Looking for foraging kids activities?
You already know that teaching kids to forage builds important lifelong skills and strong family memories.
Here are some quick, easy and fun activities with practical instructions so you can get started ASAP.
If any of these ideas inspired you to head outside and create something with your kids, why not send me a picture in the comments section below?
I’d be thrilled to hear from you. Good luck with your projects 🙂
Foraging Kids Activities for Babies 0–2
This is the perfect age to start nurturing curiosity and connection with nature.
Foraging with a baby is less about gathering large quantities efficiently and more about sensory experiences and quiet observation.
Here are a few simple ways to include your little one:
🌿 Nature Walk & Touch Exploration
Get your baby out of their sling or buggy and find a safe place for them to sit with you in nature. Slow down the pace and introduce them to soft leaves, fragrant herbs, and colourful flowers. Let them smell a crushed mint leaf or touch the velvety underside of burdock leaves. This simple act of mindfulness helps your baby explore new textures and start getting familiar with plants.
🐵 Baby See, Baby Do
Babies learn by watching and being with you. If Mummy or Daddy thinks wild foods are yummy, then baby will be more than happy to try them. And popping blackberries into a happy baby’s mouth is an activity the whole family can enjoy 😊
🌼 Petal Play
Pick a few colourful, baby-friendly flowers (like rose petals, daisies and dandelions) and leaves, and place them in different containers for them to explore with their hands. A lot of babies enjoy reorganising things into different containers, so this could potentially mean hours of fun 😂
🌳 Outdoor Story Time
Sit under a tree and read them picture books about plants, mushrooms, and nature. Babies love the sound of your voice, and these quiet moments build an early love of nature.
🍃 Foraged Herb Baths
Add a handful of freshly foraged herbs like rose, pineapple weed, or lemon balm to an evening bath. These soothing, gentle herbs will introduce them to the meditative magic of flower bathing.
Foraging Kids Activities for 2–5 Year Olds
Toddlers and preschoolers are natural explorers — full of curiosity, questions, and energy! This age is all about playful learning, hands-on discovery, and starting to recognise the plants they see.
Here are some fun ways to make foraging magical for little ones:
🌿 Little Foragers’ Baskets
Give them their own small basket or cloth bag. Kids this age love having their own “job,” and collecting flowers, leaves, or berries (with your help) makes them feel proud and involved.
🌸 Plant Spotting Games
Turn your walk into a treasure hunt! “Can you spot a yellow flower?” or “Let’s find something that smells nice!” They’ll learn colours, shapes, and scents while having fun.
🍓 Taste Testing (Carefully!)
Show them safe-to-eat wild foods like blackberries or wild strawberries and taste them together. Talk about flavour, texture, and colour. Make it exciting — “Look what the forest made for us!”
🎨 Nature Art
Gather leaves, petals, and small sticks and create simple nature collages together. You can glue them onto paper at home or make patterns right there on the forest floor.
📖 Storytelling and Make-Believe
Let them make up little stories about the plants or fairies living under the leaves. Storytelling keeps them engaged and helps them remember plant names and characteristics.
💧 Herbal Tea Picnic
Pack a flask of mild, kid-safe herbal tea (like chamomile or mint) and enjoy a little picnic outdoors. Let them know this warm, sweet drink came from plants just like the ones they’re learning about!
Foraging Kids Activities for 6–10 Year Olds
At this age, kids are full of questions, eager to learn, and ready for a bit more independence.
Here are some engaging ways to explore foraging with older children:
🌿 Plant ID Challenges
Give them a simple foraging guide or card deck and challenge them to find three plants from it. You can also turn it into a game — who can spot the first dandelion, nettle, or plantain?
📚 Field Journal Fun
Start a foraging diary or nature notebook. Encourage them to sketch plants, write down where they found them, note what the leaves feel like, or even record what animals they saw nearby. It builds observation skills and helps with memory.
🥣 Simple Wild Recipes
Let them help make easy wild snacks like nettle crisps, elderflower cordial, or blackberry jam. Kids this age love being hands-on in the kitchen, and cooking with wild ingredients makes it even more exciting.
🧭 Map Their Finds
Bring a notebook and help them draw a simple map of your foraging walk, marking where you found each plant. It helps them learn about habitats and where different plants grow.
🧪 Mini Plant Experiments
Try safe, small science experiments like placing wildflowers in coloured water or pressing leaves in a homemade plant press. They’ll love seeing how plants react and change.
🌸 Herb Smell Test
Collect different herbs like mint, lemon balm, and yarrow, and blindfold them for a smell test. Can they guess which is which? It’s a fun sensory game that builds familiarity with useful plants.
Foraging Kids Activities for 11–14 Year Olds
Tweens and early teens are ready to take more responsibility and dive deeper into plant knowledge.
This is a great age to introduce foraging ethics, practical survival skills, and more advanced plant uses — from first aid to food to wild crafts.
Here are some meaningful and confidence-building foraging activities for older kids:
🌿 Make a Personal Plant Guide
Encourage them to research and document 10–15 local wild plants, including photos, drawings, uses, and safety notes. They can build their own field guide or even turn it into a digital project or zine.
🧭 Solo Plant Quests
Give them a foraging scavenger hunt list with clues or riddles to solve — “Find a plant with velvety leaves,” “Locate something edible that grows near water,” etc. This gives them independence while sharpening observation skills.
🍃 Wild First Aid Kit
Introduce safe, beginner herbal remedies — like plantain for bites or yarrow for cuts — and let them help make salves, poultices, or teas. Learning how plants can help the body is empowering and practical.
🥗 Cooking with Wild Flavours
Older kids love experimenting in the kitchen. Let them plan and prepare a wild meal or snack using foraged ingredients: think elderflower fritters, wild herb pesto, or hawthorn ketchup.
🛠 Crafting with Plants
Try wild dyeing, cordage-making from nettles, or weaving grasses. These hands-on skills connect them to traditional knowledge and deepen respect for natural resources.
📚 Plant Mythology & Folklore
Let them research the stories behind plants — like how elder was once believed to protect against witches or how dandelions symbolise resilience. This age group loves meaning and mystery.
Foraging Kids Activities: Want to learn more?
Recommended resources:
Foraging Kids Activities: Final Thoughts
Foraging with kids isn’t just about learning plant names — it’s about slowing down, connecting with nature, and creating lasting memories together.
Start small, stay safe, and keep it fun.
The more time you spend outside together, the more natural this way of learning will feel.
And who knows – you might even learn a few things from your little wildlings, too.
Do you have a favourite foraging activity your kids love?
💬 Leave a comment below — I’d love to hear from you.
