Katie Love
Tuesday, November 13, 2018 marked the official kick off of the Mini Mountaineers! The sun was shining and we enjoyed a beautiful nature walk through Magnuson Park.
Mini Mountaineers is a new family program for kids aged 2-5 and a chaperone to get outside together. The Mountaineers hosts meet ups and nature activities with the goal of creating a community of families exploring together and inspiring a love for nature in the next generation.
Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and nannies gathered to create this community for our first event a few days ago by joining their little ones on a nature walk.
The kids were quick to create a sense of community. Within one minute of arrival, one little guy pointed to another Mini Mountaineer and asked, “Is he my friend?” His chaperone was quick to respond, “He sure can be!” Those two were running around and playing together most of the program, experiencing the joy of becoming fast friends.
Along the walk, we found apples fallen from a tree and mushrooms sprouting from the soil. We shared autumn leaves with each other. We played peek-a-boo around big tree trunks and sculptures. We listened for birds. We created a fort beneath the branches of a huge tree. We ran around A LOT.
Most of all, we let the kids set the pace and encouraged them to explore the world around them.
It was wonderful to see the little ones become more comfortable with the group when tossing leaves in the air, the older kids lighting up over bits of nature, and adults interacting with their young ones and chatting with each other. We're excited to see this program grow and are already looking forward to the next event!
The next Mini Mountaineers activity will be held at our Seattle Program Center on November 27. Visit the program information page to learn more. We hope to see you there!
If you would like to volunteer at or have an idea for a Mini Mountaineers event, please contact Katie Love.
