Mom’s secret weapon. Easy, entertaining, and the perfect way to get kids to spend some time outside. Check out these 7 Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Kids.
A scavenger hunt is the perfect secret-weapon activity. It takes hardly anytime to prepare and it takes the kids outside of the house. With these 7 scavenger hunt ideas, you’ll have a new way to keep the kids busy every day of the week!
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I’ll tell ya… being home for nearly 5 months straight has us in a bit of a rut.
The kids are together all the time, we’ve played with everything (well, not really, but according to the kids they have…), and Mom is tired!
The absolute key right now to finding activities for the kids is to keep them quick and easy. Bonus points if they get us out of the house.
Scavenger Hunts
A couple weeks ago, we needed to get out of the house. We do get out quite a bit, but there is always a bit of a struggle between a bike ride for my son and rollerblading for my daughter. Sometimes… Mom just wants a walk!
So – super easy! I grabbed a couple paper bags we had folded in a drawer. I took a Sharpie and a few minutes and came up with a quick scavenger hunt.
Boom! Both kiddos were on board with a walk. There was no bickering about all riding bikes or not being able to go far with roller blades. We were all and they were excited!
It was so easy! However, it got them to agree, they were excited to find their items, and it was a very fun activity to do together.
You really can’t beat walks for good conversation and bonding with the kids!
Side note: Her little Easter hat cracks me up!
Make it even easier and snag these scavenger hunt ideas on Amazon
Scavenger Hunt Ideas
The best part about scavenger hunts is that no two are the same. You can come up with all sorts of scavenger hunt ideas to make it different every single time.
Here are a few to get you started!
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Opposites Scavenger Hunt
This is what I tried to do when I created the scavenger hunt for both kiddos. I gave them different items so they could work together instead of feeling like a competition.
One kid would have something rough on the list and the other would have something smooth. It worked great and they did end up helping each other out!
- Hard / Soft
- Long / Short
- Round / Flat
- Smooth / Rough
- Smells good / Smells bad
We kept it very simple with just a couple of paper bags and a list written on the side in Sharpie.
Color Scavenger Hunt
This is an easy one to create! Just give them a list of certain colors and away you go. If you’re finding only items in nature, I like the idea of giving each color a certain number of points.
Maybe a point system like this:
- Green
- Yellow
- Brown
- Gray
- White
- Orange
- Red
- Pink
- Purple
- Blue
If they’re not collecting the items, having a clipboard like this is perfect!
Also Read: Rainbow Yogurt Bites: Frozen Yogurt Bears and Dots
Trash Collecting Scavenger Hunt
Want to feel doubly good about getting the kids outside? Try combining it with cleaning up the neighborhood.
Gather a couple garbage bags, gloves, grabbers, or both.
Just being on the hunt for trash is entertaining enough, but if your kids need a bit more to see the fun, try a list something like this…
- Candy wrapper
- Can or bottle
- Cardboard
- Car parts
- Coffee cup
- Shoe
- Bonus points for each additional item 😉
Also Read: 7 Hands-on Experiences to help kids care about the environment
Teamwork Scavenger Hunt
I kind of mentioned this a bit earlier with our own scavenger hunt… Instead of creating a competition between kids, use your scavenger hunt time to get them to work together.
A teamwork scavenger hunt encourages the kids to help each other.
You can do this with something like the opposites scavenger hunt above, giving both kids non-competing items, or even awarding points for teamwork.
Think about adding a bonus for helping each other finish, completing the lists in a certain amount of time, or pointing out an item for the other child.
Maybe they get a special surprise at the end, some extra playtime, or even something as simple as stickers placed on the bag as a bonus each time they help one another.
ABC Scavenger Hunt
This is good for older kiddos, or if Mom or Dad want to write for younger kiddos. All you need is a list with A-Z labeled along one side. Or, if you’d rather, a bag and a good memory of which letter comes next or white letter you’ve already gathered.
Also Read: ABC’s of Summer Preschool Activities
I Spy Scavenger Hunt
This is another one you can do on the fly.
While on a walk, play “I Spy.” You can have some prepared ahead of time, or just play the game while you’re out. Then, collect the items in a bag or write them on your list.
I Spy…
- Something yellow
- Something sharp
- Something light
- Something squishy
- Something square
- Something …
Also Read: 9 Printable Spy Missions for kids
5 Senses Scavenger Hunt
You’ve seen some examples of ideas like this already. I love involving all of the kiddos senses!
- Taste… bad, sweet, bitter…
- Smell… pretty, stinky…
- Hear… rustle, scrape…
- See… bright, small…
- Feel… fuzzy, wet, squishy…
Bonus Scavenger Hunt Idea! Cleaning Scavenger Hunt
This is something I used to do when the kiddos were little all the time. When they needed to pickup, I had much more success when I called it a “scavenger hunt.”
Usually, I would just hold the toy bin or a container (mine was not as gorgeous as this one, but you get the idea!) and tell them, “find me an animal” “find me something soft” “find me something with wheels” “find something that flies.”
Therefore, this is especially great with little kids because you can work on easy skills. Colors, features, classes, functions, or numbers with collecting a certain number of items. It’s great!
It also works great with these toy bins with organizers because you can have them sort them into the right spot just by doing this scavenger hunt.
Also Read: Kids Toy Storage Solutions
Scavenger Hunt Supplies for Kids
Creating a scavenger hunt for kids is an easy activity to pull out at a moments notice. Even easier if you have a couple things on hand.
With a few of these easy items, you can pull of a scavenger hunt for kids anytime! It’s a mom’s secret weapon when we’re low on ideas. A very easy way to get kiddos out and about and call it a fun activity.
I hope these help you during this crazy time! I’m with you. You can do it and you’re doing great!
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