Treasure Hunts

When I was a child, during the summer, we would be home each day with a babysitter. I have to give them a lot of credit, they did a good job keeping us entertained each day. One of my favorite activities from my childhood summers were treasure hunts.

The way that we do treasure hunts is as follows:

Write out each clue. We keep ours pretty vague - only providing enough detail that with some thinking the child could figure out where the next clue was. After all, your goal is to fill the time with the activity. Make the clues too simple and they will be done in no time.

Distribute the clues. Place each clue at the location before. You can leave a small treat at the clue to keep them going.

At the final location, leave the treasure. Want your treasure to be something that you can't leave at that location - leave a picture - whether of an ice cream cone or of the local park. The treasure is yours to decide and can vary every time.

Hand the children the clue to find the first location and let them go.

You can decide how long you want the hunt to be by the number of locations that you have along your path. Treasure hunts can be done all inside on rainy days or inside and outside on a sunny day. The best part is that each hunt is different and can provide hours of entertainment to an otherwise bored brood.

For more boredom busters, check out Works For Me Wednesday Mom "I'm Bored" Summer Editionat We Are THAT Family.