During this time of being homebound, my family and I have re-discovered our love for scavenger hunts. It has become a new way for us to get exercise and spend time together without having to do much prep or clean up.
We started with the traditional outdoor scavenger hunt. I planted objects that we then challenged the children to find. If you have a close neighborhood, families can do a giant scavenger hunt with minimal effort. (On rainy days, we do car scavenger hunts, like the #203rainbowhunt).
Since there have been more rainy days than I’d like to count, we’ve also started doing indoor scavenger hunts. My younger son likes them the best because he knows all the items (and has probably hidden them too!). The indoor scavenger hunts are usually themed and timed. Our most successful indoor hunt so far has been Trolls themed. While playing “Can’t Stop the Music,” everyone was challenged to find as many Troll related toys in the house.
The second level is the unknown scavenger hunt. For this, we just list a dozen things we think we will be able to find. We have been doing this one based on the seasonal changes, like birds, buds, and squirrels. These spontaneous scavenger hunts are great if you are hiking/walking in new areas. If you have multi-age children, they can create a mystery list for each other, for a fun twist.
Fancier hunts, like Geocaching, are better suited for older childer. Another way to diversify your hunt if you have an age gap to deal with is to add having to take a picture or have the older child read the list and record it. If you have only older kids, you can hide riddles as clues for them to solve.
Any way you slice it, scavenger hunts can be a fun activity for the whole family and an excellent way to add some fun to the day. Want some help starting? Here are 75 free printable scavenger hunts to choose from. Do you have a favorite scavenger hunt I left out?
