How to Devise a Scavenger Hunt for Kids

Kids love a good hunt - and this kind is limited only by your imagination.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Crayons
• Prizes
• Felt-tip Pens
• Notebooks
• Pads Of Paper
• Paper Bags
• Paper bags
• Crayons
• Notebooks

1. Divide the kids into even teams.

2. Give each team a notebook, felt-tip pens or crayons, and a list of items to collect or to find and draw.

3. Limit the game to a room, a building, a park or a playground.

4. Assign each item a point value.

5. Make it theme-oriented or random.

6. Have them find just red items or things that are used by a farmer. Or have them bring an adult's shoe, a candle and a drawing of the tree farthest from the starting point.

7. Give alternatives for some items. For example, a picture of the house across the street may be worth 1 point, and a drawing of the car parked in front of it could be worth another point.

8. Stipulate that each team member must draw at least one thing.

9. Set a time limit.

10. Tally the points. The team with the most points wins.

11. Award prizes - candy, a pizza party, a popcorn party or whatever you like.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember, you can have more than two teams. Smaller teams are more fun.
• Have each team find different things or just some of the same items. They may run into each other on their quests.
• Scavenger hunts for many topics are available on the Web if you'd like to have a hunt in a classroom environment.
• Children should be accompanied by an adult if visiting neighborhood homes for the hunt.

on 2/21/2006 Purchase large piece jigsaw puzzles (1 per team). Paint the back of each puzzle a different color. Hide the pieces and have the children search for their team color pieces. The first team to find all their pieces and assemble their puzzle wins!

on 11/22/2005 If the kids in your group don't know each other well, devise a scavenger hunt in which they have to find a person who has been a certain place, done a certain thing, or is wearing a certain costume/article of clothing. This is especially great for the first day of school.

on 11/22/2005 Make up clues to the locations of the objects, and hide the objects. Have a separate set for each team. This will limit the area in which the children look, and it's a lot of fun.