Scavenger hunts provide a wealth of opportunities for active, outdoor fun. Children have a natural urge to explore, which is easily indulged with a good scavenger hunt. Google and Pinterest offer many scavenger hunt templates that are appropriate for preschoolers to use. Here is one example. Below are some ideas for a scavenger hunt that are appropriate for young children.
Go for color
Make your scavenger hunt a little more open-ended by looking for specific colors instead of items. Use a poster board or sheet of paper and draw circles filled in with all the colors of the rainbow along the left side. Encourage your kids to find items in the yard that match each color and glue them next to the corresponding circle.
Picture it
Instead of writing out a list, go outside before you start the hunt and take photos of items in the yard. Print them off and give the pictures to your child to use as a list.
Expand your boundaries
Don’t limit yourself to your backyard. Take your child on a walk and encourage them to look for items throughout your neighborhood or at a local park.
Sound Off
Plan a scavenger hunt around sound. For example:
- Birds
- Music from a car
- An ice cream truck
- A lawn mower
- A motorcycle
- A dog barking
- Laughter
- Kids playing
- A mail truck