Week 4: Sustrans Outside In

Welcome to Week 4 of Outside In family activities and inspiration. 

Missed out on Week 3? Check it out here. 

We would love to see how you're keeping active and creative in lockdown. Share your activities with us using #SustransOutsideIn

Day 1: Pedal-powered poems

Difficulty rating: Medium

Write an acrostic poem inspired by your favourite way to travel to school. 

What is an acrostic poem?

An acrostic poem is a poem in which the first letter of each line spells out a word, message or the alphabet.

The lines can rhyme but they don't have to.

What you'll need

• Pen 
• Paper

Instructions

Choose your favourite way to travel to school and write your own acrostic poem. 

Have a look at the example below to give you some ideas: 

W - Walking is the way I like to go to school,

A - Along the path and down the lane, the air sometimes cool,

L - Laughter keeps us warm though, I travel with my friends,

K - Keep moving until we reach the gate, where our adventure comes to an end,

I - In through the classroom door, we learn lots of amazing stuff,

N - No car for me today, I love walking, I just can't get enough!

G - Go, go, it's time to go! The school bell makes the sound, walking is my favourite way I like to get around.

Now it's your turn. Use words like walking, scooting or cycling - pick your favourite and give it a go.

Share your poems on social media using #SustransOutsideIn and tagging your stories with @Sustrans.

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Day 2: Let's get scooting

Difficulty rating: Easy to hard (as difficult as you want to make it)

Scooting is a great way to improve your balance and coordination, and most importantly to have fun. 

Read our how-to guide to learn how to scoot safely and to refresh your knowledge.

What you'll need

• Scooter
• Helmet
• Pen
• Paper
• Bowl
• Somewhere to scoot, e.g. pavement, yard or even a small space indoors.

Instructions

1. Write each of the skills below on a separate piece of paper:

• Stop by using your brake
• Glide, have both feet on your scooter, for as far as possible
• Scoot in a zig-zag pattern
• Scoot with your opposite leg
• Scoot sitting down, holding your legs up
• Scooting while balancing something flat on your head/helmet
• Stop as quickly as you can – by jumping off the scooter with both feet together on one side of your scooter
• Try taking one hand off the handlebar, if only for a second, then the other

2. Fold them up individually and place them into a bowl.

3. Pick out one piece of paper at a time and have a go at doing that skill.

If you are learning a new skill for the first time take it slow.

Extension

What other fun things can you do on a scooter? Try and have a go at these two skills.

Learn to bunny hop

Learn to scoot backwards

Scooter challenge

Why not challenge someone in your household to a Scoot Off. Allocate points to each skill depending on how difficult it is. E.g. Stopping = 1 point, Bunny hop = 10 points. 

See how many points each person can score.

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Day 3: Bicycles and people of the world

Difficulty rating: Medium

Bicycles have shaped and changed our world for more than 200 years.

They gave us freedom to travel further, dress differently, and can now help us tackle climate change.

Put on your best investigator hat and answer the questions below to become a Sustrans Bike Champion. 

What you'll need

• Pen and paper
• Online access to research your answers

Here are your Bike Champion questions.

You’ll need to use the internet to find the answers so remember to check that you have permission.

1. How many bicycles are in use around the world?

a) 12 million

b) 1-2 billion

c) 5 billion

2. Which country has the highest number of cyclists per capita (per person)?

3. How do you say "bike" or "bicycle" in another language?

You can use an online dictionary or translator to help. Listen to the words by clicking the speaker icon and practice saying them out loud.

4. The dandy horse was invented over 200 years ago (1817) in Germany and is considered the first successful “bike”.

What differences are there between the dandy horse and a modern bike?

5. The Brompton was designed in 1975 by a British inventor.

What makes Bromptons different from other bikes?

6. Who holds the Guinness World Records for cycling around the world in 79 days (supported) and 125 days (unsupported)?

7. Bicycles are regularly used to get from A to B.

Can you find five different things they can be used for around the world?

8. Listen to the Queen song, Bicycle Race.

How many times does the song mention bike and bicycle?

Go to answers

Once you've completed the quiz and checked your answers. Download your Sustrans Outside In Champion certificate.

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Day 4: Mindfulness activities

Difficulty rating: Easy, may need adult supervision

Mindfulness develops the whole brain. It helps us to understand our emotions and feelings.

What you'll need

Activity 1: Strike a pose

Doing fun poses can make us feel strong, brave, and happy.

Go somewhere quiet and familiar and try one of the following poses:

1. The Superman pose: stand with feet just wider than the hips, fists clenched, and arms reached out to the sky, stretching the body as tall as possible.
2. The Wonder Woman pose: stand tall with legs wider than hip-width apart and hands or fists placed on the hips.

How did these poses make you feel? After a few rounds of striking these poses, you may be surprised at the results.

Activity 2: Spidey senses

Spidey senses are the super-focused senses of smell, sight, hearing, taste, and touch that Spiderman uses to keep tabs on the world around him.

During a walk today, ask the family to switch on their spidey senses. Get them to use every sense to notice what is around them.

At the end of the walk, discuss what you noticed that you normally wouldn’t have. 

This is a classic mindfulness exercise and encourages observation and curiosity, great skills for any human to practice.

Activity 3: The glitter jar

Instructions

1. Decorate the outside of the jar with sticky labels so you can still see through it
2. Fill ¾ of the jar with water
3. Add the glue, glitter and food colouring, put the lid on and give it a good shake!
4. Shake the jar when you feel anxious or upset and remain still while the glitter settles.

Think about how thoughts are like the glitter.

When the glitter settles down into the bottom of the jar, the mind becomes calmer as well.

Thoughtful time

In what ways will these exercises help you be more aware when out walking, cycling or scooting?

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Day 5: What is lobbying?

Difficulty rating: Medium (with adult supervision)

Lobbying is the act of trying to persuade governments to make decisions or support something. It can be done by anyone, alone or in groups.

What you'll need

• Computer (and access to the internet)
• Pen and paper

Instructions

Our prime minister has recently asked the local governments who look after our neighbourhoods to make it easy for people to walk and cycle whilst we’re trying to keep spaces between us and other people.

Some examples of things that are being encouraged are:

• Closing streets to cars
• Making footpaths wider
• Putting in temporary cycle lanes
• Slowing down cars

1. Think about the biggest thing that would help people to travel safely in your neighbourhood or nearby your school.
2. Type your postcode into this website: www.writetothem.com (ask a grown-up if you don’t know your postcode).

This gives you a list of the people that represent you in government. This includes:

• Councillors who look after your interests close to your home and are responsible for local services
• Your MP (member of parliament, the person who represents you in The House of Commons in London)
• Your devolved Parliament or Assembly members in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland

3. Choose a representative to write to and encourage them to make that change. Include who you are, what you want and why you want it. You can use the website or paper and pen.

You can check out the changes that are already happening on Sustrans’ Space to Move map.

Extension 

How would you encourage more kids to walk, scoot and cycle to your school?

Think about the changes you would like to see to help make it easier for people to walk and cycle.

Write a speech about the changes you want to make and why you want them. 

Dress up in your best outfit and make the speech in front of your parents or carers. Can you get them to support your ideas? 

Day 3: Answers

1. b) 1-2 billion.
2. The Netherlands.
3. 
   

   Language	Translation
   English	Bicycle
   Welsh	beic
   Swahili	baiskeli
   Spanish	una bicicleta
   French	un velo
   Dutch	een fiets
   Chinese	Yi liang zicngche

4. The dandy horse had no pedals, was made of wood, and could only be used in a well-maintained park or garden path. The first true bike with pedals was the boneshaker in 1865.
5. Bromptons fold up nice and small so you can carry them on a train.
6. Mark Beaumont (supported) and Jenny Graham (unsupported).
7. Leisure; health and fitness; toys; policing; delivering post; taking food to and from the market; couriering things; sport and entertainment.
8. 41

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