Are you searching for an easy, adaptable and fun activity to do with your child? Try out scavenger hunts! One of the best things about scavenger hunts is that they can be done just about anywhere, there are always things you can be searching for.
Children learn best through play, observation, and exploration. Scavenger hunts are the perfect way to help children develop early learning skills in a fun way
Benefits of Scavenger Hunts:
- Easy: You can whip up a scavenger hunt last minute for any location!
- Customizable: Scavenger hunts can be about anything you heart desires.
- Promotes Problem Solving Skills: Scavenger hunts are truly a problem solving game. “Problem” you need to find these items. “Solution” Find the items!
- Encourages Movement: Children need to get up and move to find objects for scavenger hunts. This promotes activity and gross motor development.
- Educational: Scavenger hunts can easily be made into educational activities. You can search for colors, shapes, numbers, and much more!
Check out some of these scavenger hunt ideas and variations below!
Around the House Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts help children become aware of their surroundings. For a young child, an around the house scavenger hunt is a great way to work on this. Not only will your child be working on vocabulary, but suddenly their everyday environment has become an interactive game as they find items around the house. An around the house scavenger hunt is an especially perfect activity for a rainy day.
Outdoors Scavenger Hunt
Get outside and search for things! You can simply go on an outdoor scavenger hunt in your yard, around your neighborhood, or just about anywhere!
Colors Scavenger Hunt
Is your child working on color identification? Challenge them to find items that are specific colors around the house, outside, or really anywhere!
Shapes Scavenger Hunt
Have your child search for items of certain shapes! This is a great way for children to work on shape recognition and again, this can pretty much be done anywhere.
Sticky Note Hunt
Sticky note hunts are a wonderful alternative to the traditional scavenger hunt. Read below to find out how to create your own Sticky Note Hunt!
You will need:
1. Write or draw on sticky notes (shapes, numbers, colors, letters, etc.).
2. Put a piece of white butcher paper onto the wall using painters tape. Write or draw the corresponding items that are on the sticky notes for your child to sort the sticky notes they find (see image below).
3. Disperse the sticky notes everywhere around the house for your child to find!
4. Have your child go searching for the sticky notes.
5. Your child will search high and low for the sticky notes and will attempt to put them in the correct locations on the butcher paper.
Ideas for Sticky Note Hunts:
- Matching shapes
- Matching numbers
- Matching letters
- Matching colors
- Name letter recognition
…and more!
There are endless possibilities for scavenger hunts and sticky note hunts! Activities like these are the perfect way to encourage learning through movement and play.
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