Here at Love Outdoor Learning we love a scavenger hunt. They can be used with any age group and can really help children learn in their local environment, whether this be a woodland or playground. Here are a few quick and simple hunts children can enjoy
Colours
Nature is amazing with so many colours, especially at this time of year! Can children find a natural item for each colour of the rainbow? How many shades of each colour can they find? Often, we find children will automatically state that colours like blue or purple do not exist in nature. When they find it, they get a real wow moment!
Books
We enjoy linking stories to activities with our Fledglings Stories groups. Can older children in your school devise a scavenger hunt for younger children? If it was the Gruffalo maybe children can find something which represents each of his characteristics, something knobbly for his knees, prickly like his back or sharp like his terrible teeth. A sensory hunt is great for children of all ages. It encourages them to look with more than just their eyes!
Seasonal
A great way to learn the seasons is seasonal scavenger hunts. Nature Detectives have lots of these and they are high quality, free resources https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/naturedetectives/ I have set these as homework tasks in the past and children loved them!
Literacy
How many letters or words can children find in their environment, what do they say, where are they, what signs do the children think are needed? As my driving instructor always said, if people are going to spend money on a sign there is something we need to know. But do we really encourage children to observe their environmental print?
Shapes
How many 2D shapes or 3D objects can a child find in their environment. Can they name them? Draw them? I also love how many different triangles can you find. So often children imagine a triangle as the traditional shape of an equilateral triangle only, that they can ignore others. This is a great way to open up a maths lesson!
What scavenger hunts do you enjoy?
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