Community Voices for Health

By: Robin Ruerhwein

My kids got out of school recently and one of our favorite things to do to keep busy is to have scavenger hunts. One of the things that I love about scavenger hunts, is that you can have them anywhere: your house, your yard, the park, the grocery store – you name it and you can do it. My kids get such a kick out of it and even better, they’re FREE!

Before I start the hunt, I make up a list and hand it to the kids. Even though my three year old can’t read yet, he likes to hold his own list, so I give a copy of the list to each of them. I usually pick about ten items for them to find and let them have at it. Here is a list of things I would typically put on a list of things to find around our yard:

• Something green
• A pinecone
• Find a piece of trash on the ground & put it in the trash and once you do have me (or another adult) sign your list.
• A small rock
• A shovel
• A stick longer than a foot
• Do ten jumping jacks and have me (or another adult) put a star on your list.
• Something soft
• Three leaves
• Something you can recycle

The ideas are literally endless and believe me, it’s a blast to do with the kids.