Pirate Treasure Hunts Will Entertain Children for Hours

I have babysat a lot of kids, and I have been a nanny for three years. The best way to success and to have more fun for you and the kids is to plan ahead. Take time to plan and get activities ready before the baby sitting job starts. One of my most successful activities is a treasure hunt. It is a good activity that you can do with children of all ages.

Start by making the map. Take a blank sheet of paper and draw the item or location of the starting point. Then draw dotted lines on the map to the next point. You can draw as many or few locations as you want. If you do not like to draw you can use clipart from the Internet or pictures from magazines work too. If children can read write the location out (bathroom, kitchen, sink, bed) to help practice their reading skills. For smaller children pictures work well.

If you have been to the house before and know the location of items I like to do things that are spaced out, going up stairs and down so this activity provides exercise for you and the children. If you have never been to the house use basic items like table, bathroom, telephone, chair, bed, TV. If you get there and find they do not have the item you can cross it out and just go on to the next item. Let the children show you where the items are as you play the game.

At the end of the map at the last item add an X to mark the spot. Use a location where something can be hidden like under a bed, behind a couch or in a toy box. When picking locations try to stay within the main rooms like kitchen, dining room, family room, child's bed room, maybe the bathroom, because most parents wouldn't like the game to extend to their private bedroom, or other private rooms.

Other places you could play the game could be at a park using locations like the slide, swings, and tree.

After making the map, get the treasure box ready. For the box you can use a Tupperware box or pretty much anything, just make sure it is not too big so it is easier to hide. For the treasure I like to use small toys, toys from Happy Meals, or you can purchase small carnival toys (bracelets, pencils, bouncy balls) at party stores like Zurcher's and Party City for around ten cents apiece.

For less money you can get stickers. You can collect free stickers from stores that give them out like Payless Shoes or the Children's Place. Quarter vending machines have cute things too.

I don't recommend candy because the parents might not approve, but things like fruit snacks, Capri Suns, small boxes of raisins or crackers and cheese are a better choice than things with lots of sugar. After collecting a variety of items I fill the box up and when the children find the treasure I let them pick out one. Some times I will play the game 3 or 4 times.

Kids like to dress up. Dress them like pirates and sing the Disney pirate's song "Yo ho, a pirate's life for me" with them and teach them to say words like "argh" and "shiver me timbers".

Another version of the game is to draw each image on a separate piece of paper and then tape or place the paper at each location so when the child goes to the fridge they will find a picture of a bed. Then at the bed they will find a picture of a couch and so on until the last location where the treasure is hidden.

Playing this game is a lot of fun and may get you invited back as the "fun babysitter" as I was.