Playground Scavenger Hunt {Guest Post}

We are so privileged to live in a city with an extensive park system. If you read earlier today, you know that parks are some of our favorite things.  And today, we are so excited to have Jessica Cook of The Mommy Teacher here with us to share a fun, easy way to take your basic park trip to the next level.  Jessica loves to turn everyday activities into learning opportunities, and she has created a FREE printable for all Red Stick Moms Blog readers! So moms, welcome Jessica, The Mommy Teacher:

Hi, moms! I’m Jessica, and I’ll never forget the day when I was packing lots of monkey puppet printables and crayons on our way to Kenilworth park and my husband said “Jess, no kids are going to color while they are at the park.”   And as I recall I said something along the lines of “We’ll see.”

Mmm Hmm… I think you know where this is headed…

Every last printable was colored and taken home, of course.  I set it up on a picnic table under a covered awning and the kids re-visited the craft bit by bit (to take a break from the heat of the day).

Now, don’t get me wrong… I FULLY believe that parks are a place to take advantage of the gross motor skills (balance, coordination, running, jumping, climbing skills, etc.) that naturally take place in that setting.  And there are SO many great parks in Baton Rouge to wear out your kiddos ;).  But, if you are like me, you might pack snacks and other carry-ons that can make your playdates vary and LAST!

Today, I am sharing a FREE, four page Park Scavenger Hunt printable that Red Stick Moms will be able to use and re-use from park to park to park. This little packet could be a great way for kids to observe, record, and note the differences of their local parks.

To print, click on the image above or click here.

This printable has different uses for different stage kiddos:

For Toddlers: Introduce the vocabulary…. “Look!  Swings.  Where are the swings?  Yay! We found the swings.  Do you want to swing?”

For Pre-schoolers: Observe the details…. “Does this park have swings?  What color are the swings?  Lets color the swings green so we can remember that this park has green swings!”

For Pre-Kinders: Record the details….  “Put an “x” on the line under the equipment that is not at the park; try to write the beginning sound or all the sounds you hear on the line under the equipment that is at the park.”

For Kinders: Write about the details…. “Can you write what you like about the {slide, swing, etc.} at this park?”  “I like to push my friends on the swings, so I am going to write that under swings.”

For Kinder Grads: Compare and Contrast the different parks by making their own scavenger hunt specific to their own local parks.

My final bit of advice for using these:  bring clipboards. Kids feel so official when they are “recording information” on a clipboard.  🙂

I hope you like this little freebie that you can tote along to the park OR have it out on a table at home after going to a park for some unwind time. However you use it, I would love to hear your ideas, thoughts, and even see some pictures of this in action!  So please share your mind on The Mommy Teacher Facebook Page!  We love to spotlight mommy teachers. (To print the Park Scavenger Hunt packet, click here.)

Thanks so much Jessica! We can’t wait to try it out with our kiddos!