A verbal challenge

The first was the most straightforward. A simple question. “Can you find your way to the park from here?”

She could. Even though it was a route we didn’t usually walk. I think we were both a bit surprised and very excited.

2. Following directions

The next day we’re having another go and I’ve got inspired. I’ve written her a list of directions and I’m going to see if she can follow it and get to the other park by a different route.

I think they’re very straightforward: ‘Leave the school by the lane exit’. ‘Go right’. ‘Walk to the very end of the lane’. ‘Turn right’. ‘Turn left’… etc B is not so convinced. Takes a while to work out what ‘turn right’ means but she gets there in the end and she finds the park.

Then she asks why we didn’t just come the quick way.

3. Getting lost

B is confident enough now to try some map reading. We’re in Hampstead Heath in London but any large country area with a map would work. There were problems though.

Hampstead Heath has one of those maps that only shows the official paths and there are lots that don’t make it on. Inevitably we got lost and B got cross. Then it chucked it down. One of those life lessons sort of challenge days…

4. Urban navigating by compass

Still in London we try using a compass to work out what direction we’re walking in. We probably should have used it on Hampstead Heath.

Streets don’t usually go straight. The compass makes us realise where we’re turning and how much backtracking we’re doing. I think one for older kids as it needs some patience.

5. Wayfinding by bike

If the Hampstead Heath attempt was challenging this was positively nerve wracking for me. B hopped on her bike and led the way, at which point I became very aware of her inexperience cycling on roads.

It did get better and, unfortunately, I think the only way to get better is to go through it on the safest roads you can find to practice on.

Initially she just roamed around and needed help finding her way home after. On later attempts I challenged her to find key places (the cliff top playground, the secondary school, the place we saw fireworks) etc.

6. On a country walk

We have a walk in the woods we do as a family but which we know has a wider loop we’ve never found. We got B looking for it.

She needed a bit of support on this. Wide open country spaces made her a bit nervous and we didn’t want to walk hours in the wrong direction either. We found a new route in the end, with a bit of team work.

7. A new way through the sand dunes

By the end of the summer B was much more confident. Walking regular paths on holiday in West Wales it was she who found a whole new route we’d never noticed before and got us to try it.

It was great too. We’ll do it again and it was a huge confidence boost for the 10 year old explorer.

8. Making a map

B was given the task (by a neighbour doing a grant application) of making a map of the bit of common land round the corner from our house.

It was a great exercise in noting down everything and working out how to note down things (like trees) that aren’t normally put on maps.

She worked out how to make a key too.

9. Taking different paths

One of my favourite things as a child this, and I don’t know why we didn’t do it more.

Take a path each. Do you end up in the same place? Who gets there first? Is there another way to go.

Great for parks with meandering pathways but can also be done in the street when they get a bit older.

10. Following the map v. going by instinct

It started out as another map reading challenge but this one evolved into my mother giving B a lesson in how to follow your nose across London.

It was a bit advanced for 10 and a big city and we weren’t letting her go too wrong because we had places to be. Hoping it gave her an idea of what she’s working towards and the joy of meandering.