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1st stage: Going to the park
Duration: This depends on the possibilities of the given community (10 to 30 minutes).
Primary SPIRIT Skill(s) focus: flexibility
The activities can already be done during the travel. During the journey, children could have tasks.
If traveling on foot:
- Say when you see something that starts with the letter R.
- Word chain (with possible restrictions, e.g., only animals, only names)
- Which traffic signs do you know? Do you see any that you don’t understand?
If using public transport:
- Count how many stops the vehicle has.
- Is there a stop named after a famous person?
- Does anyone know who they are? (It’s helpful if the teacher prepares in advance.)
- “How many fingers am I holding, and how many not?” game.
If possible, the program can be combined with a hike, during which stops can be made and tasks assigned to the students. For example:
- During a rest break, observe 1 minute of silence. During this time, listen carefully and list the sounds you hear. Were any of the sounds coming from the built environment?
- During the break, observe how many different shades of a single color you can see, for example, green. First, everyone quietly collects observations, then together, by pointing and naming, identify the different shades.
- During the hike, count the trail markers (touch them if possible). With older students, you can also ask them to estimate beforehand how many markers they will see on a given section of the trail. During the hike, count how many birds you hear rustling in the leaves or singing in the trees. (Extra task: try to identify the species.)
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2nd stage: Observing the weather
Duraton: 10 minutes
Primary SPIRIT Skill(s) focus:
Upon arriving at the location, the children sit down in a pile (on their raincoats).
- Close your eyes! What do you feel? What is the weather like now? (Temperature, sunshine, wind, freshness of the air)
- How did you know what the weather was like with your eyes closed?
- How (with what) did you sense it? It is currently _ °C. Who feels cold? Who doesn’t feel cold?
- How is it possible that we felt differently even though we are in the same place and the temperature is the same? What does this depend on?
- Can people perceive different things? Can people feel differently?
- How do we actually know what the temperature is? Does it depend on who observes it?
We can measure and observe certain properties of the things around us.
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3rd stage: Run, touch and find!
Duration: 5 minutes
Primary SPIRIT Skill(s) focus:
In this stage, we make the children move. The task is to find something in nature that has a feature that the teacher “suddenly” asks for. The children do not know in advance what the teacher will ask for. Children should find different materials in nature by touching.
Stand up! Run and touch something that is…
- made of wood!
- made of metal!
- rough to the touch!
- soft to the touch!
- wet/dry!
- cool/warm!
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4th stage: Rhythm game
Duration: 10 minutes
Primary SPIRIT Skill(s) focus:
The children look for natural objects they can use to “make music” with. Examples include snapping dry sticks, rustling dry leaves, blowing on grass, clinking stones, hitting sticks together, or tapping sticks on the ground. The children search on their own, but the teacher can also offer suggestions. The children are divided into three groups. The teacher demonstrates the rhythm each group should follow:
- Group 1: TA-TA-TA-TA
- Group 2: TI-TI-TA-TI-TI-TA
- Group 3: TI-TI-TI-TI-TI-TI-TI-TI
First, each group practices separately. Then the teacher gradually adds groups one by one until all three groups play together. Once they manage this, the groups switch rhythms. If background noises are heard (e.g., a singing bird or construction sounds), incorporate those rhythms into the activity as well.
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5th stage: Art from Natural Materials
Duration: 20 + 10 minutes
Primary SPIRIT Skill(s) focus:
The children create a picture using natural materials found in the area (nothing should be picked up or torn). It is best to work in teams (you can divide the previous task’s groups further). The children have 20 minutes to work, after which everyone walks around to look at each other’s creations. The composition can be made freely, but a common theme can also be given to guide the artwork, such as nest, human figure, or ant playground.
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6th stage: Living Camera
Duration: 20-30 minutes
Primary SPIRIT Skill(s) focus:
The children pair up. One will be the “camera”, and the other will be the photographer. The “camera” must keep their eyes closed. The photographer can position the camera by gently guiding their partner to the spot where they want to take a picture. The photo is taken as follows: the photographer lightly taps the camera’s right shoulder, and the camera can open their eyes until the photographer taps again, signaling to close their eyes once more.
Draw the children’s attention to the following points:
- The “shutter speed – exposition time” (the time between the two shoulder taps) can be short or long. It shouldn’t be too short, or the photo won’t well and rich in details enough.
- Zooming is possible — if the camera is guided close to something, it takes a close-up picture; if positioned farther away, more will be included in the picture.
- The camera can be carefully kneeled down, or their head moved gently.
- The photographer should plan in advance, what should be in the picture.
- 3 to 4 pictures should be taken by a photographer and make sure they are varied!
After the photographer finishes, they switch roles.
If possible, the children can draw their favorite pictures on-site (bring drawing boards, paper, and pencil cases), or back in the classroom, they can “make” the photos. (It’s useful to first recall the pictures with eyes closed in a “darkroom” setting.)
Please decorate the classroom with the pictures. -
7th stage: Take Cover! (Closing Game)
Duration: 20-30 minutes
Primary SPIRIT Skill(s) focus:
In this closing activity, one child is chosen (to be a “HUNYÓ” – a seeker). She/he stands in the middle of the play area with closed eyes, extend their arms sideways at shoulder height, shout “TAKE COVER!”, and counts down from 19. During this time, the other players must quickly run up, touch the HUNYÓ’s hand (while saying their own name), and then hide somewhere in the play area.
When the HUNYÓ finishes counting, opens her/his eyes and try to spot the players without leaving their spot. They can move slightly, but one foot must remain in place at all times. If the HUNYÓ sees someone, calls out the player’s name, and that person must come out of hiding.
If the HUNYÓ no longer sees anyone, they close their eyes again, extend their arms, shout “TAKE COVER!” once more, and counts down again—but this time starting only from 17. With each new round, the countdown begins from a number 2 less than the previous round, giving players less and less time to hide. This increases the challenge and encourages players to hide closer to the seeker. A key rule is that players cannot hide in the same spot twice in a row.
Game variation: To make the game more dynamic, the HUNYÓ may take up to three steps while searching the players. If they still don’t see anyone after the third step, they shout “TAKE COVER!” again from their new position. This keeps the hiding spots changing and adds excitement to the game.
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