The boys stay very active during the week. They have PE on most days, soccer practice, gymnastics, and we also take family walks or bike rides and play badminton often. The weekends are a bit harder to motivate ourselves to get outside. There may be a soccer game, but after that, we just want to sit in front of the TV and veg out. Just because school is back in session, doesn’t mean kids should lose out on creative playtime. Take time out of each busy school week to get creative with your kids, allow them the time to have free-play, and watch their healthy habits grow! One thing that I like to do is make a neighborhood treasure hunt for them…and they love it, too!
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Like most brothers, things get pretty competitive quickly, so each and every activity that we do as a family turns into a competition! A little creativity is all it takes to get the kids active and playing!
How I Made A Fun, Challenging Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt For The Boys!
We are lucky to live in a neighborhood that is pretty quiet on the weekends. If you are not so lucky, you could easily execute a fun scavenger hunt at a local park or other places of play. Just use your imagination! Of course, always stay with the kids and make sure that safety rules are being followed.
I got on the computer and quickly typed up about 10-12 clues. I wanted to stretch their minds and make the treasure hunt a little challenging. You can get creative and make it all rhyme, but I am more of a spontaneous mom and we were losing daylight. I printed out the clues, grabbed some scissors and tape, and of course…the treasure and treasure box! (Whic was just an old aluminum pencil box…it really doesn’t have to be fancy!)
I printed two sheets of clues because it’s easy to get lost and forget where you are if you do not have another sheet to go by! Believe me, I have learned this the hard way!
The first clue I stick in my pocket because I always hand the boys the first clue to start them off on their adventure. While they waited with Daddy inside, he made sure that they did not peek and spoil the surprise! I hid a few clues in our yard, then hopped in the car and drove to places down the road that we would walk to later!
This was the hardest clue for them to find…taped to a rock!
We have so many memories from our neighborhood, that clues are pretty easy to write. The clue for this one was: “Where D practices his American Ninja skills” because he loves to do that so much!
I even taped a clue where we had sat at the last high school football game!
After all the clues were hidden, it was time to hide the treasure!
I knew that the boys would need to refuel after their treasure hunt, because they would have worked really hard! I packed the treasure box with CLIF Kid Zbars® and had reminded myself to grab some ice cold water, too. I chose CLIF Kid Zbars because they are made with organic ingredients, important nutrients for active kids, and contain no high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, or synthetic preservatives.
The boys were ready to go when I got home and eager to find the first clue. I handed it to them, reminded them to work together, and they began their treasure hunt.
They had to discuss the clue and come up with a plan. A light bulb went off and they ran to the front yard.
They knew the general location, but had a bit of trouble finding the clue on the tire swing!
Soon they got in the scavenger hunt groove and were moving right along! Good thing, too, because the sun was about to set! I love how they are always up for the challenge and hurry when necessary!
He climbed to find the clue on the rock climbing wall!
The fun thing about small pieces of paper is that they are more of a challenge to find!
Pretty soon, they had found all of the clues. I made the last clue a bit trickier since it was the FINAL clue that led them to the treasure!!
They found it!!!
I was right…they WERE hungry and needed a cold drink and a good, nutritional snack like CLIF Zbars!
They each picked a bar in their favorite flavor and sat while they ate their snack!
And in true little boy fashion, used up every minute of sunlight to play some more after their refuel!
What does your family like to do to stay active? Check out my geocaching with kids post, too!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.