Head on a micro-adventure with your family in order to get outside and enjoy the outdoors! What? Why? How? We have an answer to all your questions.
Your little ones have done the same puzzle fifty times, you are bathing in the light of your computer, the atmosphere isn't great.
It's time to open the door, get out the binoculars and let adventure lead everyone towards exciting experiences.
It doesn't matter if you're in a van or on the back of a donkey, on foot or by bike, if a trip to the country is on the agenda then there will be plenty of great times and family activities.
Let’s go, gang!
Pitching the tent at the edge of the neighbouring forest has, for the marmots, about the same value (or nearly) as crossing the Egyptian desert on a camel’s back.
A wonderful and unique adventure, and the fact that it’s happening just a few kilometres from home doesn't make it less exciting.
And it's one of the many lessons that your kids can pass on: to know how to experience local, short excursions as much as the big trips that parents dream of.
The family microadventure is about experiencing an intense and original experience for parents and kids.
Intense doesn't mean a rushed adventure.
Just the opposite, the microadventure takes you away from the normal routine, it's surprising, intriguing, may include sports activities or not, it's agenda isn't fixed so there is room for improvisation.
It takes its comfort in the fresh air of the countryside.
It’s short, from a few hours to a few days.
It doesn’t cost much as you won't be far from home and don't need to buy equipment.
This makes it environmentally responsible, easy to organise and appealing with its unpredictable nature.
All good.
Depending on your preferences and available equipment, the wild one can choose to play under the shade of the trees, take the bikes to see a sunset, open the tent in the golden light of a clearing or even fly a kite in the wind.
Or something else.
Why not get everyone to put forward a suggestion?
Everyone writes down their micro-adventure idea on a piece of paper in a bowl.
A random draw with great fanfare announces the program of festivities outlined by the winner...
Because it will do you so much good.
Getting outdoors in the beautiful countryside is a very effective way to brush away the burdens of everyday life.
As well as stretching the legs, your kids can express their curiosity and feed their imagination, the grown-ups can offload their small anxieties and let the joy of living take over.
As our Decathlon Outdoor platform suggests, go outdoors!
The microadventure provides the opportunity to experience unusual moments as a family while enjoying the beauty of Mother Earth.
Climbing to the summit of a hill, reaching the lake to jump in the water or joining the tipi camp all require effort and patience.
The microadventure is a good way to test yourself and to rediscover everyone's characteristics, both kids and parents, through the solidarity and listening that it brings about.
Make sure not to put together a programme that is too physical and/or of no interest to the kids.
To this end, talk, listen, adapt, have fun and don't be confined to a strict agenda.
Know that freedom is at the heart of the microadventure.
Before leaving, check the weather conditions and the elevation of your route if you’re in the mountains, don't go in blind.
By following everyone’s pace, the microadventure will deliver a bit of everything.
If it rains and you are well-equipped then don't give up as country trips under water offer a richer sensory experience.
The smell of the vegetation, the noise of the rain, the water flow and puddles to step in are such simple pleasures that nature has to offer under the showers.
Let’s note that the microadventure is not about looking for “performance”, it can easily do without a “sporty” side and is much more about wanting to discover, explore and be surprised.
By the way, this is what gets kids interested.
If you're cycling along a river and the kids spot a goat farm to visit a few hundred metres off route, that changes your plans... so much the better, make the most of the unexpected!
Exploring the countryside or the mountains with the family awakens the senses and gets rid of everyday stress.
As you go along, you pay attention to the landscape, look closer at the plants, a rock, the ground, you listen to the murmurs of nature, you marvel when you come across wild animals, and at night, the stars twinkle in everyone’s eyes.
Smells and colours come through in the wind’s whisper, you get active then cool off in the river, the body is happy to be moving and the mind is at peace, far from any screens.
Through this slowed down connection, the experience is rich and the memory making machine is fully operational. Flaubert said, “For something to be interesting, you just have to look at it for a long time”. The family microadventure is the perfect opportunity to put this saying into practice, it pricks your curiosity and makes life fascinating so make sure it's marked in your family diary.
If you're worried that your kids will be bored, do not fear, they will be delighted, nature feeds their creativity!
They might want to set up a cabin, build a water mill, start to read a hiking map, or learn to use a compass.
No doubt they will have questions about marking a trail, the plants, animals, relief, landscapes, and they may ask how to light a fire, make water drinkable or repair a bicycle tyre.
In short, they will satisfy their thirst for knowledge and something new.
On the saddle!
Your chariot awaits, ready to welcome young travellers, jump on, grab the handlebars and watch the landscapes gently scroll past.
Your kids experience slow travel on a bike, you cross small villages, forests and countryside, you follow rivers with a curious eye that picks up on the details.
Nevertheless, by travelling 30 to 40 km a day, your kids will see the country and the cycle routes are pleasant and safe.
The simplest, most accessible and practical means of transport to go on a family microadventure is... walking of course!
On your marks, set? go.
Everyone has their own pace, stay calm, from a stroll to a hike the key word is “discovery”.
Leave room for improvisation so that everyone can go along with it.
On a trail you've never taken, under a dense forest, with a sea view, on snow with snowshoes or on ice, let the family’s adventurous spirit take over your route.
Using the bridle, your little ones will lead their donkey through hills and valleys discovering the surroundings.
Your kids will be thrilled.
Sharing the trails with this endearing, intelligent animal that eats very little and carries up to 100 kilos on its back, is a real chance of a lifetime for tribes of microadventurers.
This means you can carry more with less effort.
A good way to go on family hikes that wouldn't be possible without this friend joining the adventure.
Everyone just needs to get used to its very impressive braying, “ee-ore, ee-ore”!
When your kids sit in the van, they know anything is possible.
To be mischievous, you keep the destination a secret, just for a moment, to keep the cab in suspense. Hike, surf or pick up the mountain bike when you reach the destination.
Van life gives a feeling of great freedom, kids and parents believe that the world is their oyster.
The hardest thing is to make a choice.
No need to drive 1,000 km, van life encourages simplicity, namely small trips and great joy!
Canoe, kayak, paddleboard or even packraft trips are available more or less everywhere.
Tributary, river, sea or ocean, it's the camp’s choice.
If a river runs between, why not go in it?
Get your swimsuit on, check that bathing is permitted, and dive in.
Bathing in a river has a specific feeling, you feel immersed in the countryside, you are part of it.
After a few sporty hours and/or before camping/bivouacking, your family can have fun skimming stones on the water, visiting a waterfall or jumping in the water one after the other from a rope tied to a tree.
A sudden need.
Your kids want to make a fire.
Or is it really you. Straightaway, you go out to find a natural space where fire is permitted.
Flint in the pocket, marshmallows in the bag, excitement everywhere.
To make the most of the heat, cooking and magic of the flames, we explain how to set up, light and manage your fire safely.
Dancing, cheerful songs or quite simply a wonderful calm will follow, punctuated by the crackling of the fire.
Magic!
You heard right, no need to take three weeks of holiday and devour your savings, the family getaway fits into a weekend.
The programme of your family microadventure can be built into one or two nights.
It's too good an opportunity not to camp!
There are many pleasures to family camping or bivouacking.
From pitching the tent to raising the camp, the experience of a night in the tent or under the stars is always a deep breath of fresh air to both young and old.
Start with setting up the small mobile house in a natural space you have discovered, always a gratifying experience.
For one night, make this previously unknown place your own.
Kids love the experience of roaming, a simple life, continuously moving on to something new.
They like to enjoy their freedom!
When the entire family gathers around the stove to share the evening feast, feet on the grass, discussing the day's events, kids and parents have the feeling of a more intense life that resonates a little inside them.
Then comes the time to look up to the sky, study the moon and let sleep take over the camp among the whispers of Mother Nature.
When the dawn glow lights up the world, the unusual alarm clock signals to the tribe to slowly start the day.
Camping with your kids in the countryside can’t be summarised as being blissful.
Camping is never boring.
First of all, make sure the tent is well placed avoiding too much eastern exposure so it doesn't overheat in the morning.
Keep away from rivers and ponds as they convey moisture and cold.
If it's windy then a valley, low wall or hedge can help you have a better night.
Once you have chosen the spot, kids and parents can show their skill and speed putting up the camp.
Everyone demonstrates their organisational skills by setting up their own sleeping area under the canvas without taking up the place of others and without going back to their bags ten times.
If there are scrapes or damaged equipment then set up a care/repair workshop.
At shower and meal times, make the most of sometimes limited water resources to meet everyone’s requirements without affecting the group.
It can be optimised during the meal.
If you go for pasta instead of couscous or polenta, why not reuse the cooking water to make soup?
To practice a simple lifestyle not centred around your needs, here are a few things to discover when camping with the family.
Every member, regardless of age, can contribute.
This doesn’t prevent you from eating well!
Here are a few easy recipes to make when camping and hiking with your kids.
Mixing it up with a microadventure is therefore the perfect opportunity to share a memorable family weekend, enjoy time with your kids and the simple life where you keep moving, eat, sleep.
And that’s not all.
The microadventure experience proves to be close-knit and valuable where you talk, get away from your phone, make yourself available to each other, discover, cope, innovate, have fun... Go for it!
Micro-adventure's biggest fan
