Printables

Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt for Kids Free Printable

Nothing gets the blood pumping like a good scavenger hunt competition! If you are looking for ways to get your kids off screens and running around the neighborhood with friends, you are going to love this Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt printable. Print, play, and conquer!

Whether you just moved to the neighborhood and want your kids to make friends or you’re hosting the annual block party, set aside time for this scavenger hunt. Form teams, tell everyone the rules, and watch the fun (and maybe a little chaos) commence. Here’s how to play.

How to do a Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt

Supplies

Copies of the printable scavenger hunt
Dry Erase Markers
Camera

Instructions

Give each team a copy of the printable, a dry erase marker, and a camera of some sort.
Since this is a photo scavenger hunt, the goal is to take a picture of each of the items on the list as evidence before checking it off. These photos will make such fun scrapbook images later!
The game ends when the first team gets a picture of every item on the list OR at a designated time to meet back at a central location and assess. If neither of the teams finish, the team(s) with the most pictures wins.

The items included in this scavenger hunt are the following:

Sign
Shadow
Circle
Garbage
Animal
Person
Emotion
Tree
Fence
Sky
House
Feet
Dancing
Garden
Strong
Cartwheel

The Benefits of a Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt

Whether you play this game with all the neighbor kids or within your own family, you will have so much fun. Be sure to culminate the game with a special treat like ice cream sandwiches to make it even more memorable. But, it’s not just fun and games. So many excellent skills are being built as your kids play scavenger hunt games. Here are just a few of those skills.

Critical Thinking. In a photo scavenger hunt like this one, there is room for interpretation and some of the items on the list are pretty open ended. What does it mean by “shadow”? The picture taken does not have to exactly match the image on the page. Kids have to think through the intent of the game and figure out how to get an acceptable match.

Observation. Once kids have completed the neighborhood scavenger hunt once, they will forever be on the lookout for circles in the neighborhood. Everywhere you go, they will be looking for items on this list. Its such a fun lesson on observing the world around you, and an excellent skill to have.

Teamwork. Forming teams with a variety of ages and abilities can foster deeper bonds and challenge kids to learn to work together with others for a common goal. This is a valuable life skill since working on teams is a central part of many different careers. This practice is incredible training for life.

Photography. Hand over a kid-friendly camera or even a phone camera to the kids and expect them to take recognizable photos in order to win the game. You can even coach them ahead of time about framing the subject and checking the lighting and focus. Again, this is great practice even if the results are less than stellar the first time or two.

Tips for an Incredible Scavenger Hunt Experience

Laminate. My number one tip for these printable scavenger hunt is to laminate the copies. By laminating color copies you prevent accidents like someone’s paper getting torn or ruined by sudden rain. It will also allow you to use the game over and over.

Get dry erase markers or crayons. If you can find them, the dry erase crayons are much harder to accidentally wipe off than the markers.

Assign a parent to each team. Have an adult or older teen go along so that they can help kids work through harder questions like “What does strong mean? How could we represent that in a photo around the neighborhood?” This will help prevent gridlock.

Use a child-friendly camera. This puts more of the fun and responsibility in the hands of the kids and gives them an important task. Kids will step up to the plate so beautifully when we empower them with tools and gentle expectations.

Capture scrapbook worthy photos. To make this event something you will look back on for years and smile, you can make a rule that every photo has to contain a member of the team. Photos with our people in them are so precious!

Grab your free printable Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt here:

Be sure to check out our other scavenger hunts.

Camping Scavenger Hunt Free Printable

By Sharla Kostelyk

Camping with children is fun, entertaining, and terrifying all at once. On the one hand, we want them to have all of the experiences of camping – from weird toilets to friends at the camp playground. On the other hand, we want to protect them from all the hazards – from snakes in the woods to creeps on the trail. And in the midst of it all, we want everyone to be one big, happy family of happy campers. One of the ways to keep the camping experience happy for everyone is to make sure you have a range of activities on hand to choose from. Our Camping Scavenger Hunt printable is an easy and fun activity to take along on your next camping trip.

You can make this a raucous game and burn off energy by choosing teams for competition, sending everyone out in droves across the campgrounds, and awarding prizes at the end. Keep it in the family, or join up with other friends for the fun. If you’re looking for even more fun, be sure to try our Camping Minute to Win It Games.

Camping Scavenger Hunt Ideas

The beauty of a printable scavenger hunt with both words and pictures is that it works for all ages. You can get everyone involved from the smallest to the tallest. Little kids can look for the pictured items and circle them or check the boxes. Older kids can practice reading skills as they complete the hunt. Tweens and teens can practice critical thinking skills, observation skills, and teamwork. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.

This list includes a variety of things your kids will commonly find around a campsite. We have so many different scavenger hunts available though! Be sure to check out our Road Trip Scavenger Hunt, or purchase our Scavenger Hunt Bundle for lots of choices. to have on hand. I recommend printing several copies of each scavenger hunt in full color and laminating them to keep them nice and re-useable. Then purchase dry-erase markers to keep with each set.

If you are looking for a fun gift idea, laminate these and add markers as I described, then make a fun Camping Basket gift with S’mores ingredients, roasting sticks, bug spray, a picnic blanket, fire starters, and our Camping Minute To Win It Game!

Our Camping Scavenger Hunt list includes sixteen simple-to-find items including:

Animal
Marshmallow
Tent
Campfire
Cooler
Bird
Firewood
Insect
Pinecone
Picnic
Wildflower
Fungus
Sky
Leaf
Backpack
Roasted Item

Learning with the Camping Scavenger Hunt

As I mentioned earlier, kids can work on lots of different skills while they are completing a scavenger hunt. Not only will you be giving them a fun activity, you’ll be stretching their learning muscles at the same time. Here are some of the things they are learning.

Observation Skills. Kids will have to slow down and look around to find a bird at your campsite, especially if they have been noisy. They will have to adapt and get quiet! Finding a fungus might prove to be a challenge and will your kids becoming sleuths. They might even have to look up where fungi like to grow! What a fun chance to get your kids to actually look at the world around you.

Teamwork. Build your teams with a variety of ages and you’ve instantly created a fun lesson in teamwork. Adults can coach the team through any relational issues that come up and the teammates will work together towards a common goal. Learning through play is so powerful.

Memory Work. The more the team members can remember from the list, the more quickly they will be able to work. Encourage the teams to work in batches, looking for three or four items at a time before returning to the list to cross things off and remind themselves what to look for next.

Critical Thinking. Young students can practice reading the simple words we have included in the scavenger hunt, and can turn on their critical thinking skills to ponder where an item is most likely to be found.

How to Play A Camping Scavenger Hunt Game

Participation. You can either split your family or group into teams or have everyone participate individually.

Game End. The game can end at a specific time (5:00p.m. EST), after a certain length of time (twenty minutes), or whenever the first person or team finds all of the items. If you want to set a specific time to meet back at a central location, that allows everyone to regroup and determine the winner. The team leaders can all set a timer on their phones to give players a specific length of time such as thirty minutes. If you want to work until someone completes everything on the list, have some way to signal each other.

Completion. You might find it fun to require picture proof for each item on the checklist. Its also fine to take each person at their word. You decide! Scoring is as simple as one point per item, or first person to complete everything on the checklist.

Prizes. I recommend finding something simple and fun for everyone to enjoy after the scavenger hunt, like ice cream bars you’ve kept hidden in a cooler, or lollipops.

Camping Scavenger Hunt

Supplies Needed:

Printable scavenger hunt for each child
Laminator or page protector
Dry erase markers

Instructions:

Print out one scavenger hunt sheet for each child or team who will be at the campsite. Get your copy here.
Laminate each page or put each piece of paper in a plastic page protector so it can be used more than once.
Pass out dry erase markers to each child or team leader.
Arrange a time when everyone will complete the scavenger hunt. In order to keep from disturbing other campers, you should probably compete before dark. When someone finds something on their page, they can place an X or checkmark in the box next to it or circle the picture.
The first person or team to mark off everything on their list wins.
If no one is able to finish their list by the time you designate, the person or team with the most checkmarks on their page is the winner.

January Emotions Printables

By Sharla Kostelyk

These adorable snowman themed January emotions printables can be a great tool in helping kids identify and talk about their feelings.

January Copywork Emotions Sentences:

Kids need to develop a solid understanding of emotions and to learn how to effectively express their own. These January emotions printing practise worksheets allow kids to practise their printing while also normalizing talking about emotions.

These copywork pages allow students to explore their feelings and discuss them with a trusted adult.

Supplies needed:

January Emotions printables
pencil or pen OR
plastic sleeve AND dry erase marker

Download the printable pages. If you want them to be reusable, laminate the pages or slip them into a plastic page protector. Kids can then use a dry erase marker to complete their tracing and writing.

For one time use, give the student a pencil, crayons, coloured pencils, or markers and the printed papers.

Instructions for the student:

Read the sentence.
Fill in the outline.
Trace the dotted words.
Write the sentence on the lines provided.
Discuss the different emotions.

These worksheets can be the jumping off point for a discussion with the whole class or one-on-one talk about different emotions. They can be used by teachers, homeschoolers, parents, or therapists.

January Feelings Log:

Keeping a daily log of feelings helps kids to look at their emotions and track any patterns they see emerging when looking back through each week. This can provide a lot of insight.

Doing this quick daily exercise is an easy way to help kids to talk about their feelings and get to the root of why they might be feeling the way they are. Doing this at the same time each day can develop a positive habit.

It can be a precursor for kids to have a journalling habit in later years.

For some kids, it may be most helpful to do this in the morning to then be able to adjust activities or expectations based on how they are feeling or it may be best to do after supper or before bed to reflect on the day.

Teaching emotions is such a powerful tool. It arms children with a skill that will serve them well for the rest of their life.

I’ve created a special Feelings Log for January. It includes a writing prompt and drawing prompt about winter, and weekly tracking sheet of “Today I feel” along with adorable snowman faces to use to help them better express their emotions.

Supplies needed:

printed Feelings Log pages (download here)
scissors
markers, pencil crayons, or crayons
pencil or pen

Enter your email below to download the free January Emotions Printables. You can use this with your child at home or print it off to use with your students in the classroom.

Our other monthly emotions printables:

Fall Bucket List

By Sharla Kostelyk

Fall is by far my favourite season. The beautiful colours, the crisp air, and anticipation of change to come.

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” ~ LM Mongomery from the book Anne of Green Gables

For years, I’ve created Summer Bucket Lists for the kids, but only recently realized I should create a fall one too. There are so many seasonal activities that can be done in these gorgeous months.

I chose activities for this list that were a good mix of things you can do at home and things to do in your community. I also tried to incorporate the use of as many of the senses as I could.

This fall, get the whole family engaged in the season!

Fall Bucket List Ideas:

Visit a local farm.
Go apple picking.
Smell pumpkin spice.
Jump in the leaves.
Drink apple cider.
Roast pumpkin seeds.
Make leaf rubbings.
Bake something with apples.
Have a family board game night.
Go for an outdoor scavenger hunt.
Challenge a corn maze.
Visit a fall festival.
Make fall leaves slime.
Go for a crisp walk outside.
Make a toilet paper bird feeder.
Carve pumpkins.
Eat candy corn.
Bake a homemade pie.
Watch a football game.
Go on a fall picnic.
Eat a candy apple.
Paint with pumpkin puffy paint.
Cuddle under a blanket.
Play with a sensory bin.
Explore pumpkin pie scented moon dough.
Bake pumpkin muffins.
Bake sugar cookies with maple icing.
Go on a hayride.
Host an apple bobbing.
Create a fall sensory bag.

Download your free fall bucket list today simply by entering your email address below.
Our other seasonal bucket lists:

My Fall Feelings Mini Book

By Sharla Kostelyk

This fall feelings mini book allows children the chance to process their thoughts and feelings about different events that happen in the autumn. When kids practise talking and writing about their emotions, they are better able to manage them in a healthy way.

The pages include some common autumn scenarios such as raking leaves, going to the pumpkin patch, and playing in the leaves.

It also gives students the chance to express what they like about fall and what they don’t like about fall. For some students, it may be easy to think of things they like about winter and they may need some prompting. For others, it may be their favourite season and they may need help to come up with things they don’t like!

My Fall Feelings Mini Book:

Supplies needed:

My Fall Feelings mini book printable pages. (download here)
scissors
pencil or pen
markers, crayons, or pencil crayons
stapler and staples

Instructions:

Download the My Fall Feelings mini book.
Print out the pages.
Cut apart the booklet pages.
Let your student decide how he or she feels about each fall activity and draw the corresponding face on the child on that page. Your student can use the Emotions Word Bank for ideas (for words to use and for faces to draw).
When your student has completed the book, stack the pages together with the cover on top and staple on the left side to create a little keepsake book.

After your child or student has filled out their booklet, it’s a great time to sit down with them and debrief. If there are some seasonal scenarios that seem to have potential to cause them some distress, together you can brainstorm ways they can better manage those feelings if they arise.

Download your free printable mini book for kids and be signed up for our sensory solutions and activities emails.

Mini books for other seasons:

Other free emotions printables that are perfect for fall:

Indoor Photo Scavenger Hunt

By Sharla Kostelyk

Coming up with fun ways to keep your kids entertained while you’re stuck inside is the best way to keep them off their screens. And when I’m looking for a way for my kids to have fun on a rainy day, there’s nothing better than a scavenger hunt. Instead of printing out a traditional scavenger hunt to entertain your kids the next time they’re stuck indoors, try doing an indoor photo scavenger hunt instead. This fun game is perfect for keeping your kids occupied on a hot summer day.

Indoor Photo Scavenger Hunt

Supplies Needed:

Printable scavenger hunt sheet
Camera or cell phone

How to Play:

Print out the scavenger hunt sheet and give it to your kids.
Ask your child to use a camera or cell phone to take pictures of the things around the house that represent each of the words on the list.
Place a check mark next to the item after it is found.

How Do You Do an Indoor Scavenger Hunt?

Creating an indoor scavenger hunt is as easy as setting up a hunt outdoors. Since each of the items on the printable list are open-ended, your kids shouldn’t have an issue finding something to match everything on the printable. The printable indoor scavenger hunt for kids includes 16 clues:

Noisy
Bumpy
Squishy
Delicious
Garbage
New
Beautiful
Loved
Light
Old
Precious
Build
Sock
Piece
Writing
Button

As your children search around the house to find matches for each item, they’ll need to think about different things that could match the descriptive words. If you think your kids might have a hard time coming up with something to take a photo of, it might be a good idea to come up with some suggestions for them. Or set out items that match the words in plain sight so they can be found more easily as your kids are searching.When your child finds an item that matches the word, they can take a picture of the item and place a check mark in the box next to it. After the scavenger hunt is over, you can sit down with your kids and look at all the photos they’ve taken. Let them explain why they chose the item in each photo and how it matches the word on the list.

As your kids play this fun game, you’ll notice that they get to practice a variety of skills. Scavenger hunts are a great way for your kids to hone their:

Creative thinking skills. The open-ended clues on this printable scavenger hunt are perfect for encouraging your kids to think creatively. And if you have more than one kid doing the hunt at the same time, you’ll get to compare their answers to see how creative each child can get. It’s fun to see the different perspectives each player has on the clues provided to them.
Observation skills. Since this scavenger hunt will take place in the house, it’s likely that your kids are pretty familiar with their surroundings. That allows them to use their observation skills to match items they know are in their home to the clues on the list. Before the scavenger hunt starts, let your kids look over the list and come up with some ideas for each picture. This will allow them to think critically about each clue and give them time to come up with a create picture idea for each item on the list.
Photography skills. Taking pictures isn’t just a fun way to play the game, it’s also a great skill for your child to learn. From making sure the item they want to photograph is in the frame to figuring out which buttons to press, there are several aspects of picture taking your kids will need to learn. These basic skills can help them develop their photography as they grow, which may even lead to a new creative hobby down the road.

Tips for a Fun Indoor Photo Scavenger Hunt

This simple game can be played just about any time and without much prep work. But to help the game run more smoothly, try some of these simple scavenger hunt tips:

Laminate the sheets. With the help of a laminator, you can use your scavenger hunt worksheets over and over again. Run the printable sheets through the laminator, then let your kids use dry erase markers to check the boxes as they find each item. If you don’t have a laminator, try using plastic sheet protectors to hold the worksheets instead. Your kids can check the boxes using dry erase markers on the plastic page protector instead of on the paper itself.
Use child-friendly cameras. If you’re not comfortable letting your child use your phone or camera to take photos, consider investing in a child-friendly camera. These kid-safe cameras typically feature a hard case that’s durable enough to withstand drops without breaking.

Grab your free printable indoor photo scavenger hunt checklist. Just enter your email below.

Check out some of our other fun family scavenger hunts: