Head outdoors for Nature Week! Explore the popular book The Hike by Alison Farrell with fun hands-on preschool nature activities — sensory play, leaf math, ABC walks, nature art, and more!
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Explore Nature Week with The Hike by Alison Farrell
This week we’re heading outdoors for a hands-on Nature Week inspired by the book The Hike by Alison Farrell! Join us as we follow three young explorers on their adventure through the forest and discover all the wonders that nature has to offer.
From collecting leaves and counting acorns to creating art with sticks and pinecones, your child will have endless opportunities to learn and play through nature.
We’ve included a read-aloud video of The Hike, three nature-themed songs for preschoolers, and a list of our favorite nature books to keep the curiosity growing all week long.
The Hike by Alison Farrell
In this book three friends and their dog set out on a forest hike, exploring streams, trees, and wildlife while following their curiosity and sketching what they see. Richly illustrated like a nature journal, the book celebrates friendship, discovery, and the joy of being outdoors — showing that the adventure itself is the real reward.
Grab your walking shoes, a basket, and your sense of wonder — it’s time to head outside and learn through play with Nature Week!
Don’t have the book? You can listen to a Read Aloud of The Hike on YouTube.
Want to get next week’s activity plan to do with your preschooler straight to your inbox? Then don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter. You’ll also receive a list of the books and themes for our online book club all the way through May so you can plan ahead.
Nature Songs for Preschoolers
And The Green Grass Grew | Super Simple Songs
Walking In The Forest | Super Simple Songs
Let’s Go For A Walk Outside | Super Simple Songs
Learning About Nature On A Hike With Blippi
Hands-On Nature Activities for Kids
Each week we provide a simple plan of activities for you and your preschoolers to do together. Although we don’t have a strict schedule the one shown below works really well if you are planning a full week.
If not you can always carry out the activities on a single day or across a couple.
Nature Week Planner for Preschool
Our Nature Week Planner from the Virtual Book Club for Kids is packed with fun, educational ideas that bring outdoor learning to life! You’ll find engaging activities like a nature sensory play bin filled with leaves and pumpkins, a nature alphabet poster made from your outdoor discoveries, and a leaf hole punch counting tree to build early math skills.
We’ll also explore science with a fall nature discovery bottle, create a beautiful nature wreath, and even make our own hiking stick to take along on your next adventure!
Nature Weekly Planner Inspired by The Hike
A weekly planner just for you for Nature Week! Celebrate Nature Week with The Hike by Alison Farrell! Explore hands-on preschool activities like sensory play, leaf math, nature art, and alphabet adventures from the Virtual Book Club for Kids.
Add together water, leaves, acorns and pumpkins to create your own nature sensory play for your child. A fun way to explore nature!
Make a special Sensory Nature Cutting Tray or you can create your own Sensory Herb Garden for Kids.
Create your own nature alphabet poster! Teach your child beginning sounds with a camera and a nature walk to create this ABC poster together.
With some sticks and wood rounds you can make your own letters too. Here are some additional nature alphabet activities for preschoolers.
This leaf hole punch counting activity for preschoolers builds fine motor skills, sparks math learning, and keeps little hands busy with nature play. Explore with items from nature "What Does Ten Look Like?"
You can also use number rocks to make a number line or make your own nature number tray
Use items you have gathered on nature walks to fill this gorgeous fall nature bottle that is perfect for preschool science activities. Set up at Nature Observation Table or this Seed Investigation Station.
Want a nature snack idea? Try these Dirt Cup Recipes.
Get inspired by this easy, kid-friendly craft: a nature-wreath made from collected leaves, sticks, pinecones and recycled cardboard. Perfect for preschoolers, toddlers and families looking to bring the beauty of nature indoors while nurturing creativity and connection with nature.
You can also make nature prints, nature collage art, nature weaving craft or even nature stick crafts.
Don't forget to make a special hiking stick for your hike!
Nature Books for Preschoolers
If your little ones loved The Hike by Alison Farrell, these nature- and hiking-themed books are the perfect next reads! From alphabet hikes to exploring forests, wildlife, and the outdoors, this curated list will inspire curiosity, adventure, and a love for nature in preschoolers and early readers alike.
The World Needs the Wonder You See by Joanna Gaines
Mrs. Peanuckle’s Hiking Alphabet by Mrs. Peanuckle
Let’s Go on a Hike! by Katrina Liu
Who’s Hiding in the Woods? by Katharine McEwen
All About Nature: Animals, Insects, Plants, and More! by Huda Harajli
Explorers of the Wild by Cale Atkinson
Woodland Sounds by Sam Taplin
The Big Book of Nature Art by Yuval Zommer
Backpack Explorer: On the Nature Trail: What Will You Find? by Editors of Storey Publishing
Let’s Go Outside! by Ben Lerwill
Outside In by Deborah Underwood
Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer
A Walk in the Forest by Maria Dek
H Is for Hiking by Greg Paprocki
Here’s our top picks of Nature Books for Kids on Amazon!
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Join us and make story time the highlight of your preschool week!
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