Scavenger hunts for kids are a wonderful way to get kids involved in a group activity that doesn’t require athletic ability. All kids need is some enthusiasm, determination and keen eyesight won’t hurt either. While kids can be content with an indoor board game that has a detective theme or with an outdoor game of hide and seek, they will enjoy switching things up with one of these scavenger hunts for kids. Spring a scavenger hunt on them here, there and everywhere. It’s only a matter of time before you want to join the fun yourself.
Scavenger hunts Out Doors. Conducting a scavenger hunt out of doors may seem like the easiest kind of hunt to organize and it can really be lots of fun to have kids hunt for things out of doors. Your biggest concerns are setting boundaries and selecting items for the scavenger hunt list that really can be found by the hunters. Boundaries are crucial because in the excitement of trying to find the listed items kids are apt to roam off of their own property. Set your boundaries in accordance with the age of the kids, the supervision that kids will have during the hunt and the surroundings you are in. Make sure to enforce the boundary rules and of course always take the extra precaution of having kids work on their hunt with at least one other person. Let kids know ahead of time that if they go outside of the boundary lines they will be disqualified from winning whatever prizes you have prepared. That is usually sufficient to keep kids where you want them.
Suggested outdoor scavenger hunt items could include :
1. an oak or maple leaf
2. . 3 white rocks
3. one large and one small pine cone
4. one blade of grass
5. a bottle top
6. a blossom
7. 2 bugs
8. pine needles
9. a nut or nut shell ( acorn or other )
10. something that belongs in the trash
Scavenger hunts indoors. If you have had several days of rain in a row and your kids are ready to fly around the room backwards, giving them a scavenger hunt to do indoors can really be a nice treat for them and according to the number and the challenge of the items they have to find it can keep them busy for quite some time and happy at what they are doing. The scope of your game has to be determined by the size of dwelling you are in and the number of rooms that you wish to put in play. Depending on the age of the children involved you will again need to pair some children together and definitely rule out some areas where there might be hazardous items that shouldn’t fall into young hands. You can really be creative in your selection of items for the scavenger hunt list. After all you know everything that is in your house. The more unusual items you put on the list the more fun it can be for everyone. Here is a list of 10 to get any list started.
1. A belt
2. a piece from a puzzle
3. one page from a newspaper
4. one recyclable item
5. a photograph of yourself
6. one piece of candy
7. a piece of fruit
8. wrapping paper
9. a spool of thread
10. 2 action figures
Scavenger hunts in your car. The scavenger hunt idea can easily be put into play even when you are riding somewhere in the car and the hours seem to hanging heavy. Just whip out a pre-planned scavenger list for everyone in the car and work together to discover all the things on the list within a given time limit. You can add to the fun by offering different prizes according to how quickly the items on the list are discovered. The one difference is that when you use the scavenger hunt idea in the car, no one is collecting up anything, they just need to indicate when they see something on the list as they watch out the window.
This is really fun for adults and kids to work on together and can help your kids to really look at the surroundings as you motor along. Make your list, or several lists ( for coming and going ) ahead of time and tuck them away until you feel the time is ripe for a change. Make sure to tailor your list according to the area in which you will be driving so that there is a good chance of seeing the items on your list. You may want to include some of these items that can be tweaked to fit the ability level of your family or car mates.
1. A Sign with the name of a state on it
2. An animal other than a dog or a cat
3. A dog or a cat
4. A woman with a hat on
5. A license plate that has the numbers 3,4 and 5 on it
6. 4 signs that say McDonald’s
7. a police car
8 a motorcycle
9. a tour bus or school bus
10 a traffic light
Scavenger hunts are great ways to get kids and yourself to be more observant about their surroundings. One good scavenger hunt often leads to another. You may find that kids who enjoy participating in a scavenger hunt quickly turn into kids who would like to make scavenger hunt list for others to try, so make sure you have some writing equipment with you where ever you travel.
