Indoor Scavenger Hunts
So it’s raining outside on a summer day, and the kids are all at home. What to do? Answer: Have an indoor scavenger hunt.
You don’t need a huge house to pull this off, either. There are plenty of very small spaces that you can hide clues: in a book, in the bed sheets, in shelves, etc. Of course, the more space the better, but don’t think you can’t have fun just because you don’t live in a mansion.
Start off as usual by secretly going around the house and adding clues. Don’t let the kids see you or let them know what you’re doing, of course. The more clues the better, as we want to keep them entertained as long as they want to have fun with this.
If you have a couple older kids who want to get involved (let’s say 12 to 13-year-old girls), here’s a fun idea: hide some of the clues in the “scary” basement. There’s a chance they’ll be brave enough to go in the spider area. And if they’re not, your younger son(s) may just save the day by not caring about the spider webs. And they’ll feel heroic by doing it!
Another neat angle on this – and a way to show your kids that you actually do pay attention to their lives – can be to hide a clue or two in their favorite book. The ultimate thing would be if they’ve read a book of yours that they love – that you’ve already read – and to pencil in a clue at a certain part of the story. All they have to do is remember when a certain character did something, open the page, and there’s the clue! (And you can easily erase the clue later.)
Of course, there are a zillion other creative ways to make an indoor scavenger hunt interesting, and that’s up to you!
