Winter 2015 Health Link Online

HealthLink Online

Uniting Children, Parents, Caregivers, and Health Professionals

Winter Scavenger Hunt

Winter Scavenger Hunt

Use a scavenger hunt to foster physical activity while teaching science, math and language in outdoor or indoor play spaces. It is a good activity when the outdoor equipment is too wet or too cold to use safely. Adapt the tasks for the setting and for the age of the children. For example, give toddlers one thing at a time to find on the other side of the play space. Give preschool age children magazine photos of the type of object you want them to find.

Have school age children form teams to find objects on a written list or complete a hopscotch that adds up to a specific sum. Ask children to find a specific object or something  that is a certain color, is soft, is hard or shiny. For all ages, talk about the properties of the objects and how many of them there are.

Adapted from the website of the National Association for the Education of Young Children at http://families.naeyc.org/learning-and-development/music-math-more/10-ideas-get-you-and-your-child-exploring-outdoors.