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Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder: Idea Two

Solve the Mystery: Learn to Track

City folks will have a tougher time making this happen, but if you ever spend time in a country space where there are water sources, you’ll have the opportunity to find and identify the tracks of animals.

Since animals need to find a water source daily, the banks of rivers and streams are great places to find tracks. But there are other ways to learn some of the same skills, for example footprints on sand, in snow or on muddy trails. Even backyards may have areas where animals leave their footprints or their scat. (poop)

Purchasing appropriate field guides of the wildlife in your study area will make the adventures of tracking more fun. And there are good books for children on identifying common tracks. (See list at the bottom). It’s easy to learn to make plaster casts of tracks for a wildlife collection. Kids can master their identification skills, learn to compare the characteristics of each track such as number of toes, size of footprint, where they might be found, etc.

Wouldn’t it be fun to do some tracking extensions? Maybe you could write stories about the animals traveling through this area and the adventures they have together. Maybe you could move on to collecting more animal lore such as teeth, bones, snakeskins, and the like.

A drive out into the country in the quest for animal tracks will seem like a pioneer adventure to today’s kids who spend most of their time indoors. You can add to the experience by packing a great lunch, enough water and some snacks and make a day of it.

Even young children of four and five can begin to identify the most common tracks such as deer, rabbits and bird footprints. In time they’ll get quite adept at identifying raccoons, mice, foxes, coyotes, porcupines, weasels, and whatever else inhabits the area you study.

Here are some good books and materials to begin learning to track:

Track Pack by Ed Gray

Tracking and the Art of Seeing by Paul Rezendes

Peterson Field Guide to Animal Tracks

Whose Tracks Are These? By James Nail

A Guide to Animal Tracks by Rick Imes

Animal Tracks, The Young Scientists Club, (a set of 80 cards matching animals and tracks)