Treasure hunt
- Start with a clue to find a location or an item. For example, ‘Go to the place where things are really cold.’ (Your fridge!). The difficulty of the clue should depend on age.
- Have another clue waiting at that spot, which leads to the next spot and so on.
- Place some ‘treasure’ at the final destination.
- It can be anything the kids will like such a treat to eat, a toy or a DVD to watch.
This activity will teach kids about sequencing, which is the importance of following steps in order.
Scavenger hunt
This is a game where the kids are given a list of items to find in the house. There are lots of different themes you can use.
- Colour scavenger hunt - they are given a sheet of paper with colours on it and have to find something that includes the colour.
- Checklist scavenger hunt – a simple list of things to find, such as a stuffed toy, picture of someone in your family or something round. It doesn’t have to be over complicated.
- A themed scavenger hunt such as nature, cooking or the alphabet.
5 tips for an awesome scavenger or treasure hunt
- Set some rules such a no running and taking it in turns to read the clues if there are a few children playing.
- Make the clues or lists challenging but not too challenging - you want them to succeed with a smile on their face.
- You could write the clues backwards, so the kids have to find a mirror to see what they say.
- Write the list items in anagram form so the letters have to be unscrambled first.
- For younger children use pictures instead of lists or clues.