Free Scavenger Hunt Printables for Kids

If you've ever taken your kids on a road trip, you know the old jokes about kids asking "Are we there yet?" is more than a silly cliché. Truth is, it takes a lot to keep kids entertained on a road trip. Even with IPods and laptops and other forms today's newest technologies, it can be more exhausting to keep your kids entertained than to watch the road for hours on end. If you have not already discovered the world of free printables, you may want to type in the words "free kid's printables" at your favorite search engine, and check out the plethora of materials the free printables websites provide. Most of the free kids printables tend to center around coloring pages, mazes, crossword puzzles, Sudoku and worksheets. All of these are great for kids. Coloring keeps younger kids entertained for hours, and crossword puzzles and Sudoku will cleverly trick older kids into giving their brains a workout while they're on vacation. However, kids will eventually tire of these free printables, and eventually, you will need some new ideas.

Have you ever thought of having the kids do a scavenger hunt while on a car trip? You'd be surprised how long a scavenger hunt can keep kids entertained, especially if they're competing against each other. This is also a great option if you are driving through some especially scenic areas, where you feel that it is a shame for the kids to have their heads buried in other varieties of free printables, such as coloring pages and worksheets. There are many websites that feature free scavenger hunt printables. A few of my favorite free scavenger hunt printables are listed below.

Mom's Minivan: www.momsminivan.com

This is an excellent site to help parents prepare their kids for upcoming road trips. In addition to a multitude of free kid's printables, the site features many helpful hints for traveling with children. The website features two free scavenger hunt printables. The first scavenger hunt printable is designed for younger children and features easy to find items such as stop signs, buses and gas station. The other scavenger hunt printable is perfect for older children and teenagers. This scavenger hunt printable includes separate lists to use in the city, the suburbs and in rural areas. These lists include items such as a silo, Wal-Mart and a license plate with the letter "Q."

Scavenger Hunts For Kids: http://www.scavengerhuntsforkids.com/

This is an excellent site for finding free scavenger hunt printables. Not only can you print off scavenger hunt printables to use in the car, there are also treasure hunt printables that will keep your kids busy once you reach your destination. The website features scavenger hunt printables split up into the following categories: inside hunts, outside hunts, Holiday hunts, travel games, educational hunts, school games and reading games. The site also provides instructions for using scavenger hunt printables.

Disney Family Fun: http://familyfun.go.com/vacations/

One of the free scavenger hunt printables at this website is meant for plane trips, which, as you already know, are equally difficult to keep kids controlled on as car trips. This scavenger hunt printable includes interesting items such as: person with hair that is two different colors, father holding a baby, someone speaking in a foreign language.

The website features an equally entertaining scavenger hunt printable to use in the car. It includes: Car with big dice hanging from the rearview mirror, a truck pulling two trailers, a bird of prey among other interesting things to find.

If you don't feel like using computer paper for a scavenger hunt printable, you can always make your own. All you really need to do is think of a list items that are commonly (or not so commonly) passed during car trips. Examples include: barns, water towers, horses, limousines, garbage trucks, bus stops, swimming pools, etc.

Whether you decide to use a scavenger hunt printable found online, or make up your own, your kids will surely appreciate the entertainment the scavenger hunt will provide.