This winter scavenger hunt gets kids playing outside while building a range of Critical Thinking skills like working memory and flexible thinking—part of the 5 C’s at the heart of the Begin Approach to helping kids thrive in school and life!
Setup Time: Under 5 min
Activity Time: 15-30 min
Mess Level: None
What You Need
- This printable or a piece of paper to create your own
- A crayon, pencil, or marker
- A clipboard or book (optional)
What to Do
- Download and print out this list of items. No printer? No problem. Write the list on paper using the printable as your guide.
- Go on a neighborhood walk or adventure to a nearby park, looking for the items on the list as you go.
- When you find an item, cross it off the list and celebrate!
- It may take a few walks to find all the items, which is okay—make it a part of a daily walk or trip to school!
Outdoor Winter Scavenger Hunt Tips
- Before you head outside, read through the items on the list together. Pre-reading children can add colors or drawings next to the words to help them search more independently.
- Besides sight, what other sense can your child use in their search? Suggest listening for birds chirping or dogs barking.
- This is a great activity for older and younger kids to collaborate on. They can work together to find things on the list and even make up their own lists for each other to find.
Keeping Kids Active in the Winter
- Dry feet are warm feet! Rubber rain boots with cozy wool or synthetic socks are a great alternative to a pair of dedicated snow boots.
- The more kids move, the warmer they’ll be, so consider starting your scavenger hunt with a game of tag or chase to get them running around.
- If it’s freezing outside, start with 5-10 minutes in the backyard and build up to longer outdoor play sessions.
More Critical Thinking with Begin
Critical Thinking helps kids a lot. It’s linked to finishing schoolwork, getting better grades, and more. Many of Begin’s award-winning learning products are designed especially to help kids develop the right Critical Thinking skills for their age.
Whether they’re learning the building blocks of coding with codeSpark, following instructions to create cool crafts and experiments with Little Passports, or doing puzzles and games that build working memory in HOMER, Begin has the right tools to give every kid their best start to achieving their fullest potential.
