Simple Indoor Fun with Kids Hunting for Treasure!

It is often difficult for some parents to find extra time to do things with their children on days when the weather does not allow for outdoor activities. One hour worth of your time can enable you to not only give your youngsters something fun to do but it can also engage your child's capacity to learn reasoning skills, problem solving skills and give them something special to look forward to.

A simple, yet fun, event for children to participate in indoors is a treasure hunt.

I suggest that you take at least one hour to create clues for your children to follow but if you can put more thought into it you can make it even more enjoyable. The more clues you leave a child for a treasure hunt will add excitement and enthusiasm. The individual likes of each child participating should be considered as you "plot" your strategy and you could keep your children happily entertained for hours.

A good example of keeping individual favorites in mind would be that if your child enjoys baseball you would theme the hunt around things related to baseball. If Hello Kitty was what your child favors you would theme the hunt for them around that.

I would suggest a shopping trip to find at least four (4) items related to your child's interests. The items do not have to be expensive or huge, just make sure that you begin small and increase in worth (to your child).

Using the baseball theme as an example again, perhaps your child really wants a baseball glove. The baseball glove would be the big prize to find at the very end of the treasure hunt. You can find as many smaller things as you would like to be found before the glove. Maybe you could start with a clue that had to do with baseball cards. The first clue would lead your child to baseball cards and another clue that could lead them to something else...like a bat or something else that pertains to baseball. The final clue would lead straight to the glove and a congratulations for solving the mystery of the treasure hunt.

Clues need to be age appropriate, of course, and each new clue should be a little more difficult than the one before. A moderate amount of thought needs to be put into where to hide clues and what the clues should say. If finding the clues is too simple your child would find them too quickly. If the clues are too difficult they could give up out of frustration.

Some people do not see how a parent sponsored treasure hunt can relate to bonding with children. Simply put, when you make time, even a small amount of time, to construct the treasure hunt, you give your children attention. You can sit on the couch reading a book and still be sharing time with your child with every clue they find and every prize that goes with the clues. It is something they can look forward to, get excited about and tell their friends about. My children would tell their friends and the parents would call to ask me how to do it for their kids.

If your child likes art you could use anything from crayons, sketch pads, colored pencils, an easel, watercolors and brushes or any number of art supplies. If you child likes cars or trucks you could use anything from toy cars/trucks to model cars/trucks to remote controlled vehicles. The concept is quite simple as long as you remember to make each prize a little bigger than the last.

I have never met a parent that did not find joy in watching their youngsters find what has been set out in a treasure hunt. We all enjoy watching our children have fun and the time used to plan the event can be a small amount or an elaborate event, depending on the time you decide to expend. There is also a feeling of satisfaction when you see your children having fun while doing something that you planned for them.

The idea of treasure hunts have been around for generations dating back hundreds of years and can be not only an event to occupy the kids but a bonding experience between kids and parents.

Have fun and good luck!