Little Hikers Long Island

Little Hikers Long Island Fully outdoor nature program. Learn trail safety, local bugs, animals & plants
Little Explorers- ages 2-6
Junior Naturalist- ages 6-10
đź“ŤHuntington, LI

09/21/2026

Nature can teach children across so many different subjects. If you spot an oak tree, look for leaves with lobed edges and acorns nearby, then turn what your child finds into an outdoor learning experience.

When children are actually holding an oak leaf, tracing the veins with their fingers, comparing pointy and rounded lobes, and looking closely at what they find, they’re learning through hands-on experiences. This engages multiple senses at the same time, giving the brain more information to connect with what they’re learning and helping strengthen learning and memory.

An oak tree can give your child a chance to practice math, learn science, build new vocabulary, create art, read, write, and strengthen observation skills.

Save this Reel for your next nature walk and try a few of these ideas with your child!

If you love spending time outdoors and learning with your child, come join us! You might learn a few cool facts too!

Little Hikers Long Island is a parent-and-child outdoor nature program at West Hills County Park in Huntington, Long Island. We learn about the plants, bugs, trees, and wildlife we find on the trail while practicing observation skills, building new vocabulary, and learning about what’s happening in nature as the seasons change. Little Hikers classes are FUN! Children learn by solving nature mysteries, playing games, creating crafts, and exploring what we find on the trail.

Learn more > Little Hikers Long Island > Classes

Follow for class updates and simple ways to teach your child about the nature around them, and share with a parent who loves learning about nature with their child!

09/20/2026

If you’re part of our Little Hikers family, then you probably already know this fun fact!

Blue Jays love acorns and can carry several at once before hiding them or using their strong bills to peck them open.

And they’re definitely not the only ones eating acorns! Squirrels, chipmunks, mice, deer, and many other animals rely on acorns as a food source.

This week on the trail, we collected acorns and looked closely for clues. We searched for tiny holes left when an acorn weevil grub crawled out and looked for cracked shells, chew marks, and other signs that an animal may have been eating them.

When children actually find an acorn, hold it, turn it around, notice its colors, feel its texture, and look closely for tiny details, they are using several senses while learning. Hands-on experiences give their brains more information to connect with what they're learning, which can help them understand and remember it better than simply hearing or reading a fact.

If you love spending time outdoors and learning with your child, come join us! You might learn a few cool facts too!

Little Hikers Long Island is a parent-and-child outdoor nature program at West Hills County Park in Huntington, Long Island. We learn about the plants, bugs, trees, and wildlife we find on the trail while practicing observation skills, building new vocabulary, and learning about what’s happening in nature as the seasons change.

Learn more > Little Hikers Long Island > Classes

Follow for class updates and simple ways to teach your child about the nature around them, and share with a parent who loves learning about nature with their child!

There are so many fun ways you can use those acorns to teach your child.Count them, sort them, measure them, or make pat...
09/19/2026

There are so many fun ways you can use those acorns to teach your child.

Count them, sort them, measure them, or make patterns. Look for tiny holes left behind by acorn weevil grubs or bite marks from animals. Cut one open to see what’s inside, test which ones sink or float, or plant one and watch what happens.

You can use acorns for science, math, reading, writing, art, history, experiments, games, and even storytelling.

When children can find, hold, observe, compare, and play with what they’re learning about, they get to experience the lesson instead of just hearing about it.

Learning should be fun! Sometimes, it shouldn’t even feel like learning.

Save this post for your next nature walk and try a few of these ideas with your child!

Love learning about nature with your child?! Then come join Little Hikers Long Island! You might learn some fun facts too! Our outdoor classes at West Hills County Park make learning about the plants and wildlife around us fun through games, nature mysteries, hands-on activities, crafts, and discoveries we make on the trail.

Little Hikers Long Island is a parent-and-child outdoor nature program in Huntington, Long Island.

Learn more > Little Hikers Long Island > Classes

Follow for program updates and more simple ways to teach your child about the nature around them.

Share this post with a parent who loves learning about nature with their child!

09/18/2026

This week at Little Hikers Long Island, we learned about acorns and acorn weevils!

On the trail, we collected acorns and looked closely at each one to see if we could find a tiny hole. We observed their different colors and sizes and compared acorns from the white oak and red oak groups. We learned that acorns from the white oak group generally contain fewer tannins and are less bitter than acorns from the red oak group.

We also played an acorn game that reinforced colors and numbers.

This is one of my favorite parts of Little Hikers. There is always something new happening on the trail, and even something as simple as an acorn can turn into a whole learning experience.

If you love spending time outdoors and learning with your child, come join us! You might learn a few cool facts too!

Little Hikers Long Island is a parent-and-child outdoor nature program at West Hills County Park in Huntington, Long Island. We learn about the plants, bugs, trees, and wildlife we find on the trail while practicing observation skills, building new vocabulary, and learning about what’s happening in nature as the seasons change.

Learn more > Little Hikers Long Island > Classes

Follow for class updates and simple ways to teach your child about the nature around them, and share with a parent who loves learning about nature with their child!

09/17/2026

Poison ivy isn't always as easy to spot as “leaves of three.” In the fall, as chlorophyll breaks down, poison ivy can turn beautiful shades of red, orange, yellow, and even a mix of colors, and individual leaflets can fall separately—so you might find just one colorful leaflet on the ground.

Before you or your child picks up that beautiful fall leaf for a craft, look around and look up. Poison ivy can grow along the ground, climb trees, and grow on fences, so even if you don't see the plant right next to the leaf, it may be growing above you.

Poison ivy is common throughout Long Island. You may spot it along trails, in parks, around trees and fences, along the edges of wooded areas, and even in your own neighborhood. Fallen poison ivy can still contain urushiol, the oil that can cause a poison ivy rash.

If you love learning about nature with your child, come join Little Hikers Long Island at West Hills County Park! LHLI is a fully outdoor parent-and-me nature program where children learn about the plants, bugs, trees, and wildlife around them through hands-on learning, nature walks, games, crafts, toys, and bubbles.

Learn more about the Little Hikers Long Island outdoor program > Little Hikers Long Island > Programs/Classes

Follow for program updates and simple ways to teach your child about nature, and share with a parent who loves learning about nature with their child!

Turn your next nature walk into a fun learning experience with oak leaves! Collect a few leaves and use them to count, s...
09/16/2026

Turn your next nature walk into a fun learning experience with oak leaves! Collect a few leaves and use them to count, sort, compare, make art, play games, look for galls or bite marks, and learn about the oak trees around you. Hands-on learning gives children a chance to explore something real and better understand the things they see in nature.

If you love learning about nature with your child, come join Little Hikers Long Island at West Hills County Park! LHLI is an outdoor parent-and-me nature program where children learn about the plants, bugs, trees, and wildlife around them through hands-on learning, nature walks, games, crafts, toys, and bubbles.

Learn more about the Little Hikers Long Island outdoor program > Little Hikers Long Island > Programs/Classes

Follow for program updates and simple ways to teach your child about nature, and share with a parent who loves learning about nature with their child!

09/15/2026

Oak leaves can have different shapes depending on the type of oak tree. Oaks in the red oak group usually have pointed lobes with tiny bristle tips, while many oaks in the white oak group have rounded lobes without bristles.

Next time you find an oak leaf with your child, slow down and look closely. Is it rounded or pointy? Teaching children to notice small differences helps build observation skills, which they will use later when learning, solving problems, and making sense of the world around them.

If you love learning about nature with your child, come join Little Hikers Long Island at West Hills County Park! LHLI is a fully outdoor parent-and-me nature program where children learn about the plants, bugs, trees, and wildlife around them through hands-on learning, nature walks, games, crafts, toys, and bubbles.

Learn more about the Little Hikers Long Island outdoor program > Little Hikers Long Island > Programs/Classes

Follow for program updates and simple ways to teach your child about nature, and share with a parent who loves learning about nature with their child!

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West Hills County Park
Huntington, NY

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+13477092001

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