You need a sizeable treasure for your outdoor kids' treasure hunt.
Pirates might have attacked ships at sea for their treasures, but they buried them on land, so forget about the high seas and opt for a landlubbers' outdoor treasure hunt. A treasure hunt on solid ground offers your gold-hunting kids the opportunity to comb the beach, climb around the backyard or make their way through a deep forest to find clues. Does this Spark an idea?
Beach Treasure Hunts
Attach your clues to the bottoms of sand dollars and seashells.
Youth as young as nine will enjoy and participate in a beach treasure hunt. Fill a treasure chest with gold-wrapped quarters and bags of snack treats to make them happy, especially at arcades or amusement parks you visit later in the trip.
Write hunt clue directions on tiny pieces of paper and seal them in water- and sand-proof containers; attach them to the bottom of sand dollars and small stones as well as inside seashells and sand pails. Use clues that contain educational tidbits about the landmarks in the area. Find area facts on travel brochures from your hotel to provide clues.
Backyard Treasure Hunts
Let your kids swing over a kiddie pool and crawl through a tunnel to find the treasure.
Create a mud-pit to bury the treasure goods. Make the hunt more like an obstacle course by requiring the kids to swing from a rope attached to a nearby sturdy tree limb over a water-filled kiddie pool (but make the rope too short for him to succeed). You can also create a small man-made tunnel of objects that the kids must pass through, which will require that they navigate slowly and carefully. Your kids will love the challenge and the chance to get dirty.
Or, opt for a backyard treasure hunt that is less messy and more analytical. Find poetry and books to use as "cerebral" clues for a backyard hunt. Use lines from your child's favorite book to lead her to the treasure, omitting several key words so she will have to use that resource to get to the next step.
Forest Treasure Hunts
Ask other parents to join you and your kids -- and to bring theirs -- for this hunt. Have parents play a role in the hunt; for example, a parent can portray a "hiker" who stays near the bunch, for protection and when they need a push in the right direction. Have clues that require kids to use handouts you give them. For example, one clue might require their knowing that oak trees are one of the most common large trees in the southern mountain Appalachian forest or a botanical fact about your area. Make some of the clues include bottles of water and snacks to keep your hunters from experiencing exhaustion in the woods.
Holiday Treasure Hunts
Center clues for holiday treasure hunts around a holiday you are celebrating, and make the treasure pertinent to that particular holiday. You can play out this type of treasure hunt on any stage: backyard, beach, mountain retreat or woods. Use a combination of tools, such as listening to the first line of a Christmas song ("Frosty the Snowman") and the ending to a Christmas story ("And to all a good night") to impart clue locations. Keep the kids engaged with an occasional fake clue.
Tags: treasure hunt, Treasure Hunts, clues that, from your, kiddie pool