Crafty Scavenger Hunt for Kids (with FREE Printable)
Who doesn’t love a good scavenger hunt. This simple and fun activity is a great way to keep kids occupied and away from screens for quite awhile. And this particular scavenger hunt starts with the hunt and ends with creating together. All of the items to find are craft supplies. So, once they are gathered, you will have everything that you need to make a craft!
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The Benefits of Scavenger Hunts
There are so many benefits to having kids participate in a scavenger hunt, and this crafty version adds even more positives. First of all, they will get away from screens, which is ALWAYS a good thing. We all know how much time kids tend to spend on screens. And even though there are good things about screen time, it can definitely get to be too much of a good thing.
Scavenger hunts are perfect for helping a child practice problem solving in a fun and interactive way…no worksheets here. They have to decide where to look first and then to reassess and find a solution…and all while having fun.
So many other skills are also promoted, like gross motor skills, fine motor skills, communication skills, attention span, sensory processing and so much more. In this scavenger hunt, when you get to the end you will have a collection of craft supplies to make something with. That means that your kiddo will also get to put their imaginations to work too.
How to plan your crafty scavenger hunt
Step 1: Choose a location
The first thing that you will need to do is decide whether your scavenger hunt is going to be inside or outside. For this list, you can choose either. To keep the items safe while they are being searched out, put them in ziploc bags to protect them, especially if you are doing the hunt outside.
If you have several kids doing the hunting, you may want to divide the area in sections so that they each have their own items to find. Or you can choose to let them help each other find everything on the list. There are pros and cons to each approach. Just be sure to hide enough of the items so that they can all enjoy creating together once they’ve collecting the supplies.
Step 2: Hide the objects
Next you will hide the items that are on the list. These are all things that you have in your kids’ craft bag if you’ve used our master list of supplies to plan for crafting. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Glue stick
- Scissors
- Paper plate
- Pencil
- Hole punch
- Paper lunch bag
- Markers
- Construction paper
- Pompoms
- Washi tape
- Pipe cleaners
- Cotton balls
Hide the craft supplies in your chosen area, after placing each item in ziploc bags if needed.
Step 3: Let the hunt begin
Now that that scavenger hunt is set up, print out enough checklists for each child and pass them out. Also give them something to use to cross things off the list. It’s time to start looking for the items. You may also want to give each child something to hold their found items in, like a basket or bag.
Step 4: Craft away
Find a place to craft together either inside or outside. Place all of the found items out on the table and brainstorm some things that you can make together. If you need some ideas to start, browse through inthebagkidscrafts.com. Though, in this case I feel that it’s best to let the kids come up with their own ideas and encourage freedom in creativity. There is no wrong thing to make.
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