Outdoor Activities
Nature Treasure Hunt
This activity is perfect for Sunday afternoon walks or for when your little one has friends over to play. One of the aims of the activity is to help your child to understand that we should all protect the environment. For that reason the treasure hunt is based around looking at things rather than collecting them.
Step 1.
First sit down with your child and go through some old magazines or newspapers. Ask them to help you cut out things that they might see in the garden or on a walk. Select one picture of each animal or plant. Aim to cut out about 20 images. Here are some ideas:
| Tree | Acorn | Bee |
| Leaf | Bird | Squirrel |
| Worm | Cat | Conker |
| Ant | Flower | Beetle |
| Rabbit | Dog | Snail |
| Caterpillar | Butterfly | Slug |
| Moss | Deer |
Step 2.
Get some sheets of A4 paper, glue the images on the left hand side and draw in a large box opposite each image on the right hand side. Next, get a clipboard or make one out of a piece of cardboard (e.g. cereal box) and a bull dog clip.
Step 3.
Show your child how to put a tick or cross in the box and ask them to mark which 'treasures' they see on their walk. For tiny tots, ask them to put a sticker (e.g. star) opposite each image that they see.
Tips
- To re-use the sheets, cut out the strip of images and glue it to another sheet of paper.
- If you are going abroad, why not help your child to tear out holiday images on the plane and then have a holiday treasure hunt when you get to your destination.
