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11 Oct 2019

Wild Words: Child's play

Jenny Seaman, John Muir Award England Education Manager, gives some tips to make language fun in the outdoors

Wild Words: Child's playJenny Seaman, the Trust's John Muir Award England Education Manager, shares some tips for adults who want to make language fun when spending time with young people in the outdoors.

“Handle a book as a bee does a flower, extract its sweetness but do not damage it.”

(John Muir)

If you’re outside with a child or group of children this autumn, you probably don’t want to take a cartload of books on your adventures. But I do invite you to discover and share nature through a few carefully chosen words.

Experiencing nature through reading or writing about the natural world is different to a day in the wild, and words can encourage us to explore nature more creatively. There are many word-based games and resources which invite children to look closely and thoughtfully at the wild around us.

Make language a game

Many children will have heard of a gaggle of geese but do they know that a group of magpies is a ‘mischief’, and we call a flock of goldfinch a ‘charm’?  Why not research the collective nouns of the wildlife you spot and talk about why you think those word were chosen?

Making up your own collective nouns; a snuffle of hedgehogs, a wriggle of worms, encourages children to closely observe the characteristics of a creature and select words that express how they look, sound or make us feel. This and a wealth of other imaginative activities can be found in (‘An Explorer’s Guide to The Lost Words’) by Eva John.

The guide was created to encourage people of all ages to engage with writer Robert MacFarlane's and illustrator Jackie Morris’ popular (The Lost Words) and to explore “the magic of nature and the magic of language”.  It is available as a (free download) from the John Muir Trust along with a selection of beautifully illustrated The Lost Words poems.  

Find your words

In a twist on the standard scavenger hunt, invite children to create a list of descriptive words before challenging them to find natural objects which match the descriptions. How many different slimy, bumpy, crooked, mysterious or prickly items can they locate in 10 minutes? 

This is a great starter activity to engage with place and leads nicely into the ‘Act like a Victorian Explorer’ task from (Mission Explore: John Muir). Find a plant, fungi or other natural object of interest and devise your own name for it, just as the Victoria Explorers would have done upon discovering that object for the very first time.

Naming their discoveries in this way encourages children to look in detail at their surroundings and always produces some imaginative responses; who doesn’t wish the nettle was really called ‘fiery dragon teeth plant’? Share the names created and then task others in the group to explore the area and guess what species they refer to.

John Muir is famous for his words of wisdom and a selection of his quotes are available at discoverjohnmuir.com. Ask the group to write their own John Muir style quotes for today, again these often make for thought provoking reading and discussion. Once back in the warmth or over a flask of hot chocolate, read the graphic novel John Muir: Earth - Planet, Universe (free to download from the Scottish Book Trust).

Collect together a story sack of objects such as a tea bag, stick, rucksack and beard and re-enact or create freeze frames of scenes from the story. Learn what a ‘scootcher’ is and have fun making up up some of your own (be careful!).

My scootcher for you is to try and include some wild words in your next adventure…

  • For further ideas and resources check out our (Literacy & Nature Resource Guide).
  • Educators interested in Literacy & Nature can download free (Session Guidance) for running your own training sessions using The Lost Words resources.

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Celebrate our Wild Words month with this special offer: 25% off for your first year of John Muir Trust membership* if you join us during October 2019. Use the promo code: WILDWORDS (*Ts & Cs apply).