November 05, 2011

Saturday Fluff: DIY Outdoor Scavenger Hunt

I wish I knew how to take
pretty pictures!
Eddie turned six last month. He decided on a nature theme for his birthday party. One of the biggest hits, as an activity and as a party favor, was a little set of scavenger hunt cards to use outdoors.

Years ago I saw something similar on Etsy and thought it was a great idea. Alas, that Etsy vendor is no longer selling, so I used her set as a starting point to create my own. They weren't as pretty as hers, but the kids didn't know.

The kids had so much fun with them that I thought they might be worth sharing. There are 32 cards (31 items to find + a cover card) with illustrations to help the pre-readers. All of the items are things you could find fairly easily in a park, yard, or even grassy landscaped area outside of a building around here. Keep them in your bag or car and you always have an outdoor game on hand. Bam--you're a super parent! Heh.

Here is how to make your own set:
  1. Print the PDF copy of the cards. I used heavy card stock.
  2. Cut each sheet into individual cards. There are small grey lines to use as guides.
  3. If you'd like to laminate them or round the corners, this is the time to do it.
  4. Punch holes at the top and stack.
  5. Bind them however you choose. I used ribbon looped around a large wooden bead so they could be taken apart easily.
If you don't want the trouble of putting together the whole set, there's also a simple one-sheet version (download here).

I put these together late at night in the middle of much party prep, so go easy on pointing out the flaws. If you have fun with them, I'd love to hear. Enjoy!

2 comments:

Andy said...

You rock!! What a great idea. Liam also enjoyed photo scavenger hunts, where he had to take pictures of items.

Heather said...

@Andy - Thanks! A photo hunt is a fun idea, too. I remember doing those back with Polaroid cameras back in the olden days. :)

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