Scavenger hunts have been on my mind lately, probably the warm weather and the ability to go outside and run around – yeah spring! We had fun last week with a couple at the zoo and the nature center.
We drew 16 squares on a piece of construction paper and I wrote things to find on each kid’s appropriate to their age. At the zoo, Eric (6) had to find things like a mammal and an animal with a long tail, while Caroline (10) had to find things like an omnivore and an animal indigenous to South America. We laminated them to protect them from drops, tears, and spills...
and each kid got their own page of stickers to put on their sheet when they found something. Instead of a “winner” which can always cause issues for siblings (at least mine!) they helped each other finish their sheets so we could get ice cream after everything was found.
Later that week we took some friends to the nature center and hiked the trails looking for things like nuts, seeds, flowers, and newts.This scavenger hunt had partners looking together for things and even wading in the creeks for tadpoles. Except for giving the map to the 8 year old “guide” in the group which led us to hike for a few more miles than we wanted to, it was a great trip!
Also fun are the hunts that involve clues that lead you to the next clue. My sister and I were stuck on a rainy vacation once with our 6 kids and spent a full afternoon watching them run around rescuing stuffed animals by reading rhyming clues that led them to look for other clues in places like the microwave, the bathtub, inside the dryer. It’s amazing what’s entertaining to them – a few rhymes, a teammate, and a mystery can be hours of fun.
An art museum hunt can also be fun. Most kids can only look at so many paintings and sculptures without checking out, but looking for a red hat or a green square keeps them engaged. My friend Teresa recently had a fabulous mall scavenger hunt for her daughter’s birthday party and received great reviews from the pre-teen shoppers. Traveling in the car, going on a walk in your neighborhood, or spying letters for an early reader - these can work for any place, anytime, or any age. Enjoy the hunt!
great ideas! awesome. thanks for sharing your parenting tips - I'm going to steal some!
ReplyDeleteBecause of this post, the past 2 days I've done scavenger hunts for my boys. Yesterday was a list of "outside stuff" they had to find. Today it was an alphabet scavenger hunt...I picked 6 letters and they had to find things outside that began with that letter.
ReplyDeleteGood idea - they loved it. Especially right on the heels of all the Easter Egg Hunts! They were in the hunting-groove.