March 31, 2011

A Spring Scavenger Hunt

I've been wanting to plan more activities for my kids recently.  The weather isn't great here yet, but I still like to get them outside when I can.  So, I planned a spring scavenger hunt for Rex.

I gathered 12 random things from our yard and took pictures of them on white posterboard.  Then I put them into a collage on picnik.  This is what it looked like.  (You are welcome to use it, but depending on where you live, you might not have all the same things in your yard.)


I printed it off and taped it to the top of an empty egg carton.  That way he had a way and place to store each item as he collected them. 


We headed out into the yard to start hunting.


He was pretty into it.  I had to help with a couple of things, but he found most of it.  He was pretty proud of his new found treasures.



Have you done any fun scavenger hunts with your kids?

Thanks for dropping in!
Visit thecsiproject.com
by at

73 comments:

  1. What a COOOL idea. This is getting bookmarked for the future for sure!

    ReplyDelete

  2. so clever and fun--Rex is lucky to have such a creative mama!

    ReplyDelete

  3. Simple things like this is what kids really do enjoy!! Thanks for an idea.. off to make the list around our outdoor!

    ReplyDelete

  4. What an awesome idea! I can totally do this with my toddler! THANK YOU! You rock!

    ReplyDelete

  5. Such a great idea! Going to do this with my 3 year old!

    ReplyDelete

  6. My favorite part is the egg carton that you put them in! Genius!

    ReplyDelete

  7. What a great idea Cheri - LOVE this! Thanks you!!

    ReplyDelete

  8. I was actually just thinking about doing a scavenger hunt as an FHE activity. Thanks for the great idea!

    ReplyDelete

  9. I love the egg carton as storage tool. Neat idea!

    We just did a scavenger hunt at our local gardens. They have a butterfly exhibit now, so we looked for different colors, stages of egg to butterfly, and plants.

    My sons are 6 & 4 and they LOVE scavenger hunts!

    ReplyDelete

  10. I think my 3 year old would love this. I'm thinking we could do it with toys too.

    ReplyDelete

  11. awesome, what a fun activity! I was thinking of doing a photo scavenger hunt with Nicole, she LOVES to take pictures and I don't mind letting her use my old point-and-shoot, it's practically hers at this point. We went on a walk two days ago where I asked her to take pictures of things she liked and it worked out pretty well, so I think I'm going to move on to the scavenger hunt. And I can incorporate things like letters! Like safeway has an A... ;)

    ReplyDelete

  12. How creative! Finding fun outdoor activities during the cold months can be quite challenging. Thanks for sharing your idea!

    ReplyDelete

  13. My daughter would love to do that! She's constantly wanting to pick up all the rocks and leaves she sees. Once the mountains of snow are gone, we'll have to go hunting.

    ReplyDelete

  14. What a fun idea! I am totally doing this with my daughter!! Thanks for such an awesome idea!

    ReplyDelete

  15. last year when we went camping...I took an egg carton and painted each spot a different color...then they had to find something to match...I thought it would take them a pretty long time...but they cruised through it...then they did it again..and again! so fun!

    ReplyDelete

  16. What a great idea! I look forward to bundling the kiddos up and heading out for an adventure. Lucky for me my littlest happens to enjoy picking up these type things for his "collection" anyway. :)

    ReplyDelete

  17. We live in the woods. I can't wait to do this! Older kids can identify genus, species, etc.!
    May I ask where you got that cardigan/sweatshirt for him? I love it!

    ReplyDelete

  18. Great idea with the egg carton!

    ReplyDelete

  19. Such a fun idea. Good work Momma!

    ReplyDelete

  21. What an awesome idea! I love how you put it on the egg carton so it was task list and collection carrier. :) You're brilliant.

    ReplyDelete

  22. I love that they actually get to collect specimens instead of just mark it off on a list - brilliant and definitely worth copying! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

  23. I love this! Can't wait to try it out when the wee one is old enough. Thank you for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete

  24. Great idea to use the egg carton to hold the scavenger hunt items! I have done nature scavenger hunts for my kids before but just gave them a lunch bag to put the items in.

    ReplyDelete

  25. Neat idea with the egg carton! I tried something similar with my 2-year old in our living room with toys. He lost interest after he found the car.

    ReplyDelete

  26. That's such a great idea! I have quite a few friends with kids the same age I'm going to suggest this too!

    ReplyDelete

  27. What a great idea, Cheri! My kids would love this!

    ReplyDelete

  28. What a fantastic idea, I'm so impressed.

    We take our kids to Centerparcs each October during the half term and enjoy the tranquility of the forest and clean air, this would be an excellent activity for them.

    Thank you so much for putting this up. Inspired!

    LB

    ReplyDelete

  29. My kids would totally love this.

    Last year, early fall, my oldest was getting a little stir crazy on a Saturday. I knew most of our neighbors were home, working in their yards. So I wrote down a list of small, basic household items-nail, paperclip, tissues, toothpick, etc, et all. Then I sent him and my middle son off on a scavenger hunt to our neighbors. They were only allowed to stick to our street, and we know all our neighbors, with maybe three exceptions, well. They had so much fun and it ended up bringing a few of our neighbors out to play and chat, too.

    ReplyDelete

  30. I love this idea and I'm sure Lil' Joe will too! Thanks for the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete

  31. Love it! and a great way to reuse all the egg cartons that accumulate around here! Brava and thanks. :)

    ReplyDelete

  32. This is fantastic! I'll have to remember this for when my little guy is older!

    ReplyDelete

  33. Cheri!!!! this is so amazingly cool. I seriously can't wait to try this with my girls. :) As a matter of fact, I think I just have an empty egg carton from last night. yay!

    ReplyDelete

  34. What a cute idea! I will have to try something similar for my 4 year old. She goes crazy while my oldest is at school!

    ReplyDelete

  35. Your little Rex is sooooooo cute!

    ReplyDelete

  37. I so wanted to do something like this with my little girl. This gives me even more ideas! Thanks for the inspiration! I LOVE this!
    April

    ReplyDelete

  38. You are just good! Great activity for his age.

    ReplyDelete

  39. Genious! My parents live on a farm. I'm sure we could have an awesome scavenger hunt with our 4 year old! Thanks for another great idea! :)

    ReplyDelete

  40. so i've saved egg cartons bc well I hate throwing anything away... finally found their use!

    I adore your blog and tutes, You're truly and inspiration.

    Thanks for the nifty idea feel free to stop by and link up to my Make & Share 1st edition Fridays if you like.

    ~ Christy

    ReplyDelete

  41. What a fabulous idea. This is definately getting added to my To Do with the kids list!

    ReplyDelete

  42. FABULOUS idea... I will SO be stealing this one. You rock it Momma! :)

    ReplyDelete

  43. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

  44. Thank you for this idea! I love it and shared it with my family and came up with a new and exciting way to do the Easter Egg Scavenger hunt this year. Instructions and downloads are available here if anyone is interested.

    Thank you again!

    ReplyDelete

  45. SO how do you do that in Picnik? I thought you could only work on 1 photo at a time, so how would one go about making a collage with Picnik?

    ReplyDelete

  46. great idea, thanks so much. I have a two and a four year old that will love you for this post!!

    ReplyDelete

  47. Brilliant! I am definitely going to do this with my boys. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

  48. What a great idea! I never would have thought to use an egg carton, that's awesome!

    ReplyDelete

  49. Lisa - On the opening page theres an option that says "Collage." Pick one of the collages. You can adjust the # of rows and columns so don't worry about finding one with the exact number of squares you need.

    Cheri

    ReplyDelete

  50. Megan - The cardigan sweatshirt was from Gap Kids a couple of years ago. Sorry! That probably doesn't help. I was so excited when I found it on clearance.

    Cheri

    ReplyDelete

  51. What a cool idea! that wasclever to put the picture on top of the egg carton so he'd have a place to keep what he found. I've linked up to your post on my weekly favorites here: http://play2grow.blogspot.com/2011/04/weekly-favorites-for-april-3-2011.html

    ReplyDelete

  53. Cute idea! We are planning on doing a rainbow version. If it works out and I post about it I will link to you. THanks for the great ideas Cheri!

    ReplyDelete

  54. What a great idea !!! Can u mention what each item in the list is ? Thanks

    ReplyDelete

  55. What a fun idea! Thanks so much for the printable, I'll be linking.

    ReplyDelete

  56. I love this idea - saving this to do with my grandkids next week and adding a link back from Earth Day Crafts.

    ReplyDelete

  57. AWESOME!!! I made a similar scavenger hunt, but I LOVE that you are using an egg carton! Love to have you stop by and check out mine! I have lots of other fun ideas for the kids there too.

    http://sunscholars.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

  58. I just shared this with my facebook friends! Can't wait to check out more of your site.

    Love to have you visit mine!
    http://sunscholars.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

  59. how cute! my son just recently told me that he wanted to go on a scavenger hunt :)

    did you make that super cute hat?

    Melissa

    ReplyDelete

  60. Melissa- I did make the hat. It was a tutorial I did on UCreate. Here's the link:

    http://iammommahearmeroar.blogspot.com/2010/09/guest-posting-on-ucreate.html

    ReplyDelete

  61. FANTASTIC idea!!! Thanks so much for sharing!
    Deanna @ www.shadytreediary.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

  62. I LOVE this idea and am thinking about connecting with our local nature center to see if they can help me pull this activity together for a morning out with my kindergartener. If I post this activity on my blog, do you mind if I link to your site? Thanks for the great ideas!

    Mrs. Practical at http://deceptivelyeducational.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete

  63. I am SO STEALING this idea for a birthday party in the future! Or a hike, if my little G is getting bored with the scenery! Love it! Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete

  64. i love this idea! what a great way to learn about nature, recycle, and have fun. i am heading up a green committee at my son's school next year and i love this idea!

    ReplyDelete

  65. Such a clever idea! I added it to my summer bucket list and posted a link back to your post. http://mymontessorimoments.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/summer-bucket-list-2011/
    Thanks for sharing your wonderful idea!

    ReplyDelete

  66. I love this idea! Thank you for sharing! I hope you don't mind that I linked your idea and post to my post today.

    http://www.twelvemonthsoffun.com/blog/2011/7/6/nature-walk-activity.html

    ReplyDelete

  67. I love this and my boys will love it!

    ReplyDelete

  68. what a lovely activity! I've shared it here: http://dollarstoremom.com/2011/11/make-a-fall-scavenger-hunt-game/

    Thanks!!

    ReplyDelete

  69. Great idea! I was jut going to use your pics but we dont have acorns or moss here where we live so I was thinking of taking my own pics........just curious how u made this in picnik? I cant quite figure out what u used in picnik to form the collage?

    Erinn

    ReplyDelete

  70. sorry i just saw u explained how to do it above, lol!

    ReplyDelete

  72. Love it! Thanks for the inspiration.

    ReplyDelete

  73. So cute!

    I’d love it if you shared this with the Fun Family Crafts audience.
    FFC is similar to Craftgawker but it only features kid friendly tutorials.

    Looking forward to seeing what fun crafts you submit!
    http://funfamilycrafts.com

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for leaving a comment! If you are asking a question and you do NOT have your profile linked to your email address, I will respond in the comment section, so just come back to check it later. Thanks!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails