Activity Overview
Get your kids outdoors this summer and scavenging for the abundant treasures that they will find in nature. Armed with a well thought out list of items to find in their outdoor environment, they'll eagerly look at the world around them with more observant eyes.
Assemble and brainstorm your scavenger hunt list with the ages of the participants in mind. Younger kids may get frustrated if the items on their list are too hard to find, while older kids will enjoy the challenge. With five children in varying ages and with the theme of our summer being more about team work, we set the kids up in teams of mixed age groups.
Decide whether or not you want your scavenger hunt to have a winner or have the focus on attempting completion. We chose the latter and had a sweet treat for all participants when the scavenger hunt was through. We used cell phones and digital cameras for each team and they took turns sharing their photos as I read the items off of the list.
Materials Needed
- Paper and pen or printout
- Optional ( digital cameras or devices with cameras)
How to Do It
- Take a walk around your yard or park and brainstorm and list items that you see in nature.
- Compile a list of items that you hope for the participants to search for and find in nature.
- Make sure that you have a copy for each individual or each team.
- Give the kids either a pen and paper or a digital camera or camera device to take pictures of the items that they find. This keeps nature intact and makes for great sharing. It is amazing seeing how children see the world through their perspective.
- When the teams are called in and they complete their scavenger hunt list, sit around in a circle and share the team findings and photos if you are using that method.
