books!

Other things I’ve written on this wonderful topic of nature exploration!

Why Nature Walks {a 4 part series}
10 Reasons Why You Should Go Outside {Every day}
7 Creative Ways to Take a Walk
Nature Painting
Isn’t It Dangerous?
A {Saguaro} Forest Walk
Desert Explorations
Exploring Arizona Creation