TIP SHEET 1. Even a five-year-old can "help" paddle. Who cares if they’re not moving the boat? They love thinking they are. But "they’re not stupid," says Gesner. Make sure that their paddle actually reaches the water. After some practice, allow kids to take turns in the bow or stern. 2. Bring string. Littler kids can tie rubber or plastic toys and drag them alongside the boat for a few minutes of diversion. 3. Remember that adults deal with cold and miserable weather better than children. Think of the kids’ comfort zone, not your own, and plan your trips for summer when the water is warmer. Biggest Challenges: Teaching children to distribute their weight evenly; calming anxious non-swimmers; kids who shout while paddling. Where To Go: Gesner suggests Lake Sebago in New York’s Harriman State Park, where kids can experience waves, wind, and camping all one place—without the rigors of river travel..

Stroke of Genius: Paddling
Lois Gesner has a motto: "I never ask kids to do what I can’t or won’t do." Unfortunately, there’s not much that falls into that category. The longtime New York-North Jersey Chapter member and canoeing instructor started teaching Girl Scouts in 1971 and has her introductory paddling classes to a science. Her secret? It’s all about building on progressive experience. To ensure her new students have mastered their own self-rescue skills in the water she gives them a swim test with life jackets on. Before they even step foot in a canoe, she makes them sit on the dock and practice paddle strokes. After a few minutes, even the nervous ones are itching to get into a boat. She always has the younger kids sit in the bow in front of an older child who knows how to paddle—and always starts them out on a lake.

"I have them do a course from Point A to Point B to Point C," says Gesner. "This way they’re not just zigzagging all over the lake thinking that they are really mastering navigation."

On river trips, she makes them swim the fast water and swamp their canoes, "so it’s not a shock if that happens." Mostly, though, "I try to make it fun." Over the years, Gesner has found this progressive style alleviates panic and frustration, two emotions common among first-time paddlers. Beyond building confidence and giving kids a feeling of accomplishment, canoe travel is also the perfect solution for the parent who wants to venture into the wilderness with young kids. Rather than schlepping all that extra gear on your back, just load it into the canoe. Children can move around, fish from the boat, read a book, play with a favorite toy, or snooze as they travel. Eventually, they can even help you paddle.

TIP SHEET 1. Have kids start a nature journal and sketch what they see. They can do this at home by looking out the window at the bird feeder and then bring their journal on short hikes. Take breaks to let them sit and sketch a scene. 2. Bring a guidebook along and have them compete to see who can find five critters or plants from the book the fastest. 3. Play a version of nature-based "I Spy" as you hike. Biggest Challenges: Kids who just aren’t interested—generally those who haven’t spent a lot of time outdoors. Where to Go: The walk into Zealand Falls Hut provides wide, flat trails and early views. From the boardwalk at Zealand Ponds, kids can look for fish and wetland critters. A short detour leads to Zealand Falls, followed by a stop at the hut, where they can soak feet in the stream, gaze out over Zealand Valley, and sign the logbook. Resources: Find kid-friendly destinations in AMC’s Best Day Hikes and Nature Walks books series, available at the AMC Store. All AMC destinations offer Junior Naturalists tests and badges for children, along with hikes led by volunteer and staff naturalists. AMC’s Boston and Worcester chapters also offer hiking opportunities for family groups.

A Walk in the Woods: Nature Hikes
OK, so we’re not all Rachel Carsons. But walking in the woods with a curious child makes us wish we knew the name of every plant and tree. If your kids are already interested in snakes and spiders, slowing down to take a nature walk will be easy. If they’re not so keen, you’ve got your work cut out for you, says AMC Volunteer Education Coordinator Nancy Ritger.

Her secret: water is a surefire magnet for children. Plan a hike with the promise of swimming at the end and they won’t even know they’re hiking. And never underestimate the power of bringing along a family friend. There’s a real advantage to having more than one child en route: "If I ask my daughter to go for a ski with me, she’ll usually say no," explains Ritger. "But if I say, ‘Let’s get your friend Lindsay and see if she’s up for a ski,’ she jumps right in."

Ritger leads one- to two-hour nature hikes around the Pinkham Notch area and encourages parents to keep their outings similarly short. Nature walks are a good way to simplify the way you interact with the outdoors. They provide distractions along the route; they teach kids to identify flora and fauna, information that will stay with them a lifetime; and they slow children down. Researchers at the University of Illinois found that contact with the natural world significantly reduced symptoms of attention deficit disorder in kids as young as five years old—Ritger often witnesses the miracle of such sustained attention. On one hike into Zealand Falls Hut, a group of young children spotted a mother moose and calf. Spellbound, they sat still for at least a half hour, she says. "It was not just a picture; it was the real thing." One caveat for eager parents: Resist the urge to be overly teacherly on your nature hikes. If you’re not having fun, says Ritger, your kids probably aren’t either.

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