Ingredients

• Treats - the number and type of dependant upon the type of treasure hunt, and age and numbers of children participating.
• Clues - Only necessary for older children, and can be written as a list of clues you hand out that they read with you, or maybe preprinted photos you look at together.

Description

This is a good alternative to hide and seek. Ask your grandchild to leave the room and then hide a small treat or object which represents the “treasure”. Your grandchild must now seek out the treasure. You can provide clues as to how close they are by describing their position as “warm”, “warmer”, “hot” and “very hot” .If they are moving further from the treasure you can describe their position in terms of “cold”, “getting colder” and “freezing”. Turns can be taken to hide the treasure if you have more than one grandchild with you.

Of course, the game can be adjusted according to the age and ability of the grandchild, and also dependant upon how much time you have to prepare. For instance if your grandchildren are a little older you could make it an outdoor game in your garden or local park. You could prepare some clues of known items such as the shed or noticeable tree where the next clue can be found. You could then make the last clue the treat. If your grandchild is at a reading age then perhaps you could prepare some simple written clues, or make it so the child has to fill in an answer for each clue.

The fact that it's not something children do very often makes it incredibly exciting for them, and that coupled with the fact that game does have educational value makes this one a winner. 

Age

• 18 months + 

Duration

• 30 mins + 

Cost

• Varies dependant upon the value of the treats, but realistically the maqin cost is your time in preparing for it. 

Educational Value

• Reading and writing skills if required with the clues
• Mathematical skills if required with the clues

Granny Rating

• 4/5